Thinking of a buddy 50

vivithemage · Post by **vivithemage** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 3:19 pm

My GF is wanting a moped. Moped's get free parking at the University, so it's win win...good fuel economy, and free parking.

My only concern is can these 50's really keep up in city traffic, up to 40mph?

How fast to they accelerate even?

What mods can I do to boost it's oomphf? Does it hurt MPG a lot?

Or should we just look at the 125 and not even worry about it?

PeteH · Post by **PeteH** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 3:48 pm

Not to start a language war, but 'moped' <> 'scooter'.

A moped is typically defined (physically) by its PEDALS - it's essentially a power-assisted bicycle. Scooters are pretty much anything bigger, without pedals and a chain.

Mopeds usually get the same privileges as bicycles because they can fit in a standard bike rack alongside the bicycles.

You should check with the school and verify if scooters get the same parking privileges as mopeds, and also find out any engine-size limits to the free parking. If there's not an engine-size limit for the free parking, meaning things roughly scooter-shaped are OK, then you have choices, and it comes down to other factors - budget, whether sub-50cc bikes need title / motorcycle license / registration / insurance, etc. Lots of those threads here.

Good luck with your research and your decision.

vivithemage · Post by **vivithemage** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 3:58 pm

The county defines a moped as a motorized bike less then 50cc, thus gets to park like bikes, and not need motorcycle license/renewals, etc....but yes, not to start a language war

Scooters (50CC+ ) have to park like motorcycles, in spaces, about $110 per semester for parking. With scooters you have to pay insurance/tab renewels/get your motorcycle license/etc.

TVB · Post by **TVB** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 4:26 pm

vivithemage wrote:My GF is wanting a moped. Moped's get free parking at the University, so it's win win...good fuel economy, and free parking.
My only concern is can these 50's really keep up in city traffic, up to 40mph?
How fast to they accelerate even?
What mods can I do to boost it's oomphf? Does it hurt MPG a lot?
Or should we just look at the 125 and not even worry about it?

A Buddy 50 that's been derestricted (a simple two-step procedure) will usually be able to hit 40mph, as long as it's on level ground and not much headwind. Doing this doesn't affect fuel economy, except in the sense that it allows you to go 40mph.

I average 80-85mpg. Derestricting is also a violation of most states' licensing/registration requirements... but very common.

The Buddy 50 has pretty good acceleration, especially compared to 50cc scoots with 4-stroke engines (instead of 2-stroke), which don't have the same amount of torque. Most commuters around here are kinda slow and sleepy, so I don't have any trouble at all staying ahead of them when the light turns green. Going up hills on 45mph roads... can be a problem, however. So whether a 50cc will work for you depends a lot on the kinds of drivers and the kinds of roads in your area. If the drivers aren't too crazy, and you can stick to slower and/or less-trafficky roads, a 50cc is great. On a university campus, where parking is a much bigger nightmare than traffic, they make a lot of sense.

There are some other performance-enhancing mods possible that can get you more speed (e.g. different exhaust pipe, 70cc conversion), but I've been happy with just derestricting, so I can't comment on how effective they are, or whether they're worth it.

vivithemage · Post by **vivithemage** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 6:02 pm

They do not do inspections here, so hopefully they wouldn't really check/figure it out.

How do you deregulate it?

So 2 stroke would be snappier off the line/torquier? That is good for our traffic.

PeteH · Post by **PeteH** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 7:00 pm

Hehe - I was making a distinction on the 'enthusiast' definitions, not the legal ones. Yeah, there are a lot of jurisdictions which call 49cc scoots 'mopeds', despite the lack of pedal power.

Derestricting on most 49's involves removing a restrictor washer from between the exhaust header and the muffler, and also removing a spacer washer from the variator assembly. Together these restrictors keep the scoot (as sold) below 30mph. Removing them gets them back to the designer's specs.

vivithemage · Post by **vivithemage** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 7:01 pm

interesting, does it make the more peppy? Are people generally happy/OK with them only being able to do 40MPH in traffic?

TVB · Post by **TVB** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 8:41 pm

vivithemage wrote:interesting, does it make the more peppy?

The restrictions are designed to put an upper limit on the scooter's speed, so I don't think taking them off affects acceleration in general very much. Either way, the Buddy 50 is pretty "peppy" for its engine size.

Are people generally happy/OK with them only being able to do 40MPH in traffic?

Depends on the people. Some people get frustrated that they can't go the same speeds they're used to being able to go in their cars. Personally, I don't want to go that fast on a scooter. I enjoy the fact that riding the scooter encourages me to slow down in general, staying off the ugly and busy roads and instead taking the nice ones. Plus, I enjoy riding a scooter, so taking 20 minutes to get somewhere instead of 15 minutes just means I had 5 more minutes of fun.

Your Mileage May Vary.

vivithemage · Post by **vivithemage** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 8:45 pm

Thanks

How about helmets, I am thinking she should get a full face, or a modular helmet..those half ones don't save the face in an accident if you ask me.

anthony · Post by **anthony** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 8:45 pm

vivithemage wrote: Or should we just look at the 125 and not even worry about it?

lots of good info on that very question here:

topic22940.html

TVB · Post by **TVB** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 9:22 pm

vivithemage wrote:How about helmets, I am thinking she should get a full face, or a modular helmet..those half ones don't save the face in an accident if you ask me.

A good intro to the subject of helmets and other protective gear can be found in this post and this post. What kind of helmet to wear can be a contentious question. The bottom line is that each rider needs to be aware of the risks and decide for themselves what level of gear vs. risk they're comfortable with.

Boston · Post by **Boston** » Wed Sep 12, 2012 2:15 pm

I just bought a roughhouse 50CC yesterday and it is a blast. I too had been looking for a scooter as an extra method of fun and some transport, plus I get free parking at my gym or anywhere else I go.

Plus not having to get a motorcycle license or anything else is a plus, and derestricted, I still got to just below 40mpg and throttled off as the light coming up was red.

Let us know if you get one!

vivithemage · Post by **vivithemage** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 4:01 am

just picked up a backstocked 2009 buddy 125 in seafoam (the color my GF really wanted) from a dealer in Colorado! They're shipping it out to me, it was 2150$ shipped. I will have to pay my state taxes, but overall not bad.

Build date was the end of 2011, girlfriend is looking forward to it

Now I gotta buy a lock get her a helmet, and probably pick this up :

http://www.scooterworks.com/scooter-cov ... -11250.php

Any advice on a lock?

thatvwbusguy · Post by **thatvwbusguy** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 4:41 am

The lock you need depends on how much protection you are looking for. A simple cable lock is okay in low crime areas, but you will want something a little bit tougher for parking in the city. Lots of guys trust the Kryptonite New York Fahgettaboudit Chain 1415. It is heavy, but unless the local scooter thief has an angle grinder with him, your scoot is probably as safe as it can be.

On the subject of covers, I don't typically like standard scooter covers for a couple reasons. First being that if you put the cover on while your exhaust is hot, you are more than likely going to melt the cover, which wrecks the cover and makes a mess of your pipe. Second issue is what do you do with the cover when you are off on the scooter? Do you take it with you and lose all your storage space under the seat, or leave it where the scooter gets parked and hope it doesn't blow away or get stolen?

I have been using the Bike Barn storage system for a few years. It is a sort of accordion tent that serves as a non-permanent garage for your scooter. The standard model is more than big enough for any Genuine scooter (you might even be able to sneak two Buddy 50's in there). I mounted mine on a sheet of 3/4" pressure treated plywood since I don't have a paved driveway. The structure is strong enough to survive the brutal winters here in the northeast as long as you remember to brush the snow off once in a while.

Here is a link to the Bike Barn website. You can also find them on eBay most of the time with free shipping for the standard and touring sizes.
http://www.thebikebarn.net/

I recently found an almost new standard model on craigslist for $125.00 for my wife's Buddy 50. Now we have matching hacienda's for our scoots.

vivithemage · Post by **vivithemage** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 4:57 am

That is cool! I park I. The street though

Is there a way around melting the cover haha or just leave it open to the elements?

thatvwbusguy · Post by **thatvwbusguy** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 5:35 am

You just have to wait for the exhaust pipe to cool down. 20 minutes should do the trick for the stock pipe.

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