Compression of Buddy 150 stock main/contra spring?

Skootz Kabootz · Post by **Skootz Kabootz** » Mon Apr 09, 2012 5:37 am

Does anyone know what is the actual compression strength of the stock main/contra spring on the Buddy 150?

I have the stock spring in there now, and have previously had a 1500 Dr. Pulley spring in there. I just read that the "Buddy 125 Stage 1 Performance Kit comes with a "high compression spring" which got me wondering what the heck "high compression" means to Scooterworks? 1500? 1000? 2000? Beats me. And what is the strength of the stock spring?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Skootz Kabootz · Post by **Skootz Kabootz** » Mon Apr 09, 2012 8:14 pm

Crickets...

k1dude · Post by **k1dude** » Mon Apr 09, 2012 8:27 pm

If color of the spring is any indication, it appears the Stage 1 kit comes with the NCY 1,000 rpm spring found here.

Tocsik · Post by **Tocsik** » Mon Apr 09, 2012 9:02 pm

k1dude wrote:If color of the spring is any indication, it appears the Stage 1 kit comes with the NCY 1,000 rpm spring found here.

Right, but those after-market springs are set to engage at 1000, 1500 or 2000 RPM's higher than stock for a quicker take-off.

I don't know what the stock spring is set for either.

smithrw · Post by **smithrw** » Mon Apr 09, 2012 9:07 pm

I can't tell you for sure what the stock spring is but I recently put a Dr Pulley 1500 in my 150 and comparing them I would guess that stock is around 1200. Sory I can't be more exact.

smithrw · Post by **smithrw** » Mon Apr 09, 2012 9:15 pm

Meant to say stock is around 1200. Sorry

Skootz Kabootz · Post by **Skootz Kabootz** » Mon Apr 09, 2012 9:29 pm

I went for a nice 200 mile ride yesterday and got a great feel for the scooter in its stock setup as compared to my previous setup with the Dr. Pulley Performance kit.

One of the big performance differences I'm experiencing since going back to the stock spring from the Dr. Pulley kit with the 1500/yellow spring is sluggishness from a standing start (by comparison). Kind of like I am starting in 2nd gear. This points to the stock spring being less than 1500. The stock scooter cruises very comfortably at speed and also holds speed quite well going uphill. In its stock setup I have to say, the Buddy really is very impressive.

Soon I am going to go back to my Dr. Pulley performance setup (variator, 1500 spring, 12.5g sliders) and do another comparison.

Still, I would really like to know for sure what is the strength of the stock spring. But I think 1200 is a pretty good guess.

Shall we start a betting pool?

Skootz Kabootz · Post by **Skootz Kabootz** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 6:26 pm

Still hoping someone may have the exact answer...

smithrw · Post by **smithrw** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 7:42 pm

I checked my stock spring that I took out and it is color coded blue. From what I can find out that color would indicate a 1000 rpm spring. Hope that might help.

Skootz Kabootz · Post by **Skootz Kabootz** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 8:08 pm

Thanks. I've emailed both Genuine and Scooterworks. Hopefully they can provide an answer.

Skootz Kabootz · Post by **Skootz Kabootz** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 10:49 pm

This just in...

Sent To Scooterworks and Genuine Scooters :

Hi there,

What is the rpm rating of the stock clutch main spring for the Buddy150? I know there are aftermarket springs rated at 1000rpm, 1500rpm, 2000rpm, etc, but I can find no information on the rating of the stock spring.

Thanks.

Justin

Received From Scooterworks: (Kudos for a speedy reply

)
The clutch engagement is @ 3800 rpms +/- 300 and lock up is at 5100 rpm +/- 400.

Ok, so now to figure out what this means...

The way I understand it, and as Tocsik said, the aftermarket springs are calibrated to engage at an increased rpm relative to stock. So in the case of a Buddy150, a 1000rpm (white) spring would engage at 4800rpm (+/- 300), a 1500rpm (yellow) spring would engage at 5300rpm (+/- 300), and a 2000rpm (red) spring would engage at 5800rpm (+/- 300).

Have I got this right?

Skootz Kabootz · Post by **Skootz Kabootz** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 6:23 pm

Crickets...

Rusty Shackleford · Post by **Rusty Shackleford** » Sat Sep 29, 2012 4:30 pm

They gave the answer they did because clutch springs and the contra spring are two different springs in the rear pulley system.

Clutch springs are a set of tiny springs on the clutch that affect what RPM's the clutch engages at. Imagine driving a 5 speed car and letting the clutch out at a low RPM to smoothly accelerate up to speed VS dumping the clutch at peak power and accelerating hard. That's what clutch springs control.

The contra spring is the bigger one, and the one you're talking about, that downshifts and maintains tension on the belt. Inherent in this is also the effect of raising RPM's by counteracting the relative force of the variator weights. This is why contra springs are rated by RPM's, typically in intervals of 500 as you stated (I predict the precise number will vary slightly based on the weight of the rollers, but it's all relative so I guess that fact doesn't matter but so much).

Since you e-mailed them asking about the clutch springs, they responded by giving you the data for the operation of the stock clutch springs. What you want to know is the RPM rating of the stock contra spring. I agree that this information is annoyingly scarce online in favor of vague and inconsistent color coding. My current prediction is like everyone else's, falling around >=1000 but <1500. I'd like to know this exact number myself as I'm contemplating a 1500 spring at the moment.

Skootz Kabootz · Post by **Skootz Kabootz** » Sat Sep 29, 2012 9:11 pm

The 1500 spring is great and personally what I prefer for the Buddy. That with some 11.5g sliders and the Dr. Pulley variator.