Buddy 170i - can it commute up/down a canyon?

tacocat · Post by **tacocat** » Sun Jul 14, 2013 2:27 am

Hi all,

My husband and I are looking to purchase a scooter instead of a second car. He has to commute up Little Cottonwood Canyon, in Utah (5400 ft to 8800 ft - 7 miles). Does anyone know if the Buddy 170i can go up and down a canyon pretty reliably? The MPH posted in the canyon is 45 MPH.

We are looking for a scooter to share, but I am much smaller and shorter than he is, so getting a bigger scooter isn't an option. We have both test ridden the Buddy 170i, and we love it! The dealer said my husband would be able to get up and down quite easily, but we have heard from others that we probably want to go with a different scooter that is at least 200cc. Buying two scooters isn't a possibility, unfortunately. Any thoughts?

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Sun Jul 14, 2013 2:40 am

I've taken my non-fuel injection 150 up similar elevations at that speed no problem, an even rode my wife's 125 2-up with both of us at elevations @ 7500 ft. I'd say that isn't ideal, just feasible

.

One thing that I would suggest is replacing the tires right off. See if you can roll that into the deal, or at least get free labor on it. The stock tires are mostly nylon and not ideal for canyon carving.

tacocat · Post by **tacocat** » Sun Jul 14, 2013 5:00 am

skully93 wrote:I've taken my non-fuel injection 150 up similar elevations at that speed no problem, an even rode my wife's 125 2-up with both of us at elevations @ 7500 ft. I'd say that isn't ideal, just feasible .

Thanks for the reply! Can you clarify - do you mean that two people riding together isn't ideal (but is feasible)? Or is single riding also not ideal?

Do you have any other suggestions for a scooter? We have looked at the Kymco Yager and the Honda PCX 150 (and we are still considering these options). My husband is 6 feet, 165 pounds, and I'm 5'2", 115 pounds - so my size is limiting. We looked at a SYM today, too, but it was too big for me.

scullyfu · Post by **scullyfu** » Sun Jul 14, 2013 1:05 pm

i interpret skully's comment to be that riding 2up on the 125 is not ideal, in that situation, because it puts too much stress on the engine. a single rider wouldn't subject the scoot's engine to the extra stress that would come with the added passenger weight.

sorry if i interpreted your comment incorrectly, skully.

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Sun Jul 14, 2013 2:08 pm

Correct, 2 up on the buddy, up a hill, it'll be tired

. Unless of course your husband shrank down to your dimensions.

2 up on the buddy is fine for short distances, but I'd venture to say it's probably hard on the brakes, and the seating even for my short dimensions is a bit cramped. We still do it sometimes though!

if you could find a good used helix or something similar, that might be an option for the 2 of you. But if you're riding solo most of the time, a 170i should be fantastic. The fuel injection should be more apt to ignore such a rapid elevation change.

Dooglas · Post by **Dooglas** » Sun Jul 14, 2013 3:35 pm

skully93 wrote:2 up on the buddy is fine for short distances, but I'd venture to say it's probably hard on the brakes, and the seating even for my short dimensions is a bit cramped. We still do it sometimes though!

Agree! The Buddy is a quite capable scooter when ridden 1-up. It is really not the choice for 2-up riding. Can be done, of course, but the frame and seat are really too small for confortable 2-up riding, in my opinion. And the charm of the Buddy is it's snappy acceleration. That is pretty much gone in a 2-up situation.

Keys · Post by **Keys** » Sun Jul 14, 2013 4:26 pm

When I had my Buddy 125, I rode it regularly from Cottonwood, AZ to Prescott on a winding mountain road from an elevation of 3200 ft in Cottonwood to 7045 ft at the to of Mingus Mtn to 5280 ft in Prescott. No problem. Ever. Outran Harleys regularly. I also made the same run on my old Bajaj Chetak 150 with no issues. A Buddy will do what you ask just fine as long as you ask it to pull only you and not a passenger.

tacocat · Post by **tacocat** » Sun Jul 14, 2013 5:02 pm

Excellent! Thanks all for your input and replies. Yes, single riding up the canyon is what we'll be doing - and that's the top thing on our list of what the scooter must do.

We would like to ride together around town once in a while, but we rode it together when we test drove it and quickly realized that wasn't one of the Buddy's strengths.

LunaP · Post by **LunaP** » Sun Jul 14, 2013 7:31 pm

tacocat wrote:Excellent! Thanks all for your input and replies. Yes, single riding up the canyon is what we'll be doing - and that's the top thing on our list of what the scooter must do.

We would like to ride together around town once in a while, but we rode it together when we test drove it and quickly realized that wasn't one of the Buddy's strengths.

I had to ride cupcake on my own Buddy many times due to a broken hand... it wasn't as comfortable as the Stella (which has a level seat, unlike the Buddy), but I am also not skinny. The one time I rode somebody behind me on my 170, I took ALOT of concentration because I'd never driven 2up, and hadn't planned on it (a friend was drunk and I wouldn't let them ride theirs home). I felt like the seat being higher in the back than the front + my lack of cupcaking experience made the Buddy seem VERY topheavy. But it's not as if it is something you couldn't get used to and compensate for.

As for whether the 170 can handle the commute you want it for... no question in my mind!