Keeping up my 125

Mcanaves · Post by **Mcanaves** » Sun Nov 03, 2013 7:23 pm

Allright, so I've broken in my 125, got my first 1000 miles in, and made my first 250 mile ride (each way) with him. He's holding up fantastic and everything seems to be going well.

Now, I'm worried about overusing him, and also what kind of regular maintenance/tune-ups (outside of oil changes/gear oil) should be done to keep his longevity. I am putting close to 100-150 miles a week on him, and about once a month I will be riding to Orlando (250 miles each way). Is this too much? Been using premium gasoline to help out as well. I just want to do everything I can to get him to last at least 2-3 years for me.

Thanks guys. All your help so far has been great.

BuddyRaton · Post by **BuddyRaton** » Sun Nov 03, 2013 9:12 pm

It's a Buddy...ride the snot out of it and do the scheduled maintenance. The only thing I would add is a couple ounces of seafoam once a month or so.

As far as premium all it will do is make your engine run hotter. It's hot enough down here in SoFla!

Dooglas · Post by **Dooglas** » Sun Nov 03, 2013 10:25 pm

Oh no, you are riding it all the time

. It would probably last much longer if you drained all the fluids, pulled the battery, and stored it in the back of your garage - but, what fun is that? Heck, ride it all you want. When it wears out, it wears out. Others have put 40 or 50 thousand miles on a Buddy so I wouldn't worry about using it. Just keep up with the regular maintenance and enjoy!

Mcanaves · Post by **Mcanaves** » Sun Nov 03, 2013 11:02 pm

Awesome. Thanks guys.

So, you're saying DON'T use premium gas? Cool.

BuddyRaton · Post by **BuddyRaton** » Mon Nov 04, 2013 12:00 am

Don't forget to ride to Orlando next weekend for the Snowbird Classic!

http://rally.orlandoscootersociety.com/

Post by **ericalm** » Mon Nov 04, 2013 1:52 am

Have you had your first service yet? If not, you're overdue!

At this point, you should be running synthetic oil in the engine. The basic maintenance schedule will be an engine oil change every 2K, gear oil every 4K, valves, brakes, transmission checked about every 6K.

The keys to longevity are pretty simple: Stick to the maintenance schedule. Don't ignore any potential problems. Keep the scooter stock. Don't crash.

People debate which octane gas to run until blue in the face, but here's one thing that's indisputable: premium gas isn't "better" than lower octanes. It's go no affect on longevity at all.

Mcanaves · Post by **Mcanaves** » Mon Nov 04, 2013 2:32 am

I did the first service myself (oil change, gear oil, filter) and put in synthetic oil, a HiFlo filter, and Motul for my gear oil. This next one I'll be taking it to the dealer (partially because of the guy who hit me) mainly so he can check everything out.

ericalm wrote: The keys to longevity are pretty simple: Stick to the maintenance schedule. Don't ignore any potential problems. Keep the scooter stock. Don't crash.

How much effect on longevity would changing stock have? After a bit of time and experience, I was thinking about setting myself up with the 161cc cylinder kit in order to make my rides to Orlando once a month a bit more time effective.

SonnyD · Post by **SonnyD** » Mon Nov 04, 2013 3:02 am

BuddyRaton wrote:It's a Buddy...ride the snot out of it and do the scheduled maintenance. The only thing I would add is a couple ounces of seafoam once a month or so.

As far as premium all it will do is make your engine run hotter. It's hot enough down here in SoFla!

Really...that goes against everything I've ever read about gasoline. I've always read that higher octane is harder to ignite, burns slower and more even, and is more efficient. I agree there is no need to go octane crazy, but the couple of points between Regular and Premium is small, and at usually only around 1 gallon per fill up, your only talking maybe 25 cents about every 100 miles.... Hmmm??????

JHScoot · Post by **JHScoot** » Mon Nov 04, 2013 3:18 am

i use 89 cotane. whatever that is in cali? that is mid grade. someone once posted and made a good argument in its favor so i went with it. i forget what the argument was, though

i also don't understand the obsession with synthetic oil for the DIY'er. oil is oil if you change it when it should be changed. is this synthetic $10 a quart motorcycle oil? if so its a waste in a 125 /150cc engine

that said i am not comfortable with 2,000 mile oil changes with dino. for w/e reason. so i change mine every 1,500 miles or so. with the oil being $12 a gallon it hardly matters, though

SonnyD · Post by **SonnyD** » Mon Nov 04, 2013 4:31 am

I like Full synthetic, probably more so in smaller engines. These little engines work hard hauling us around. When it's 90+ outside, and all 200 pounds of me has the throttle all the way to the stop running full out for several hours at a time, I just like the better breakdown capabilities of the Synthetic. If I just rode around the streets and never went more then 40-45 mph and just made little short trips i wouldn't worry about it..That being said, I use Synthetic in every vehicle I own.....

JHScoot · Post by **JHScoot** » Mon Nov 04, 2013 6:31 am

i suppose i may have spoke too soon, depending on your use and need. i have no idea of trips hundreds of miles long. i ride about as hard as a rider can for the urban riding i do, but i seldom if ever put on 100 miles a day much less 500 miles in a weekend. i do get out on some long stretches of all WOT, but its not serious travel

that is a certain kind of rider. that is a rider with something in them i do not have. they can put whatever they want in the scooter. olive oil if it suits them

i will stick with dino. we''ll see what happens, i suppose. not like i am going to stop riding. so stay posted and we can see how long these engines last. all i can say is they don't burn oil between changes (i never need to add) and the Buddy oil looks clean at change time. must be something to that cooler and filter, i suppose

JHScoot · Post by **JHScoot** » Mon Nov 04, 2013 6:37 am

i'm not cheap, btw. just practical

maybe i'm a bit frugal. sometimes

Post by **ericalm** » Tue Nov 05, 2013 5:18 am

Mcanaves wrote:How much effect on longevity would changing stock have? After a bit of time and experience, I was thinking about setting myself up with the 161cc cylinder kit in order to make my rides to Orlando once a month a bit more time effective.

Well… very hard to say because there are many variables involved. The top end will not last as long as stock, though. And when people do things like a big bore kit, they tend to ride the scooter harder, riding it at (actually, beyond) its limits for much of the time. So this means more transmission maintenance, etc. There's a bit of a domino effect.

JHScoot wrote:i also don't understand the obsession with synthetic oil for the DIY'er. oil is oil if you change it when it should be changed.

"Obsession," ha. It's not just DIYers, but actual real-life professional mechanics who work on scoots for a living and have decades of experience with them!

topic1375.html#16184

Phil Waters knows more than we do. Take his advice. At least on this stuff.

Dooglas · Post by **Dooglas** » Tue Nov 05, 2013 6:30 am

JHScoot wrote:i suppose i may have spoke too soon, depending on your use and need. i have no idea of trips hundreds of miles long. i ride about as hard as a rider can for the urban riding i do, but i seldom if ever put on 100 miles a day much less 500 miles in a weekend. i do get out on some long stretches of all WOT, but its not serious travel

Actually, air cooled engines are somewhat hard on oil as they can reach fairly high operating temperatures in warm weather. And that doesn't happen just on long trips. It is probably more likely to happen with low speed stop-and-go travel with periods of idle at high air temperatures. Synthetic oil is more slippery than dino oil (lubricates better) and is more resistant to breakdown at high temperatures. Seems to me like using it in small engines is a good idea.