Buddy in Canada

[FA-Q]

The Buddy is coming to Canada with the tag "Metro" How will it stack up against the competition?

[BlueMark]

What is the competition?


I'll bet Honda Canada will have something to say about a small scooter model being named "Metro" (even though they call their "Metro" the Jazz).

[FA-Q]

There is no "Metro" up here. The competition is 50cc Yamaha Vino 4T, Honda Jazz (metro in USA) 4T and the Vespa LX 4T. They are all sort of retro 50's but all 4T. The Metro (BuBu is the other name floating around) is the only 2T retro 50 and should be around $2600 cnd. The Vino and Jazz are about $2800 and the Vespa is about $4500.
In the 125 cc range there is only a Vespa $$$$ and the Vino $3500. The Metro will be $3000. I am keeping with modern retro scoots as that is the target. I think that the 2T Metro should kick but. If only it could piggy back on the slick Buddy ad campaign.

[Dooglas]

I have to confess that I do not understand the interest in the 50cc Buddy (Metro) or any other 50cc scooter. I have ridden both Buddys and the 125 is so far superior for a small price difference that I don't know why anyone would go the other way. I presume everyone intends to ride their scooter in traffic and the 50 just can't handle hills, higher speed boulevards, etc. The only supposed point of a 50 is the lack of requirement for motorcycle endorsement on your drivers license (don't know about requirements in Canada). Most folks immediately try to pep up the 50 by removing the restrictors (that voids the moped exemption) and adding after market exhausts, etc ($$). Just go with a 125, you'll love it. I own both a Buddy 125 and a Vino 125. I've ridden the Vespa LX150. The Buddy is noticeably quicker than the Vino and keeps up with the much more expensive Vespa.

[FA-Q]

Most people up here just want to buy and ride without the 2 month long MCL dealio. There is also a huge break in insurance rates up here for a 50. For buzzing around the city the 50 rules. There is a movement to larger scoots that is slowly happening.

[ellen]

I have to confess that I do not understand the interest in the 50cc Buddy (Metro) or any other 50cc scooter.

Here in Connecticut you don't have to register or insurance them, so a lot of people get them to knock around town.

[corey]

I have to confess that I do not understand the interest in the 50cc Buddy (Metro) or any other 50cc scooter.

in compact cities, like boston where i live, there is no need for the 125cc engine... i have never had to hit 50mph+ on the streets therefore i can carry on around the city either by myself or with my wife and never feel the need to go faster or have more power... if anything my b50 can go too fast and the wife gets freaked out when heading down hills hitting 45-50mph... if i went with the 125 there's a motorcycle license, insurance, etc to deal with... with the 50cc engine all i have to do is pay $40 every two years for a registration sticker and that's it... so there's at least one man's opinion on why 50cc scoots exist... if there wasn't a large enough need no one would make em... hope this helps you to understand where us 50cc owners are coming from

[Dooglas]

... if i went with the 125 there's a motorcycle license, insurance, etc to deal with... with the 50cc engine all i have to do is pay $40 every two years for a registration sticker and that's it... so there's at least one man's opinion on why 50cc scoots exist...

To each his own, of course. The annual insurance on my 125 is $136 which is about $11 per month. Remember, not having insurance doesn't make the liability risk go away, only the protection if something goes wrong. The registration for my 125 is $15 a year (in Oregon). And I'll still insist that the 125 is a great bike in the 20-40mph range. The main point is not that it will go over 50, it is how it performs at more usual scooter speeds and conditions. Last but not least, everybody should take a motorcycle/scooter safety course and the motorcycle license comes with it in most states so no advantage to small scoots for not requiring the license IMHO. (And I did live in Boston for five years. I rode a small twin motorcycle most of that time and the extra performance was not wasted.) I don't mean to debate, I just want to put information out there so others consider it before they make their choice.

[ysofisonly50?]

Here in Hawaii, 50cc (termed mopeds) are regarded by the DMV as bicycles (that can be ridden on public roads, by the way) and as such only require a one time registration (US$15) for the lifetime of the owner. No, you don't need a motorcycle license. Just wear your flip-flops. Carry your surfboard with your left arm.

[Sparky]

Here in Quebec, 50cc scooters are popular due to ease of licensing and legal derestriction. In La Belle Province all you need is a driver's or moped license, registration, and insurance. Passing the SAAQ's moped license test is dead easy--you just read the study workbook (that's like something you'd read in 5th grade) and pass a computerized multiple-choice test. No road or closed-course skills test. Teenagers can get their certification as young as 14.

Getting a motorcycle license is, compared to the US "pass the MSF course and there you go", a royal pain in the ass. Really involved coursework and both a closed course and road skills test. I only did it because I was heading outside the city a lot. Most people just throw a kit on the 50cc scooter instead. For this reason, Quebec has the largest percentage of moped-class scoots sold in the country. Hell, we *are* the market.

The Metro/Buddy 125 is very competitive compared to its main competition:the Vino 125. For a hundred bucks less you get a larger gas tank and a peppier engine. Shorter oil change intervals, but having ridden a Vino 125 for a while I'd say the Metro 125 comes out on points.

[FA-Q]

A couple more color options would be nice!

[poop colored buddy]

I have to confess that I do not understand the interest in the 50cc Buddy (Metro) or any other 50cc scooter. I have ridden both Buddys and the 125 is so far superior for a small price difference that I don't know why anyone would go the other way. I presume everyone intends to ride their scooter in traffic and the 50 just can't handle hills, higher speed boulevards, etc. The only supposed point of a 50 is the lack of requirement for motorcycle endorsement on your drivers license (don't know about requirements in Canada). Most folks immediately try to pep up the 50 by removing the restrictors (that voids the moped exemption) and adding after market exhausts, etc ($$). Just go with a 125, you'll love it. I own both a Buddy 125 and a Vino 125. I've ridden the Vespa LX150. The Buddy is noticeably quicker than the Vino and keeps up with the much more expensive Vespa.

you are right, kind of.......this totally depends on where you live. In Phoenix where it is very flat, there is hardly a noticeable difference between a derestricted buddy 50 and anything else. Street speeds rarely get above 50mph, and a derestricted buddy 50cc (which almost every dealer does for free before selling it) goes that speed no problem. As for it not being a moped anymore, do you really think someones going to pull you over, put your scooter up on a stand, and go through an inspection to see if it is derestricted?