Hooligan - 1,000 miles on

Raputtak · Post by **Raputtak** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 2:18 pm

Hit that milestone the other day. Here are some thoughts.

I bought the scooter for use at Rallies - Gymkhana events, in particular. Not yet had a go at that, Maybe October/November (Atlanta/Richmond).

It appears to be a fun bike to scoot around town, but falls a little short for 'rides'.

It zooms up to 45 then creeps up to its top speed of around 53 mph, plus or minus wind speed. So on the typical 'fast ride' it would struggle to keep up, especially if the terrain is in any way hilly. I expected more from a 170cc engine. I would like 60 or, at the very least, an easy 55.

It handles nicely on corners, brakes well under all of the conditions I have experienced to date.

With a fuel consumption of 66 US mpg and a miniscule 6 liter (!.68 US gallon) tank it has a useful range of around 80 miles before the last pip on the gauge begins to twinkle. This is tough when one lives in the country. 10 miles to the nearest fuel stop, 18 to the gym, and 25 to the nearest significant populated area.

Yes, it has a huge pet carrier but I would rather have a three gallon tank.

So far it has been very reliable, only one issue when the check engine light came on. I think it must have been condensation in the tank as I filled up and have had no problem since.

KrispyKreme · Post by **KrispyKreme** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 2:44 pm

Solid review. Can't they fit a bigger gas tank on the beast?

I've read a review where they switched back and forth between a Hooligan and a Buddy150 and the Hooligan was noticeably slower. I too would expect more from the 170 engine. You could play with variators and such, but that can get pricey. It's still a great looking scoot and I imagine it will be bulletproof for many miles. Thanks for the review.

Greyscoot · Post by **Greyscoot** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 3:46 pm

My experience is slightly different. Mine will get up to 58mph actual on the flat and 65 indicated. The hills here are only a couple of blocks long, but some are fairly steep and the Hoolie will accelerate up the hills.

Mine seems to perform better running 91 octane than regular gas. I don't think they could have put a much larger gas tank on it. The gas tank is under the floorboard and they would have to make it deeper (thicker) to hold more gas. This would cut into the ground clearance, especially corners, and there isn't a whole lot to begin with.

I'm sure some 150cc scoots will out accelerate the Hoolie. The Hoolie is fairly heavy, weighing 280+ pounds (plus rider weight). It is 110 pounds heavier than my little Honda CH80. While the Hoolie is a substantial scoot and should last a long time, I think it's weight helps impede it's performance somewhat.

My gas mileage is better, also. I average a tad over 80mpg, but I spend a lot of time cruising backroads at 30-40 mph and not much time at WOT.

All in all I am happy with mine and haven't found a scoot in the 150cc class I would rather have at this point in time.

KrispyKreme · Post by **KrispyKreme** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 4:55 pm

Greyscoot, Genuine recommends 91 or 93 for the Hooligan, so I imagine it does run better.

k1dude · Post by **k1dude** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 7:52 pm

Yamaha has discovered a way to get 70+mph out of a very big and very heavy 155cc scooter in the SMAX. I have no idea how they did it, but it goes to show it's possible. The 170 with it's lighter weight and smaller size should easily be able to outperform the SMAX if Genuine could figure out how to tweak it like Yamaha did.

Genuine also recommends premium gas for the Buddy, but very few actually use premium.

KrispyKreme · Post by **KrispyKreme** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 8:15 pm

k1dude wrote:
Genuine also recommends premium gas for the Buddy, but very few actually use premium.

Mid to premium, although regular has been used w/out problem with the 125/150 for many years.

Buddy 50, Roughhouse 50, Black Cat 50, and Rattler 50: regular 87 octane

Rattler 110: regular 87 octane

Buddy 125: mid 89 octane

Buddy 150 and Blur 150: mid 89 octane

Buddy 170 and Hooligan 170: high 91 or 93 octane

Blur 220: high 91 or 93 octane

Stella 150 2T: mid 89 octane

Stella 150 4T: mid 89 octane

Stella automatic: mid 89 octane

For the Buddy 125 model: although the recommended octane is 89, we have had many reports from dealers and consumers that have been running regular 87 with no issues and several thousands of miles.

KrispyKreme · Post by **KrispyKreme** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 8:24 pm

k1dude wrote:Yamaha has discovered a way to get 70+mph out of a very big and very heavy 155cc scooter in the SMAX. I have no idea how they did it, but it goes to show it's possible. The 170 with it's lighter weight and smaller size should easily be able to outperform the SMAX if Genuine could figure out how to tweak it like Yamaha did.

Yamaha has money for R&D that PGO would not have. I realize engines can come from different places(Kymco engine in the BMW) but I imagine this powerplant came straight from Yama. I am shocked and thrilled my the SMAX's performance. Yama makes a 250 available overseas. I would love to see a review on them.

Greyscoot · Post by **Greyscoot** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 1:18 am

Krispy - Thank you for letting me know that Genuine recommends high octane gas for the Hoolie. Except for one tank I have been running 91 or 93 octane in it. It would be nice if the owners manual said this. All it says is to use unleaded gas.

KrispyKreme · Post by **KrispyKreme** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 1:49 am

Greyscoot wrote:Krispy - Thank you for letting me know that Genuine recommends high octane gas for the Hoolie. Except for one tank I have been running 91 or 93 octane in it. It would be nice if the owners manual said this. All it says is to use unleaded gas.

You have to understand "octane" has different #s in different countries.

PGO manuals are more for fun than actual facts. That said, PGO makes a product that stands up to all the bigs.

And Genuine says mid(91) or high(93). As long as you ride it around once a week that Hooli will go forever. I would use a sip of Seafoam in every tank. A sip would be about 2 ozs.

Glad I could help.

sc00ter · Post by **sc00ter** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 3:15 pm

You would think that a bigger air cooled motor (Hooligan) would be a close match in power to the smaller liquid cooled (Smax) but the SMAX motor is very impressive!

MrIcky · Post by **MrIcky** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 5:36 pm

My experience is more reflective of Greyscoot. I can hold 55mph actual (GPS measured) pretty consistently on moderately hilly terrain and my MPG is higher too averaging closer to 80.

Whimscootie · Post by **Whimscootie** » Thu Jul 16, 2015 1:46 pm

Perhaps this accounts for the difference between the Hooligan and the S Max:

Engine Type: 155cc liquid-cooled, 4-stroke, SOHC single cylinder, 4 valves
Bore x Stroke: 58.0 x 58.7mm
Compression Ratio: 11.0:1
Fuel Delivery: Fuel Injection

Well, ya!

GregsBuddy · Post by **GregsBuddy** » Fri Jul 17, 2015 5:14 pm

The Yamaha engine is significantly more modern than our Buddy engines.

Modern Buddy

Hooligan - 1,000 miles on

Hooligan - 1,000 miles on

Yamaha S Max