Stalling Buddy: is there a doctor in the house?

peabody99 · Post by **peabody99** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 12:16 am

So I am still riding my Buddy. The temps are pretty cool 30's-40's. I am having issues with stalling lately when in the 30's. I am trying to kick start him from time to time as I am going shorter distances and don't want to drain the battery. It is hit or miss as to whether I can kick start or give up and use the electric starter-this is my issue not the Buddy's. The stalling is occuring at stops or when there is no throttle and is mostly, but not always, alliviated by throttling when I can detect it is about to happen. I am warming up for a minute or so, although I have a heated garage so I do not know if that helps. I have a control Buddy, Black Buddy I, that lives the same life as the Cream Buddy (with regard to fuel diet, exercise etc) The Black Buddy is not having any issues at all. So what gives? Is it just the cold? is it something more? What can I do to help the situation? I have no intention of not riding the Bud short of icey roads or high winds and I really don't want to get creamed by a bus. Thanks for ideas.

Keys · Post by **Keys** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 12:29 am

You might try a wee bit of carb cleaner in the fuel tank. Then, once that's run through, setting the idle a bit faster might alleviate the problem.

--Keys

peabody99 · Post by **peabody99** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 12:40 am

Ha. oh yes. I will go adjust the idle. right after I rebuild the engine

anyway are you saying this may have nothing to do with the cold? If so maybe I will run by the dealer and ask about that idle thingie ma jig. Thanks for the input

Beamie · Post by **Beamie** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 2:03 am

peabody99 wrote:Ha. oh yes. I will go adjust the idle. right after I rebuild the engine anyway are you saying this may have nothing to do with the cold? If so maybe I will run by the dealer and ask about that idle thingie ma jig. Thanks for the input

Our choke acts differently in the cold weather. We have a fast idle for a good 3 to 5 minutes of warm-up. Maybe your choke is malfunctioning.

Post by **ericalm** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 2:16 am

peabody99 wrote:Ha. oh yes. I will go adjust the idle. right after I rebuild the engine anyway are you saying this may have nothing to do with the cold? If so maybe I will run by the dealer and ask about that idle thingie ma jig. Thanks for the input

You can adjust idle using the throttle valve screw. I'll go see if I can find it and take a picture.

peabody99 · Post by **peabody99** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 3:43 am

My dealer is just down the street. I presume this adjustment could be covered by warrenty? There is a ton of potential for me to screw this up

Post by **ericalm** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 4:30 am

peabody99 wrote:My dealer is just down the street. I presume this adjustment could be covered by warrenty? There is a ton of potential for me to screw this up

This sort of thing counts as routine maintenance, so if it's just an idle adjustment problem it's not really a warranty issue.

The skill required to do this is no more than the ability to use a screwdriver. If you're feeling adventurous, you can pop open the seat and unscrew the door at the bottom of the pet carrier. The idle adjust is the prominent screw at the top right of the opening (as indicated in photo below). Start the scoot and let it warm up a little.

The service manual says to use a tachometer, but really, I adjust this by ear and by feel... usually adjusting so that the rear tire starts to spin very slowly. I'll usually then take it for a ride and make another adjustment as needed. Is someone has a better method that doesn't require buying more hardware, I'm happy to hear it!

It will probably require as little as a quarter or half a clockwise turn to increase the idle just enough.

peabody99 · Post by **peabody99** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 2:38 pm

wow that might be doable. So the tire rotation should slow when I turn it clockwise? I am willing to maybe give this a shot...may need to wait until after vacation though. Thanks for the pic. It makes all the difference. If I do this I will report back.

Post by **ericalm** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 8:51 pm

peabody99 wrote:wow that might be doable. So the tire rotation should slow when I turn it clockwise? I am willing to maybe give this a shot...may need to wait until after vacation though. Thanks for the pic. It makes all the difference. If I do this I will report back.

From what I recall (from last night, using my often faulty memory), counterclockwise will lower idle, slowing the wheel. Clockwise will increase it, an the wheel will rotate more. There's an audible difference (you obviously don't want it revving too high when you're sitting at a stop) and on the Buddy I can actually feel the difference in idle when I ride.

This may be a temporary fix for your problem, though. When you bring your Buddy in for its mandatory 300 mile dealer maintenance you should mention the problem to them. They should check and adjust idle at that time anyway.

peabody99 · Post by **peabody99** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 2:01 am

Well I am way past the 300 mile mark (had service at 500 miles) I have about 1200 miles on my bud. It is due at 1500, but maybe this is an excuse to take him in early

Elm Creek Smith · Post by **Elm Creek Smith** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 4:48 am

I had a problem with stalling today. My question is how can a scooter that gets better than 80 mpg run out of gas? Answer, don't put any in it when it gets into the red.

I didn't have to push it far, (The gas station was downhill.) and it took 1.643 gallons. Started right up. To be fair, it spluttered just a bit 7 miles before it quit. A guy at the gas station suggested a coke bottle for a reserve fuel source, figgered it'd get me to a station.

That's a funny once, and I won't do that again.

ECS

polianarchy · Post by **polianarchy** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 5:03 pm

Elm Creek Smith wrote:A guy at the gas station suggested a coke bottle for a reserve fuel source, figgered it'd get me to a station.
ECS

Gas in a soda bottle? Is that safe?! Eek!

Post by **ericalm** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 5:38 pm

polianarchy wrote:
Elm Creek Smith wrote:A guy at the gas station suggested a coke bottle for a reserve fuel source, figgered it'd get me to a station.
ECS
Gas in a soda bottle? Is that safe?! Eek!

As long as it's a plastic bottle and you can get the gas into it...

weebl · Post by **weebl** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 1:51 am

I'd advise against the coke bottle idea... gas goes bad pretty quickly these days w. all the various additives. And putting bad gas in your tank isn't doing yourself any favors. Better to just keep an eye on the fuel gauge and fill 'er up when she's low.

Look on the bright side, at least you have a fuel gauge! My bike is premix, and the only way I can tell how much gas is left is to open the gas tank and look inside.

vitaminC · Post by **vitaminC** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 2:00 am

weebl wrote:I'd advise against the coke bottle idea... gas goes bad pretty quickly these days w. all the various additives. And putting bad gas in your tank isn't doing yourself any favors. Better to just keep an eye on the fuel gauge and fill 'er up when she's low.

I would worry more about the bottle leaking at the cap than the gas going bad. That being said, if you want to carry a bit of reserve, why not use a vessle designed for it, like these MSR bottles. If I were taking a long trip with uncertain gas stop intervals, I would probably throw one of these (with gas, of course) under the seat for extra insurance.

Elm Creek Smith · Post by **Elm Creek Smith** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 2:09 am

That looks like the ticket, vitaminC!

ECS

lou76 · Post by **lou76** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 8:02 am

ericalm wrote:It will probably require as little as a quarter or half a clockwise turn to increase the idle just enough.

i wouldn't turn it more than a quarter at a time... from my experience, it is probably pretty close, just a tweak needed... just remember that if you turn it tooooo far to the right, the rpms will be high enough to engage the clutch, and the back wheel will spin... you have some room to manuever, though....