Modern Buddy

SW's is now selling a $60 pre-load adjustable YSS shock for the Buddy.
If one only rides solo, would this provide any improvement over the stock ride?
Anybody using one?

I don't know about the YSS, but from all reports the NCY makes a huge difference. I have yet to test ride the Blackjack, but those who have say that the ride is much better and it hugs corners better thanks to the shock.

I test drove the Blackjack, and the difference is AMAZING. I didn't feel any of the usual jarring as I went over potholes. I'm definitely upgrading to an NCY when I need a new shock.

I'm in a BlackJack, but still feel potholes. I suppose I need to adjust mine?

beeporama wrote:I'm in a BlackJack, but still feel potholes. I suppose I need to adjust mine?

I had to tune mine down to soft, it was set to super firm when I first got it.

Made a huge difference in getting jarred after i adjusted it.

i have the YSS shock, the middle level one, not the one w/ the reserve. it has made an outstanding improvement in my ride.

in actuality, i don't know if this is just in my head or not, but i feel like w/ this shock, i can enter a turn and feel the spring tense up and shoot me out of the turn when i throttle up.

i really like the YSS shock!

I just got the one from SW for sale to upgrade the standard. It helped quite a bit. More firm grip on the road. I am about 250, and we get lotsa potholes here.

Pretty worthwhile.

Ed Hit wrote:I just got the one from SW for sale to upgrade the standard. It helped quite a bit. More firm grip on the road. I am about 250, and we get lotsa potholes here.

Pretty worthwhile.

Is that the $59 one? I have a feeling the others here may be talking about the $149 or the $229 ones, which I am definitely NOT interested in...

Drumwoulf wrote:

Ed Hit wrote:I just got the one from SW for sale to upgrade the standard. It helped quite a bit. More firm grip on the road. I am about 250, and we get lotsa potholes here.

Pretty worthwhile.

Is that the $59 one? I have a feeling the others here may be talking about the $149 or the $229 ones, which I am definitely NOT interested in...

Yeah the $59 version. I talked to them about the higher end ones, and at least for my purposes (rough roads and my weight) they actually did not think the $149 one would make more of a difference than the $59. IIRC, they thought that the more expensive ones would be better for sportier performance like bombing into curves, but that was not what I needed/wanted, especially for another $100.

Excuse the dumb question, but would this kind of thing be what would help me out for riding with my daughter on the back and then riding without her?

I know that riding with a passenger is going to cause some differences in handling, and I accept that, but yesterday I had to make a quick stop and the first time ever I bottomed out the front shock. It kind of freaked me out a little, not to mention it was uncomfortable, to say the least. Together, we are right around the 250# weight class.

So would this kind of shock help out with the handling when carrying a passenger? Also, how difficult is it to adjust? Is that something I could change as needed for solo and 2 up riding or do you have to do a bunch of stuff to adjust?

-v

set it to "cloud" setting instead of "rock"

Vic wrote:Excuse the dumb question, but would this kind of thing be what would help me out for riding with my daughter on the back and then riding without her?

I know that riding with a passenger is going to cause some differences in handling, and I accept that, but yesterday I had to make a quick stop and the first time ever I bottomed out the front shock. It kind of freaked me out a little, not to mention it was uncomfortable, to say the least. Together, we are right around the 250# weight class.

So would this kind of shock help out with the handling when carrying a passenger? Also, how difficult is it to adjust? Is that something I could change as needed for solo and 2 up riding or do you have to do a bunch of stuff to adjust?

-v

It woudl help with carrying a passenger I think. (I should qualify all of my comments on this: Buddy is the only scooter I have ever owned, and this is the only shock change I have tried.) Certainly it helps with my weight.

Adjusting it IIRC (I do not do it regularly, as my weight stays alarmingly consistent now!) involves undoing the bottom bolt on the shock and then turning the shock by notches (using special wrench) to make a shorter or longer shock.

Not a big deal, but not something I want to do every single time I ride. For infrequent passenger use, probably just fine.

edited to talk about using wrench

I got that one awhile ago. It's not as good as the one on the Black Jack or the YSS piggy back one, but it definitely made $60 worth of improvement. Also it matches my black and white motif.

Ed Hit wrote:It woudl help with carrying a passenger I think. (I should qualify all of my comments on this: Buddy is the only scooter I have ever owned, and this is the only shock change I have tried.) Certainly it helps with my weight.

Adjusting it IIRC (I do not do it regularly, as my weight stays alarmingly consistent now!) involves undoing the bottom bolt on the shock and then turning the shock by notches to make a shorter or longer shock.

Not a big deal, but not something I want to do every single time I ride. For infrequent passenger use, probably just fine.

Huh? Undo the bottom bolt? Are you sure about that? I've had adjustable shocks on many, many motorbikes and they always just required twisting the shock into different notches with a special spanner wrench.. I've never heard of having to 'unbolt' an adjustable shock in order to change it's preload setting...???

Drumwoulf wrote:

Ed Hit wrote:It woudl help with carrying a passenger I think. (I should qualify all of my comments on this: Buddy is the only scooter I have ever owned, and this is the only shock change I have tried.) Certainly it helps with my weight.

Adjusting it IIRC (I do not do it regularly, as my weight stays alarmingly consistent now!) involves undoing the bottom bolt on the shock and then turning the shock by notches to make a shorter or longer shock.

Not a big deal, but not something I want to do every single time I ride. For infrequent passenger use, probably just fine.

Huh? Undo the bottom bolt? Are you sure about that? I've had adjustable shocks on many, many motorbikes and they always just required twisting the shock into different notches with a special spanner wrench.. I've never heard of having to 'unbolt' an adjustable shock in order to change it's preload setting...???

I just use the spanner wrench that came with it. You have to undo the bolts on your airbox and move it a little though. It gets in the way.

djelliott wrote:

Drumwoulf wrote:

Ed Hit wrote:It woudl help with carrying a passenger I think. (I should qualify all of my comments on this: Buddy is the only scooter I have ever owned, and this is the only shock change I have tried.) Certainly it helps with my weight.

Adjusting it IIRC (I do not do it regularly, as my weight stays alarmingly consistent now!) involves undoing the bottom bolt on the shock and then turning the shock by notches to make a shorter or longer shock.

Not a big deal, but not something I want to do every single time I ride. For infrequent passenger use, probably just fine.

Huh? Undo the bottom bolt? Are you sure about that? I've had adjustable shocks on many, many motorbikes and they always just required twisting the shock into different notches with a special spanner wrench.. I've never heard of having to 'unbolt' an adjustable shock in order to change it's preload setting...???

I just use the spanner wrench that came with it. You have to undo the bolts on your airbox and move it a little though. It gets in the way.

I actually am pretty sure that the mechanic said to remove the bottom bolt. But as I say, I do not do it really, so I would take DJ's word over mine. There is in fact a spanner wrench you have to use, thanks for pointing that out. i fixed my original post.

He may have had me do that to avoid messing with the airbox which makes sense. If I undo the bottom bolt, I can pull it away from the airbox slightly, and have clearance to turn the wrench. May be an issue with space, not necessarily having to do with design of the shock.

If it makes a big difference, I will try to relook at that for you, but I am actually leaving town for a week, so may not be able to right away. Better to take DJelliots word.

Which is best YSS or NCY? What's the prices of these 2 please.Thanks...

Bumping this. I think I need to know the better deal vs performance.

Is the $60 shock good enough?

Do you really have to undo everything to adjust it?

Thanks,

I put the YSS Piggyback on my 170 but don't notice much of a difference. I've turned down the compression adjustment as far as it will go and it's still very stiff.

Considering getting the NCY adjustable instead.

I put NCY adjustable on the back and the front shocks on, too. I love the way my scooter handles (save for that sparkplug deal the other day).

My motto is "buy nice or buy twice". Nice doesn't mean the most expensive. And I'm not even sure the YSS is "not nice". I just know that NCY adjustable is the cream of the crop and not THAT pricey. Mine's been on for roughly 12k miles. I never actually adjust it. I tinkered with it at first but it's set well for the kind of riding I do. I still feel potholes but not as jarring and I just try to avoid those all together

I think I'll try it out. I have the NCY forks on the front already. I just got suckered into the mystique of the reservoir.

djbokka wrote:I put the YSS Piggyback on my 170 but don't notice much of a difference. I've turned down the compression adjustment as far as it will go and it's still very stiff.

Considering getting the NCY adjustable instead.

I had the YSS piggyback on my Buddy 125 and found it to be very good compared to the stock shock, firm but controlled like good sport suspension should be. I think the YSS is meant to be a sport shock, not necessarily a super soft shock. That said, I found it to have a quite comfortable ride. The YSS rear shock with NCY front forks really transformed the handling of my 125.

I haven't ridden on the NCY rear shock, but I'm sure it's quite good also.

Scooter suspension is never going to be great. Small wheels, high unsprung weight (the whole engine pivots with the swingarm), and a simple swingarm/straight shock design make for a relatively harsh ride on choppy stuff compared to modern motorcycles.

I had the YSS piggyback on my Buddy 125 and found it to be very good compared to the stock shock, firm but controlled like good sport suspension should be. I think the YSS is meant to be a sport shock, not necessarily a super soft shock. That said, I found it to have a quite comfortable ride. The YSS rear shock with NCY front forks really transformed the handling of my 125.

You're absolutely right about it handling like good sport suspension should. I'm not in ANY way trying to say anything negative about YSS or this specific model. It's great quality, looks very nice and operates well. I'm simply saying for my personal preference, it's still a little stiff. It's a great product though, no doubt.

I had a YSS on one of my Buddy 50s and it did improve the ride because of it's softer spring and you could adjust rebound.
The best ride of all comes from purchasing a shock/spring combination that is compatable with the riders weight and has rebound control. Preload only sets the ride height (sag), but you still need it of course. Compression adjustment is only really necessary for racing.
Nothing is available for scooters, as far as I know, that meets the above requirements.
On the little 50 a change in the rear suspension will only help to soften up an otherwise stiff ride. The scooter doesn't go fast enough for suspension changes to make any difference in the twisties.
The 125 and 150, on the other hand, have both front and rear performance suspension parts available and can truly benefit.

Installed the white $62 YSS shock and very pleased with the results. At setting #2, the ride is smoother and less jarring than the stock shock. Perhaps the more expensive shocks gives even a better ride, but I don't have any experience with them except in my car which has stiffer, sport springs. Better ride especially on tight curves, but a much stiffer harsher ride.

Most of my roads are flat and fairly smooth (S. Florida). The ride overall is much more comfortable. Note that at that setting the suspension has a bit of springiness to it and not so firm. For my type of cruising, it is perfect. Would recommend if only you are seeking a smoother ride as performance requires a firmer ride. That is the trade off with shocks. Also I weight around 170 lbs.