Modern Buddy

I guess I screw up the stabilizer thing, and now my Buddy won't start. At least that's what I think.

I dug out my Buddy out of the tool shed today, put the battery in, and started her up. The engine ran for like 2 sec, then went dead. I tried the kick starter and it didn't work either. I thought something went horribly wrong, then I decided to check the gas cap... and the gas did smell quite bad... or so I thought.

So... what should I do? I guess I need to drain the bad gas out, but how do I go about that? And if I do manage to get the gas out... where do I take it to, do I take it to a auto-shop?

Well, I've never considered gas a sweet smelling substance... and, really, you shouldn't be sniffing it, any more than you should be sniffing glue or paint thinner. Not good for the lungs, etc.

Did you follow the directions on the bottle/can? With such a small tank, you wouldn't need much. On my lawnmower, I use a syringe to measure out how much I need to treat the one gallon worth I keep in storage, in my two gallon (plastic) gascan. After all, the label says the entire bottle (8 oz) will treat, what, 20 gallons? Hmmm... or was that 200?

Anyway, read (or re-read) the directions, to see what may have gone wrong. Don't want to repeat this, next time you need to store your scoot! (My lawnmower started and ran just fine, after being in storage all winter)...


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Some questions: how long has the scoot been in storage? Did it have a fresh tank of gas when you put it away? It should take a couple of solid months for good gas to go bad. Also, when you added the stabilizer, did you run the scoot for a while to circulate stabilized gas through the system?

Give your dealership a call and ask what they think. Personally, I wouldn't mess with gas. I'd have someone drain it and dispose of it. Once you get this figured out and get the bike started, you might want to add some fuel line cleaner to clear things up.

Also, check some obvious things like your spark plug and cable before blaming bad gas.

well, I was just hoping that I can do something this weekend to get the scooter running, since the weather is so nice. But I guess I will take the bike backo the dealer next week or two, since he's an hour away.

I thought I put enouhg stabilizer in there over the winter but I am not sure. I put the bike in sotrage in december, but the weather was nice for a few days in january, so I took it out for a spin or two.... not sure if that hurted it.

oh well, thanks for the advise.

There is a possibility that your spark plug might simply be fouled. Check it out...maybe, if some small amount of fuel had been left in the combustion chamber, it might have caused a little varnish build-up on the plug. It sure can't hurt, and it may get you on the road for the weekend...

--Keys

I had a problem when I bought some bad gas...somewhere...with some water in it. It got into the carb and caused all sorts of problems...hard starting, backfires, high idle at start to very low idle etc. It drove my dealer crazy for a bit then they figured out theat the slide in the carb was sticking. good luck

NotDavid

Thanks, guys. Do I need to take it back to my dealer (about an hour one-way), or can I take it to any motorcycle shops to check?

After talking to my friend, he said it could be a battery problem, because when I turn the key there's no noise...I did take out my battery and put it in a maintainer over the break, and the fuel gauge does move when I turn the key (so, at least the battery is connected and has enough power to power up the gauge).

I took the scooter to a local bike shop. Turned out the headlight didn't work but the turn signals work...so could be a weak battery, I guess.

Got my scooter back. Turned out to be a battery problem. Not sure how it happened... it was on a maintainer all winter Oh well, at least I have my buddy back

For maybe the last 2 weeks, with increasing frequency i've noticed that my 125 buddy won't start up the first time i turn it on. it always will stay started after the 2nd or 3rd time i try, but often i have to rev it a little to get it to stay alive. it was in my uncle's shed for the winter, from x-mas till the begining of march. when he got it out the battery was dead, but he charged if before i picked it up and seemed normal at the time. i've heard the spark plugs go out easily on these things, and i've heard the factory battery is not terribly reliable either. any suggestions appriciated!

other info: i bought my scoot in september of '06, and it currently has 1600-ish miles on it.

The spark plugs go bad??? I have almost 6000 miles on both my original spark plug and battery! Never had a moments problem with either! Now, if this were a 2-stroke Vespa, then yeah, spark plugs will get eaten with annoying regularity, but not a 4-stroke Buddy.

Now that I think about it, maybe I should check the plug....

--Keys