Modern Buddy

Okay - guys. We need your logic and input on a "Which scooter to sell?" decision. You've helped us out so many times before and its been great. We're looking to you again . . . Here's the senerio:
Hubby has a 2007 Blur (charcoal & blk) with 1,650 BDUs
I have a 2008 Buddy St. Tropez 150 with 650 BDUs (still breaking it in).
After riding the Blur for two summers now, hubby has decided (and I agree) that the sports style of the Blur is not a good fit for his body (6'3" - 220 lb. - 34" inseam). On the highway he cannot reach 60 mph (currently no windscreen) and his knees nearly touch the bottom of the handle bars no matter where he sits on the seat. So he is looking at a used Piaggio or Aprilla 250.
Yesterday I was preparing a Craig'sList ad for the Blur when a thought jumps in my head and I start doing the math. I bought my Buddy St. Tropez in the dead of last winter and got a super deal on it. I have watched others sell their Blurs and it seems like you have to find a buyer that knows what a Blur is and has an appreciation for it's design. In Fargo we have a much smaller scooter market than a lot of other places so I wonder how hard it will be to sell the Blur.
On the other hand my Buddy St. Tropez looks like a scooter and is pretty dressed up with its chrome accessories (front & rear rack, passenger foot rests, & short Cuppini windscreen). I'm wondering if I could actually sell the St. Tropez for more cash and in a quicker amount of time. BUT I love the St. Tropez. I also love the sports MC feel of riding the Blur and I have no problem popping it up to 65 mph without a windscreen (I'm 5'1" - 113 lbs.). The Blur's handling is just flat out awesome!

If we sell the St. Tropez I become the Blur's new owner. I am willing to ride either scooter and just want hubby to be able to get into another scooter that he can enjoy without it costing us an extra 2K. So here are some things I like about each. But I'd really appreciate knowing what you guys and gals think about this scenario. Post away!

Blur Likes:
- Smoother ride (better suspension)
- Braking is definitely better
- I get blown around less with more gross weight & wider tires, more stability (wind is always present here on the northern plains)

Buddy Likes:
- Color (more girly look'n)
- Quicker off the line
- Better gas mileage
- Definitely better lighting
- More carrying capacity
- A little higher top end speed (but going 70 mph on the St. Tropez feels ifffy as far as stability)
- Seat height fits my 28" inseam (would have to cut the Blur seat down 2 - 2.5" to fit)

From a strictly practical standpoint, I believe that you'll have a much, much easier time selling the Buddy. There are a lot more of them out there, so folks should be more familiar with the brand/model. Also, they're still in production, which is a huge plus.

Believe me, I've been trying to sell my Blur "on and off" for months with barely a nibble. They're wonderful machines, but sort of doomed to live in obscurity.

It ultimately comes down to which one do you want to ride.

Personally, I love the suspension and brakes of the Blur. I've already started setting funds aside to buy the new version should it make it to the states (HINT HINT GENUINE!).

You can repaint the Blur to be nice and girly if you want, and cutting down the seat isn't too hard a task. The storage between the two scoots definitely favors the Buddy because of the front rack, but the Blur's rear rack can handle a hell of a lot more weight.

If the defining quality is the ride, I'd keep the Blur. If it's looks, I'd go with the Buddy. Since it's in between.... well, that's a tough call, lol.

I vote keep the Blur, but then again, I'm pretty biased. I'd wager that a few folks in this section will be equally biased, hehe.

Yeah, guys, I hear ya. I've thought all those things. Do you think I should also post this discussion in the "General" discussion to hear from Buddy owners as well? Today hubby suggested putting both scooters up For Sale and just see which one sells first. Maybe a good idea?

More input can never hurt. Your husband's idea isn't a bad one, if you're that undecided.

What I'd do is ride one exclusively for a week, then the other. See if that makes up your mind. If not, put them both up for sale and see which one wins.

I can move this thread to the General Discussion if you like, and leave a "Ghost thread" here, that way there won't be two threads going.

Drop me a PM if you'd like me to do that.

Bryan

i was about to suggest the same thing your husband said...that is prob the way to go if you are not super biased about which one to keep.

Since so many folks have posted in my Blackjack vs. Vespa thread, I thought the least I could do is reciprocate...

I'd go for what you like best. It's already been decided that your spouse will be procuring a better-fitting scoot. If you keep what you want, and he gets what he wants, there will be no regrets.

Of course, this applies only if both parties frequently scoot together. If you were to keep your Blur, sells the St. Tropez, buys the Aprilia, and he never rides the new Aprilia... well, you're out of the scoot you want AND the purchase price of the new scoot!

I'd paint the Blur in St. Tropez colors and sell the Buddy. There's plenty of brighter headlights out there for the GMax if you do that much night time riding too. It comes down to the better high speed stability and suspension of the Blur for me. Paint and headlights are cheaper than suspension and chassis mods. Of course I am not biased between the two because I don't have either one. I'm just looking at your pros and cons from a different view. At the end of the day the question is do you keep a great scoot, or a different great scoot?

Thanks, guys, for your posts. After a few days of thinking about it we've decided that I should put the Buddy St. Tropez up For Sale and keep the Blur. I was a little sad at first cause I've only had the St. Tropez since April, but now I'm actually looking forward to riding the Blur (once I get the seat lowered). Hubby is going to check out a Kymco People 250 this weekend. I will probably post the Buddy on Craigs List tomorrow. Thanks again for your input - it was very helpful.

If the Blur comes back which it seems like it will new accessories will be available from Genuine again.

the people non-S 250 is an awesome bike.
my husband LOVES his.
rides it on interstates no problem.
he is a big guy, 6-3

Hey, there,
I've been on the Blur for two weeks now and it's going good. Cut that seat down twice before I got it where I needed it. Hubby brought his 07 Kymco People 250 home last weekend. He is enjoying his ride very much, but every time we start the scooters up together he looks longingly at the Blur and goes, "I'll never find a ride like that again." Kinda feel bad for the guy, but he was really too cramped on the Blur.
Anyway, I'm wondering if any of you know of any discussion boards for Kymco scooters? The Kymco owners manual, like the Genuine owners manuals, just don't give the info that experienced owners can. I've searched the web, but I'm not finding anything. Ideas? Guess I've kind of gotten spoiled here on MB.

I think the closest thing you will find is a maxi-scooter board. There is a yahoo group. http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/maxi-scooters/

As a Blur owner, I support your decision to keep the Blur. The Buddy is a great scooter, but I think most riders who have experience with both would say the Blur is a bit more practical and you certainly don't give up anything in handling or braking. I think you will appreciate being out of the wind a little more on the Blur than the Buddy when those Alberta Clippers start rolling in this fall. Financially, the Blur isn't nearly as easy to sell as the Buddy. Plus, you've joined our little cult!

Go to this link and scroll down. There's a mess of P250 resources (including a link to a service manual) down near the bottom left.

http://scootgirl.com/

PS: Damn straight on the Blur being hard to sell.

Will the Blur have parts available in the future should you need em? Just a thought.

Parts should be available for quite some time down the road, whether Genuine brings back another iteration or not. This bike's pretty popular in Taiwan (There's a pic in one of the Blur threads where there's a parking lot full of highly customized G-Maxes that probably surpasses the number of Blurs on the road in the States. The issue will be waiting for Genuine to get the parts in if they don't have them in stock.

As for the Headlight, Check out the PIAA HS1 lamp. Same draw as stock (35/35) but it's actually a good deal brighter. I was skeptical of this for a long time then I said to heck with it, let's try it. It's a decent improvement, although a little pricey. It'll also fit in the Buddy.

Cheapest I've found @$33.79+ship.

http://www.kymcoforum.com/

Not as big as MB but it does exist!

As for the Headlight, Check out the PIAA HS1 lamp. Same draw as stock (35/35) but it's actually a good deal brighter. I was skeptical of this for a long time then I said to heck with it, let's try it. It's a decent improvement, although a little pricey. It'll also fit in the Buddy.

Yeap, it's true. I had already changed my Blur's headlight to a PIAA HS1, much better. Hubby just commented the other day about how far away he could see me when he had pulled over to wait for me after I decided to stop for the red light he drove through in front of me.

And thanks everyone for the Kymco discussion forum links! I'm sure we'll be using them.