Please help mw start my scooter

gurujalr · Post by **gurujalr** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 11:54 pm

I bought a buddy2006 for my wife a couple of monthsago. I rode it home from the dealer and let my wife try it in the driveway, where she promptly procedded to wipe out. We took it into the garage where it has sat sibce then. My wife took the manual to study it,; it has now disapeared. I now cannot start the scooter. When I put the key to start it wont honk, turn on the signals, turno the light or turn on the motor. As I recall, I turned it off by hitting a kill switch on the handlebar. I have tried starting it with this switch in both positions to no avail. I don't know if I left the lights on by mistake(is that possible?). I tried to kick start it bt not only did that not work, but afterwards the buddy started to smell of gas and a small amount of gas or oil lleaked out of the back near where the kick start is.located. Morever it seemed to need an excessive amount of force to even dpress the kick starter( I noticed this on the day I bought it). It seemed to require less force to engage it if the yellow start switch was depressed. My question are: can give me step by step instructions on how to start hte scooter? Is it possible the battery is dead? How could I determine if this is the case? And arent you supposed to be able to kick start the scooter regardless.? Finally is the has leakage just from a flooded engine? The accident was very slow and really just involve my wife felling off the scooter while it was almost stationary. It ran fine afterwards for over half an hour

prttynpnk · Post by **prttynpnk** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 12:23 am

Make sure your holding in the brake when your trying to start the scooter. I overlooked this the first time I tried to start mine.

Keys · Post by **Keys** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 12:30 am

If it has sat for any length of time, it is very likely the battery is dead...particularly if the key was left on and just the kill switch was turned off. I think it's very likely that if you let it sit this whole time with the key switch on, it may not start by kicking it. Leaving the lights on is not an issue since even with the key in the on position, the headlights don't come on until the engine is running...HOWEVER, the entire electrical system is activated and there is current going to the ignition system. You will almost certainly need a new battery to be able to start it.

As for kick-starting it, like any single cylinder engine, you need to find top-dead-center. Slowly depress the kick lever until you encounter more resistance. This is top-dead-center. Once you find this spot, let the lever back up to the highest point and proceed to kick it vigorously through. You MAY need a little gas, most don't. Mine does. Also, when kicking, you do not need to depress the brake lever.

--Keys

weebl · Post by **weebl** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 5:42 am

To start your buddy, go through the following:

1) put the key in the ignition to the on position
2) flip the kill switch (by the right grip) to the circle, not the circle with the X in it
3) hold in the left (rear) brake with your left hand
4) press the yellow button and hold for a second or two

If that doesn't work, it's likely the battery. If you want to try kickstarting it, make SURE you go through the half-kick that keys mentions above... if you just start wailing on it without getting things in the right place you run the risk of stripping your kickstart gear. And then it REALLY won't start!

Post by **ericalm** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 6:03 am

And (to add to the kickstarting tips) if you need to give it gas, don't give it any before you try to kick it—wait until engine starts to sputter. You can easily flood the engine by giving it too much.

BUT... it may not even kickstart, even if the problem is just a dead battery.

If you'll be letting it sit for any period of time you may want to invest (about $30) for a battery tender, which will keep it charged up.

As far as the scoot, in general, goes: Hopefully your wife hasn't given up! The best thing to do is take the MSF class. My wife—who had never ridden anything on 2-wheels other than a bicycle—learned to ride pretty quickly, and she was terrified at first. We both were. A lot of it had to do with having a patient and experienced rider other than me take her through her first ride. Our dealer gave her a very good lesson before I rode it to a parking lot for her to practice.