Modern Buddy

I am such a klutz and have dropped my buddy around 5-8 times when I try to find parking or am in parking lot areas. It's because I am petite and klutzy. Does anyone else find that they drop their's a lot? Have you broken something from that? I think I only scuffed it today, but am worried I broke something.

You might want to consider attending a Motorcycle Safety Course to get some help in how to handle moving a two wheeled vehicle around.

I am only 5'2.25" and I have never dropped my Buddy. I dropped my Sym RV250 once because I was not paying close enough attention, but that is much bigger and heavier than a Buddy.

Waht kinds of situations are you dropping the scooter?

Welcome, by the way.

-v

My Buddy dropped itself once. I put it on the side stand and left it running so I could close my garage door. That's how I learned not to use the side stand while the engine is running. The engine at cold idle ran fast enough to push Buddy forward and tip to the left while I watched in disbelief. Only scuffed and loosened the left mirror. I've had a few close calls with debris on the road causing me to lose traction, never dropped though.

This is pathetic, but I took the safety course, had to withdraw because I did not handle the motorcycle very well, and it was my first time handling a motorcycle. The course did help me a lot on the road though. I finally got my license using the buddy.

I dropped it mostly while I was practicing for the riding skills test. This time, I tried to take a shortcut on the sidewalk to the place I usually park my bike, had to walk it up a curb, and dropped it. I am dropping it less, but it's so disappointing everytime I do it!

wfan:

Where do you usually practice and what exactly do you practice doing?

I'm a pretty small girl, too. 5'0, @ 100lbs. When I first got my Buddy, I had to get used to the weight distribution and how to keep it upright. The first 2-3 days I had it, I practiced holding up the bike, going a little bit and braking. I still do this before going for a ride just to feel comfortable on the bike. Maybe you should try that? Good luck!

Now I have my license, and I've mastered the u-turns and cone weaves, i no longer am practicing, but riding more. I had practiced in empty parking lots and I dropped it because I was getting impatient then careless everytime I'd screw up.

I think I just have to really be more patient and careful next time. My main concern is, do drops like these do major damage on the bike?

gr8dog wrote:My Buddy dropped itself once. I put it on the side stand and left it running so I could close my garage door. That's how I learned not to use the side stand while the engine is running. The engine at cold idle ran fast enough to push Buddy forward and tip to the left while I watched in disbelief. Only scuffed and loosened the left mirror. I've had a few close calls with debris on the road causing me to lose traction, never dropped though.

lol. I did the exact same thing! high five!

wfan wrote:Now I have my license, and I've mastered the u-turns and cone weaves, i no longer am practicing, but riding more. I had practiced in empty parking lots and I dropped it because I was getting impatient then careless everytime I'd screw up.

I think I just have to really be more patient and careful next time. My main concern is, do drops like these do major damage on the bike?

Drops are usually just cosmetic. But that can get expensive. Two things to be on the lookout for when you do drop it is the mirrors (a drop can weaken the metal and cause it to snap off later while you're moving) and the front alignment. If you find that it's not tracking straight, get it to a dealer to fix. In an emergency, you can grip the front wheel with your knees and twist the handlebars (it twists in the bar clamp). This is not the ideal way to do it, but if you're stranded it works. To properly fix handlebar alignment, you have to take the plastics off and use the right tools to reset it.

Give it a good going over after every drop so that you're not surprised while you're in motion.

If you find yourself dropping it after getting frustrated performing a particular maneuver, take a break or switch to a maneuver that you're more familiar with. This will relieve your frustration and boost your confidence.

A lot of riding is mental. If you're not focused or frustrated, get off the bike and cool off/relax. The other part is just practice. Give it time, you'll get the hang of it.

Thanks Lostmycage, that was very helpful! This is my first post ever and got a lot of good feedback. Thanks for the welcome!

wfan wrote:Thanks Lostmycage, that was very helpful! This is my first post ever and got a lot of good feedback. Thanks for the welcome!

Oh, right... I missed that. Welcome to ModernBuddy.

Be sure to check out the New member section and the MB Guides and FAQ section. There's a lot of good info in there contributed by a lot of members on a multitude of topics. As a new member, if you find yourself with questions that aren't in the Guides, I'd be happy to hear them; there could very well be a topic or 5 that could be included in the FAQs.

LMC is right-on, but I'd add your brake levers. They are the most prone to breaking when the scooter is dropped.

wfan, how about taking the MSF course again? It sounds like you could do with a bit more help. If you're not interested, then check out the MSF website. There's a ton of great info there: http://www.msf-usa.org/

Thanks! Good info! I absorbed the concepts in the MSF, but just need to put them into practice better as I gain more experience. I am scared of riding those big motorcycles again, but that web site is helpful!

My husband says I ride pretty well on the road (we ride together often), but just need to be more careful and stop and breathe (he's the opposite of klutzy me).

Thanks again!!

The MSF recently looked into starting Scooter specific BRCs. I'm not sure how wide spread they are, but it could very well be worth looking into.

Poly's right, the brake levers can be a casualty of drops and a pretty serious one at that. Include that in your inspections should it go down again.

I've "dropped" my buddy like 3 times. Not pushing it around in a parking lot though. Once I was swerving to avoid a cat
at about 35mph and skid down the road, the other 2 times I was cornering too tight on slick/sandy corners. Not to be
offensive, but maybe you're not that klutzy, maybe you just need to work out a little.

I took a quick work break and checked my brake levers and they look okay. The real test is when I ride home.

Krusty - any major damages?

I haven't dropped my Buddy yet. *knock on wood* I did drop my Metropolitan once when I was parking on a grate and the centerstand slipped into one of the holes in the grate.

Ever since the one time I dropped my Met, when taking my scoot off/on the centerstand I get a firm grasp on the rear bar to steady the scoot.

I might also suggest looking into a pilates or yoga class. Anything that helps you strengthen your core will help your balance!

If it's been dropped atleast 8 times, the steering column may not be straight. It can go out of alignment from a hard fall.

It sounds like most of your drops happen at low speeds? I would suggest that you get off of the scooter and push it into parking spaces, if that's the circumstance of your drops. There's no shame in that. I'm excessively petite too (4'10") and can handle my scooter just fine. When you push it, rest it against your hip while maneuvering.

pdxrita wrote:It sounds like most of your drops happen at low speeds? I would suggest that you get off of the scooter and push it into parking spaces, if that's the circumstance of your drops. There's no shame in that. I'm excessively petite too (4'10") and can handle my scooter just fine. When you push it, rest it against your hip while maneuvering.

I do this, too! Especially when parking. It's just easier for me to do it that way. When I go to the grocery store, I actually push my scooter up onto the sidewalk and park it next to the regular bike racks. The parking lot is slanted because it's on a hill, so it's safer to park my scooter here.

myras_girls wrote:Iwhen taking my scoot off/on the centerstand I get a firm grasp on the rear bar to steady the scoot.

Am I wierd for sitting on my scooter when taking it off the center stand?

I sit on mine when taking it off the center stand all the time. I use my stomach/abdominal area muscles to push forward against the headset/body.

Lostmycage wrote:The MSF recently looked into starting Scooter specific BRCs. I'm not sure how wide spread they are, but it could very well be worth looking into.

They just started offering the scooter option this year with the MSF classes in this area (it might be all of Indiana, I'm not sure). You actually attend the same class simultaneously with the motorcycles. Good thing because my wife never would have taken the MSF if she had to worry about shifting gears, but did so on a scoot. I'm much more at peace when she rides the scoot now.

Rob

jfrost2 wrote:I sit on mine when taking it off the center stand all the time. I use my stomach/abdominal area muscles to push forward against the headset/body.

Thats what I do. Glad I'm not a freak.

I've only dropped my Buddy once (not sure if this really counts) when a lady pulled out and made a left in front of me and I hit her.

I take my Buddy off it's center stand before I get on--mainly for two reasons: 1. I have a windshield, and it's awkward for me to sit on the scooter and rock forward without bumping into the windshield, and 2. because I think it puts a lot less stress on my back to NOT be sitting on it to take it off the center stand. I have lower back issues, so I have to think about stuff like that a lot...

My husband always sits on his Piaggio Fly 150 when he takes it off the center stand...and he has a windshield. Go figure! (but he's 5 inches taller than me, so that's probably why he can do that)

michelle_7728 wrote:I've only dropped my Buddy once (not sure if this really counts) when a lady pulled out and made a left in front of me and I hit her.

That doesn't count. A drop is literally dropping the bike while at low or no speed. You had an accident. If someone asks you (should you sell it, etc) if it's been down, the answer is still yes, it just wasn't a drop and therefore not your fault (that one's for your pride).

then she wrote: I take my Buddy off it's center stand before I get on--mainly for two reasons: 1. I have a windshield, and it's awkward for me to sit on the scooter and rock forward without bumping into the windshield, and 2. because I think it puts a lot less stress on my back to NOT be sitting on it to take it off the center stand. I have lower back issues, so I have to think about stuff like that a lot...

My husband always sits on his Piaggio Fly 150 when he takes it off the center stand...and he has a windshield. Go figure! (but he's 5 inches taller than me, so that's probably why he can do that)

Getting the Buddy off the center stand can be done with little effort from the side of the scoot but it seems to me that it would put more stain on your back from the combined movements of pushing it off then mounting the bike. I'm not familiar with your injury and have no idea how certain movements effect you; but there's more twists and lifts involved in pushing it off the stand then getting on.

When you pushed it off before, did you try to push with your arms, or did you use your abdomen to bump it? Standing between the seat and headset, giving it a gentile combination of the two will result in very little effort on your part and could possibly be easier on your back.

The advantage of taking off with a hip bump while on the bike is more control. You're standing on the ground with two hands on the bars. It's about as stable as you can be on a bike. It also minimizes twisting and lower back flex.

My RV250 is big and I struggle to handle it, especially getting it on and off of the center stand, this particular scooter has the sidestand wired in so that the engine won't run if the sidestand is deployed, so I never have any worries about it taking off without me.

Anyway, I always use the side stand, with the exception of when I am gassing up-it has to be on the center stand to gas up, and then I put the side stand down, get off of the scooter, pop it onto the center stand, gas up, then bring it down from the center stand and onto the side stand, then hop on, put the side stand up and start the engine.

I also put the side stand down while I am still on the scooter, I have much better control while sitting on the bike and I can sense and respond to it tilting faster from there than standing beside it trying to control it with jsut my arms.

I dropped my first scooter by putting the side stand down with the engine running and it moved forward off of the side stand and onto it's side.

Never, ever leave a scooter on it's side stand running unless you have your hands on the brake too.

Scratch that, just don't leave a scooter running on the side stand.

-v

I sit on mine too all the time when sitting on the center stand. No drops today.. thank God!! Thanks for all the awesome feedback.

I took mine out for lunch today, and I do get nervous about people rear ending me, especially when I make a turn and have to slow down. I try to flash my brake lights as I learned in MSF, but still the thought of someone rear ending me scares me.

Do you have trouble pushing it when it's off? I have to park under a set of stairs guiding it around my neighbors steps. I get off it and guide as that's the easiest way to navigate it into the tight spot. I'm not tall but I'm not small either so pushing the 225lbs isn't tough for me. I always get it on & off the center stand with one hand over the rear brake and the other hand on the rear rack. That way I'm supporting the scooter it's entire length and it falls, it's towards me and I'll be able to hold it up. When I start my day, I push the scoot to the driveway to where I can let it warm up (which is NOT right outside the neighbor's door) then I start it while on it's centerstand.

I've never used my kickstand except to try and trigger turn signals. It seems like the kickstand is a surefire way for the little buddy to get tipped.

I hope your buddy is ok. and enjoy scooting!

Can you describe what's happening when you drop it? Are you steering with the handlebars while riding at low speed?

Also, what kind of shoes are you wearing?

It's often difficult to maintain balance when steering like this at low speeds. Turning into spaces, pulling out of parking lots and so on are particularly tough. Some of this will improve with practice and experience.

This may happen a couple times, but I have to say, 5-8 is probably too many and may be indicative that there's something you're just not getting or some problem you're having handling the scooter.

As far as the MSF goes, in a lot of places you can take it on your Buddy. I can't recommend taking and completing the course enough. It's difficult to master the skills yourself—and know that you're doing it right. Having an experienced trainer there to watch and give feedback is invaluable.

Getting the Buddy off the center stand can be done with little effort from the side of the scoot but it seems to me that it would put more stain on your back from the combined movements of pushing it off then mounting the bike. I'm not familiar with your injury and have no idea how certain movements effect you; but there's more twists and lifts involved in pushing it off the stand then getting on.

When you pushed it off before, did you try to push with your arms, or did you use your abdomen to bump it? Standing between the seat and headset, giving it a gentile combination of the two will result in very little effort on your part and could possibly be easier on your back.

The advantage of taking off with a hip bump while on the bike is more control. You're standing on the ground with two hands on the bars. It's about as stable as you can be on a bike. It also minimizes twisting and lower back flex.

I hear you. When I didn't have a windshield I would sit on the scooter to take it off the stand, but with a windshield and my shorter legs, and (let's face it) a bit of a tummy, it is seriously awkward to do that. I have to really jerk forward, then only have a couple inches I can lean before I bump the windshield. Believe me, it's not a pretty sight!

As long as I am deliberate, and move smoothly, it works well for me standing on the side--I guess it's what you get used to. ...and I'm really good about grabbing the left brake hard so it doesn't go any where without me while it's still warming up! But you are right, if I don't move smoothly and deliberately it is really easy to torque my back doing that--I did once or twice when I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing.

Just for the heck of it, try this for a week.

While it's on it's center stand, straddle the bike (butt off the seat, this is important) and with a loose grip in the handlebars and a finger on each brake, give it a firm belly/hip bump on the headset to knock it off it's center stand while nudging it ever-so-slightly forward with your hands. Use your two fingers to apply the brakes once it's down so that it's still under control.

I'm extremely cautious about my back... I did really stupid stuff to it when I was younger and didn't know better. It might be an awkward motion for you and it'll probably look ridiculous, but a well balanced thrust with your core muscles will be a lot easier on your spine than an awkward twist, push and lift motion.

If that still seems more difficult after an honest week's worth of trying it, go back to the side push method and be on your merry way. If it works, you'll be quite glad for the change. If it doesn't, you'll be no worse for the wear.

Lostmycage wrote:Just for the heck of it, try this for a week.

While it's on it's center stand, straddle the bike (butt off the seat, this is important) and with a loose grip in the handlebars and a finger on each brake, give it a firm belly/hip bump on the headset to knock it off it's center stand while nudging it ever-so-slightly forward with your hands. Use your two fingers to apply the brakes once it's down so that it's still under control.

I'm extremely cautious about my back... I did really stupid stuff to it when I was younger and didn't know better. It might be an awkward motion for you and it'll probably look ridiculous, but a well balanced thrust with your core muscles will be a lot easier on your spine than an awkward twist, push and lift motion.

If that still seems more difficult after an honest week's worth of trying it, go back to the side push method and be on your merry way. If it works, you'll be quite glad for the change. If it doesn't, you'll be no worse for the wear.

+1, thats how I usually get it off the stand. Works just fine.

Yeh, I take it off the center stand while straddling the bike. I actually am not having trouble dropping the bike at low speeds and I am on it. I think in that particular situation, I was in a hurry and tried to take the short way and just ran into the curb. I am just going to take my time from now on when I am on the bike, taking the long way if I have to. Because of this thread, I have stopped ever leaving my bike running when it's on the kickstand!

i too am another petite girl (5.0, 100lbs). i can take my scoot off the center stand while seated as well as park it sitting on it, but i find both menuvers much easier when standing next to it. i actually have much more control this way, leaning it against my hip slightly so as not to drop it away from me. if i'm sitting on it, i'm pushing it around on my tippy toes which gives me little traction and increases my chances of it leaning to the point of an uncotrolled drop. and yes, please think about taking the msf course again. i took it almost a year after having my lisence (i took the test at the dmv's little obsticle course) and 6000 miles under my belt; i still learned a ton. also, i took the course on my buddy, because i was unsure if i'd be able to fit on a motorcycle. turns out i could, so i used the motorcycle for part of one of the days, but took the test on my buddy. (i think that especially for someone who is very new to riding, it is important to learn to ride the vehicle you are planning to ride around every day). the instructors were really cool about giving me some little tips about my scooter and riding too. good luck!

jfrost2 wrote:I sit on mine when taking it off the center stand...

I'm 6ft and do this, it is easier than taking it off the center stand while standing next to it. I started doing it when I was new to scooting and have just kept doing it this way.

Besides with your feet down you can "catch it" if it gets off balance.

mine has been dropped while standing still due to wind, frustrated thieves, and landscapers of bad intent. oh yes and once riding too fast on wet grass.
just some scrapes on the plastic and a bent brake handle. no big whoop.
each time it dropped i had it looked over by a professional and nothing was ever needing fixed. i was also told they are tougher than they look, but these falls were mostly at 0 mph so take it with a grain of salt and of course your results may vary.

I just started out so I am not the one to talk but for what its worth I am beginning to recall much of what I learned in the safety course. I am glad I took the test for permit because I realised how much I forgot from the safety course. Like keeping my eyes on where I want to go, slow down before the turn or curb and speed up when entering the curb or turn to stabilize the bike. Leaning into the curb vs. keeping body straight at slow turns. I forgot many of those things and they are really important. Today was my 3rd ride after getting the Buddy. I parked the bike after the ride between mine and my mom's cars. First time I walked the bike in but not today. Today I parked. I guess I have to start practicing cone weaves. U-turns I've been doing plenty of thanks to 4 or 5 cul de sacs in our neighborhood.
I too had problems during the safety course. Namely the Rebels clutch that was tight and too far for my hand to grab. My hand was numb. It was 100 degree heat with humidity, a true boot camp. I washed out on the tight curb. I managed figure 8, the sudden stop and the swerve. I learned from all of that. During practice I could not manage figure 8 because I was going too slow into the box and once inside I was loosing balance because of low speed when I had to do a tight turn. So today when I was tightening up the turn in a cu de sac I added some speed and the turn was more stable . Same as during the test. When I took the safety course I laid down the bike once. I mean I held on to it until the instructor came up and helped me. We got it down then back up. I know exactly why it happened. The front wheel was turned , not straight and I had practically no speed. So the bike tilted and I could not straighten it out once that happened. Not 350 lbs of it. It was an important lesson to learn. Fortunately it was not learned on my personal bike. I did work out before taking the safety course and I still work the upper arms and legs (weights and resistance. Sit ups are good too. It does not have to be hours. You can do 15-20 minutes concentrating on specific areas. I am not into heavy exercising but I feel I have to do some or I am afraid I would not be able to manage the bike