Going the Distance

[professorbrother]

I have 1.3k miles on my '09 125 I bought in September.

Back in late October and around 900 miles on the odometer, I had an issue w/ my scoot dying:

viewtopic.php?t=13483&highlight=

The guys at the shop could never replicate the problem and simply vented the gas cap. I've ridden trouble-free for 400 miles since then.

This weekend is shaping up for me to take my first long distance ride (230 miles each way). I will be traveling long distance near WOT for the first time beyond only a minute or so on urban roads.

Just wondering if anyone w/ experience thinks this is a terrible idea for my engine? Six hours of riding with 50% (or more) at full-throttle after 1,300 miles of break-in.

I also just want to say that I love this forum! This community is a huge reason I felt good about buying a Buddy.

[Lostmycage]

Your Buddy is broken in. The bike should be fine.

It's only a bad idea if you as a rider are not ready for such a trip.

[Kaos]

I've done rides like that before. Its not a problem as long as your bike is broken in, and as Lostmycage said YOU are ready for it. Its hard on your body to ride that long, you might become sore or fatigued before you reach your destination.

[ericalm]

230 miles is about as much as I've done in a day, though I'm prepping for a much longer day soon.

It's a good idea to stop, stretch and rest, and let the scooter cool down a bit every 100 miles or so—basically, when you gas up. But if you're riding a stock scooter that's well-maintained with proper air in the tires and enough oil, it can easily handle it.

[maribell]

Don't forget your Genuine roadside assistance card. Just in case.

[scootertuner1000]

I have 1.3k miles on my '09 125 I bought in September.

Back in late October and around 900 miles on the odometer, I had an issue w/ my scoot dying:

viewtopic.php?t=13483&highlight=

The guys at the shop could never replicate the problem and simply vented the gas cap. I've ridden trouble-free for 400 miles since then.

This weekend is shaping up for me to take my first long distance ride (230 miles each way). I will be traveling long distance near WOT for the first time beyond only a minute or so on urban roads.

Just wondering if anyone w/ experience thinks this is a terrible idea for my engine? Six hours of riding with 50% (or more) at full-throttle after 1,300 miles of break-in.

I also just want to say that I love this forum! This community is a huge reason I felt good about buying a Buddy.

Not a good idea. Stay to about 3/4 throttle, you will only lose a couple of miles an hour, but you will save your engine.

[Skootz Kabootz]

If you want to test it out, start riding WOT now while you are at home and are close to your mechanic. Personally, I think you will have no problems. Just let the scooter cool down a little (and rest yourself) each fill up (like Eric suggests), check your oil periodically, and add a few extra PSI to your tires for highway riding, maybe fill to 31-32 psi. If you are packing gear, keep the center of gravity low.

As I always suggest, read the chapter on highway riding, touring etc in Proficient Motorcycling.

On our Amerivespa trip I put 1200 miles on my St. Tropez, about 900 miles of it WOT or feathering the throttle to squeeze out a little more speed, over a period of 6 days. Absolutely no problems whatsoever. Buddy's like to be ridden.

Other tips... at hight speeds, maintain a slight forward pressure on both grips. Countersteering really comes into play at higher speeds. It also helps steady the Buddy which is quite light. And if there are any big trucks coming toward you on a two lane highway, get over to the right. The wind they create can pack quite a blow.

Other than that, pick some good tunes and enjoy the ride!

[scootertuner1000]

Riding WOT for extended periods is not a great idea. You will get almost as much speed (maybe a couple of mph less than wot) with slightly over 3/4 throttle. You don't want to be riding dragging every last bit out of your scoot mile after mile after mile, whether or not your scoot copes with it isn't so much the point as the potential for catastrophic failure you face by ragging your scoot like that. WOT for mile after mile means (if you had a tach) red line riding for mile after mile. If you had a tach that showed that you were on the red line all the time, would you do it then?

[scootertuner1000]

Riding WOT for extended periods is not a great idea. You will get almost as much speed (maybe a couple of mph less than wot) with slightly over 3/4 throttle. You don't want to be riding dragging every last bit out of your scoot mile after mile after mile, whether or not your scoot copes with it isn't so much the point as the potential for catastrophic failure you face by ragging your scoot like that. WOT for mile after mile means (if you had a tach) red line riding for mile after mile. If you had a tach that showed that you were on the red line all the time, would you do it then?

And I have done some long rides The U.K. to Germany and then from Germany to Spain. Then after a week or so back to the UK. That's across Spain, over the Pyrenes mountains, across France, into Belgium catch a North Sea overnight ferry to the UK and then on from Felixstowe to London. That's a round trip of almost 4000 miles with a week long break for the scoot in Spain. That was my summer vacation with some mates when I was done with high school (17 years old) in England

[professorbrother]

Thanks for all the advice. Turns out the weather did not pan out the way I wanted to this weekend and there are too many wet roads out there for my comfort.

Another time!

[Milktown]

i had a similar problem a couple years ago with my buddy 125. i was riding from chicago to tampa and a couple times for no reason at all the scooter just cut out on me but would start right back up after i pulled over. when i got home i didnt have a problem with it at all until a few months later when i decided to ride my buddy to alaska. somewhere around whitehorse it cut out on me again and wouldnt start back up. turns out it was a bad magneto. unfortunately no mechanic up there could diagnose the problem and after waiting two weeks i had to ship it back home o chicago.

my best advise for long rides is find something to strap on the back to use as a backrest. i find a backpack with some cloths and a sleeping bag seems to work well. good luck!

[jijifer]

I recently rode 250 miles in a day and I'll say the buddy requires you stop a bunch. I only filled up my spare canister at the last gas station for 60+ miles because I didn't want to crash with a full canister on my rear rack!! Do some sight seeing along the way and let the buddy cool down and rest. It was 12hrs door to door for me to 262 miles. We stopped for coffee, for lunch for sculpture exploring then hauled butt home. Man was I tired and sore for days!

that said, if a ride isn't at least 4 hours these days I feel like it's more an errand than ride

[TVB]

I rode about 225 miles in a single day on my "around Lake Michigan" trip last summer. I had originally planned to cover it in two days, but I was tired of sleeping on the ground and ready to get home, so I pushed through... all the way from Christmas MI on Lake Superior, to Manitowoc WI south of Green Bay (for the ferry back to MI). In the end, I was racing the sun and got to my destination just as it was getting dark. I was WOT more often than not, but mine's a 50cc so it's a horse of a different color. I held up OK, but toward the end I was getting fatigued and kinda wishing I'd stopped for the night.