Modern Buddy

PGO (which has built all of the non-Stella Genuine models) recently unveiled a new model based on the BuBu (aka Buddy). This means it's essentially a Buddy, only with a different body. The JBuBu 115 is clearly intended to compete with the SYM Fiddle and Kymco Like style scooters and clearly owes a lot to the modern Vespas.

I think it's a nice-looking ride and a little more elegant than the Kymco and SYM. The flat seat and defined horncast with round opening give it an even more classic look without going too far into mimicry or "re-envisioned retro" like some of the Chinese scoots.

PGO makes a number of models that aren't sold in the US by Genuine. This one would clearly undercut the Buddy. But I could see it someday evolving into the Buddy II.

The JBuBu has front and rear disc brakes and a dual suspension on the rear. The pet carrier is HUGE and has a 12v socket inside, an on/off switch for something (?) and some kind of accessory socket. Looks like XLR to me, but don't know why the JBuBu would have a place to plug in a microphone. The gas cap is in front, over the glove bucket, probably to maximize space under the seat.









Yikes!


Srsly?!



<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/GgQUGsWqY4w" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
(Nice porn-y soundtrack!)

<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hDjLB-aRqT0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
(Faux rockabilly?)

More pics: http://www.carnews.com/albumview/4024/1
More pics AND more videos: http://www.eprice.com.tw/motor/talk/45/4031/

I like that. Do you think that the 115 denotes the displacement? On a side note, this picture reminds me of the Abe Lincoln Geico ad: "Does this scooter make my butt look big?"

That is an attractive scooter. A nice evolution. I wonder what displacements it comes in? That would be key for import viability. And a microphone input really excites me. I can't tell you how many times I've been riding along, wanting to burst into song, but I had no mike. Really frustrating.

The Cruiser!

Two discs = probably a bigger displacement.
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Mechanobiologists will be stunned to learn that the Stella and Buddy are genetically compatible enough to produce offspring when crossbred.

Genuine could import this and call it the Steddy. (They'd have to use very different music for their YouTube videos though.)

jprestonian wrote:The Cruiser!

Two discs = probably a bigger displacement.
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Nope. The cruiser is designed from the ground up by Genuine and apparently is closer to a Fuji Rabbit in design esthetic. I have to say, I'm excited to see it whenever the day comes. (Still a couple of years off is my guess).

This is a 115cc. I'd think the dual discs and rear suspension might signal a bigger version down the road.

Skootz Kabootz wrote:That is an attractive scooter. A nice evolution. I wonder what displacements it comes in? That would be key for import viability. And a microphone input really excites me. I can't tell you how many times I've been riding along, wanting to burst into song, but I had no mike. Really frustrating.

Scooter karaoke? Only if you want to get punched in the face by passers by. But an outlet in the trunk would allow for a laptop and XLR for some speakers. But using the scoot as a power plant will result in a short version of sidewalk dance dance revolution. No love it long time. Cool design and def love the disk front and rear.

I'd dig it in flat black. Not sure how I feel about the fender but I'm sure I could learn to love it. 115cc seems kinda small to need front/rear disc brakes, seems like it would add an necessary cost to the small scoot. Now if they had a 250cc model then I'd definitely be more interested (really don't need another small scoot). Then again, if this scoot gets 140+mpg then I'm sure lots of folks will be seriously interested in it, especially in a town like Ann Arbor

Maybe it's just the photos, but the distance from the seat to the floorboard, coupled with the steering rake and protrusion of the glovebox/tray makes it look like it might be a bit cramped for the 6-foot and over crowd.

looks nice, how much for the girls??

I like it, esp if they fuel inject it and give it 200 or more cc.

For now I'll just enjoy the goofy, low production value vids. Pretty darn good entertainment while sitting on the couch waiting for the ribs to get tender. Happy holiday weekend all.

Tue dancing.to hound dog is freaking classic. My fav part is when the suits come yo to take a stiff bow.

Don't stick the gasoline nozzle in the wrong round thing!

lmgreco wrote:

Don't stick the gasoline nozzle in the wrong round thing!

Oh boy you just attracted some real gutter bottom possibilities for replies on that statement.Stick-nozzle-round thing,

BuddyLicious wrote:

lmgreco wrote:

Don't stick the gasoline nozzle in the wrong round thing!

Oh boy you just attracted some real gutter bottom possibilities for replies on that statement.Stick-nozzle-round thing,

115cc isn't going to get it,hopefully they will do a 150cc at least.

There was a engine demo vid on 1 of the links from the above. Saw what looked to be a chain driven engine. Does Genuine sell other models with a chain drive?

Very cool I do like the look, it seems too much to hope for; that it be sold here and be expanded into a 150 or more? R

for the love of god, allah, buddha or what not, can't there just be something sort of like that with a 250-300cc engine?

I know there is Vespa, but most peope don't want to spend $7000 these days on a scooter or well anything for that matter. The coffee drink holder....want

Quite honestly, for use in a small/compact city, 115cc is more than enough. I think this would be a great scooter for around these parts (San Francisco). Great looking scoot and I really like the cup holder.
Is there a speaker behind that slotted cover under the seat? Would make sense (in an odd sort of way) if there is an XLR jack on board...

charlie55 wrote:Maybe it's just the photos, but the distance from the seat to the floorboard, coupled with the steering rake and protrusion of the glovebox/tray makes it look like it might be a bit cramped for the 6-foot and over crowd.

I agree. But that's a great looking scoot though! Did I miss the specs on length? Curious if it's got a bigger frame than the Buddy.

beastmaster wrote:looks nice, how much for the girls??

Ok, I'm going to be "that guy":

Meh.

I like the idea of more suspension and brakes than I need (because I'm selfish and greedy like that), but I'm just not all that thrilled with the body. Looks a bit too bland. I like the fact they are going with a more flat seat to make 2-up a bit more fun, but overall... meh. The styling just does not do it for me.

a budget line of scooters from Gorilla Motor Works that are a close clone...built by Znen

That's good looking. I wonder if the seat is any lower than the Buddy seat? My wife wants a scooter and has been looking at the Buddy but the seat height is just too high for her; she's about 5'2 and around 100 lbs so I've been looking for something low so at least one foot will easily touch the ground when she comes to a stop. A 50cc would also be her preference.

Mulliganal wrote: That's good looking. I wonder if the seat is any lower than the Buddy seat? My wife wants a scooter and has been looking at the Buddy but the seat height is just too high for her; she's about 5'2 and around 100 lbs so I've been looking for something low so at least one foot will easily touch the ground when she comes to a stop. A 50cc would also be her preference.

At 5'2", she's 4" taller than me. I'm here to tell you that the Buddy seat height is perfectly doable for someone who's 5'2". Getting a full flat foot down at a stop is not at all necessary, but I think if I was 4" taller, I could slide off the seat towards one side a bit and do that. As it is, I can just put a toe down and that's enough to do the job. When she sits on the scooter in the shop, make sure she slides to the front of the seat when trying to put a foot down. If she wants 50cc, though, there are plenty of super low seat height scoots out there in that displacement: Honda Metro, Kymco Sento, and probably the 50cc Vino all have really low seats.

Its not very girly but I bet the little Ruckus is the lowest thing out there. Then maybe the Met

peabody99 wrote:Its not very girly but I bet the little Ruckus is the lowest thing out there. Then maybe the Met

the Met and the Ruckus have the same seat height, they are essentially the same bike except the Ruk is naked!!

KABarash wrote:

peabody99 wrote:Its not very girly but I bet the little Ruckus is the lowest thing out there. Then maybe the Met

the Met and the Ruckus have the same seat height, they are essentially the same bike except the Ruk is naked!!

I've sat on a Ruckus before and though the seat is low, it's really wide, which effectively takes away some of the reach. The Metro seat narrows at the front. So they may be the same under the plastic (or lack thereof, in the case of the Ruck), but the seat makes all the difference in the world. The way the Buddy seat narrows in the front is one of the reasons it's such a short-friendly bike.

I like the instrument cluster as well. Discs on both wheels I like, I would just love to see dual discs on front wheel. One on the left and right make big difference in how the scooter stops. Just my 2 cents.

peabody99 wrote:Its not very girly but I bet the little Ruckus is the lowest thing out there. Then maybe the Met

+1 my wife is 5' 1" and she loves her ruckus. Then again the last thing she would want is a "girly" scoot The nice thing about the ruckus is that if she did want the seat even lower the seat lowering frame is an easy fix.

neotrotsky wrote:Ok, I'm going to be "that guy":

Meh.

I like the idea of more suspension and brakes than I need (because I'm selfish and greedy like that), but I'm just not all that thrilled with the body. Looks a bit too bland. I like the fact they are going with a more flat seat to make 2-up a bit more fun, but overall... meh. The styling just does not do it for me.

Neo,
Count me in as a plus one on your comments.
I've ridden the 220i Blur and having the extra braking and suspension is nice, but even then I'm not that into the "sportier" looking bikes. I prefer the looks of the Buddy. The new 170i's are nice, but wish there was just a little bit more power there. As it stands now, I have the 161 kit on my Buddy and it's super fun. ...can only imagine what a 200cc+ version would be like.

If it's like the Blur, the XLR connector is for the "EMS" diagnostic dongle that tells you that everything is OK through a series of indecipherable flashes and whatnot. I bet that all EFI scoots from PGO will be standardized to this.

Wow! I like that scooter a lot. Give me more than 115ccs and I'm all over it.

Edit: Sweet flip out passenger pegs!

Mulliganal wrote:I wonder if the seat is any lower than the Buddy seat? My wife wants a scooter and has been looking at the Buddy but the seat height is just too high for her; she's about 5'2 and around 100 lbs so I've been looking for something low so at least one foot will easily touch the ground when she comes to a stop.

My SO is 5'3" and she can flat foot our Buddy - but, I guess everyone is different. We used to have a Yamaha Vino and that had a riding position that was even a bit lower than the Buddy.

(as an aside - how did she determine that the Buddy riding height was too tall - she didn't sit on one on it's center stand did she?)

ericalm wrote:PGO...recently unveiled a new model... clearly intended to compete with the SYM Fiddle and Kymco Like style scooters...

It looks nice, but I'm not going to lie to you, I prefer the rear light setup on the Kymco Like.

i like it. would make a great Buddy update imo

Disagree with you Eric, Clearly they are going after the Yamaha C3

Word,

Glen

That looks like a hot turd.

Raiderfn31 wrote:That looks like a hot turd.

Eye of the beholder!

ericalm wrote:

Raiderfn31 wrote:That looks like a hot turd.

Eye of the beholder!

damn you!!!!!!! Its a 2t that cost me 1500. I run45.

It is a nice looking scoot if you don't look at a Buddy. The Buddy doesn't look like anything else. This looks like a Vespa nose on a Lambretta tail. All that bulk below the floorboard is probably fuel tank. Count me meh.

OK Eric what is that Red Scoot you posted there? R

still shifting wrote:OK Eric what is that Red Scoot you posted there? R

Benelli Andretti M50. Just a reminder that what some consider ugly, others, not so much.

ericalm wrote: Benelli Andretti M50. Just a reminder that what some consider ugly, others, not so much.

Like the looks of it. Was this the one that had leaking fuel tanks, and then lots of states' AGs looking into them?
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I'm going with the "meh" crowd in the styling department.

But then again, I have a Blur 220, and you know we're all a little weird for owning those anyway.

I think things that are very very ugly go full circle and become beautiful. That red scooter does not fit in the category because it is just kind of ugly.

peabody99 wrote:I think things that are very very ugly go full circle and become beautiful. That red scooter does not fit in the category because it is just kind of ugly.

Those things that have a kind of bold, audacious and unique ugliness seem to transcend into beauty more than those that are just commonly, predictably ugly. The more debated and controversial, the better.

:shudder: And here I was just getting to appreciate the side view of the 80's Elites!

Meh, it's ok, Genuine's version of the Fiddle II.

jprestonian wrote:

ericalm wrote: Benelli Andretti M50. Just a reminder that what some consider ugly, others, not so much.

Like the looks of it. Was this the one that had leaking fuel tanks, and then lots of states' AGs looking into them?
.

we sold benelli....the X50 had leaking fuel tank issues. the M50 had a leaking fuel line problem. both were a headache to maintain