Modern Buddy

Great forum....lots of wonderful information for someone new to scootering.

I got a Buddy 125 from Scootersmith (great dealer) and am LOVING IT! I'm newly licensed, having taken the MSF course, and am now commuting to work. It's a short commute, less than 2 miles each way, but what a great way to start/end the work day...too much fun! The added bonus is parking, which is a huge $$ savings.

Weather is still great in Houston...60s in the morning, hi 70's low 80s in the afternoon. The winters here are pretty mild and I expect to be able to ride year-round. Just have to get some cold weather/rain gear....next on my list.

Anyway, just wanted to say hello after lurking for awhile.

Cheers!

Hello, Texas!

scubadoobie wrote: Weather is still great in Houston...60s in the morning, hi 70's low 80s in the afternoon. The winters here are pretty mild and I expect to be able to ride year-round. Just have to get some cold weather/rain gear....next on my list.

Scubadoobie - congrats on the new ride! curious if your local store carries buddy accessories? my shop in austin is pretty limited on selection, and i'm gonna need somewhere to store my cold weather gear during the work day!

Welcome!

I certainly envy you, I'm tucked away in the Northeast, so pretty soon I'll only be able to read about you folks going on rides.

hey scuba you think we could get rick perry scooting

might get lucky with a vespa and he'll move to Italy to sip cappuccinos' all day

heythere512 wrote:

scubadoobie wrote: Weather is still great in Houston...60s in the morning, hi 70's low 80s in the afternoon. The winters here are pretty mild and I expect to be able to ride year-round. Just have to get some cold weather/rain gear....next on my list.

Scubadoobie - congrats on the new ride! curious if your local store carries buddy accessories? my shop in austin is pretty limited on selection, and i'm gonna need somewhere to store my cold weather gear during the work day!

They carry some accessories and can order stuff for you. Give 'em a call.
http://www.scootersmith.net/

Make sure to ride some longer rides, you can't really properly break in a scooter on two-mile long rides!

Since your commute is so short, you need to adhere to the maintenance requirements carefully -- you'll probably need an oil change from time sooner than from mileage.

JHScoot wrote:hey scuba you think we could get rick perry scooting

might get lucky with a vespa and he'll move to Italy to sip cappuccinos' all day

One can only hope!!!

synaps3 wrote:Make sure to ride some longer rides, you can't really properly break in a scooter on two-mile long rides!

Since your commute is so short, you need to adhere to the maintenance requirements carefully -- you'll probably need an oil change from time sooner than from mileage.

i change my oil every morning

scubadoobie wrote:

JHScoot wrote:hey scuba you think we could get rick perry scooting

might get lucky with a vespa and he'll move to Italy to sip cappuccinos' all day

One can only hope!!!

cool beans

just so you know we don't discuss politics on the board, but i couldn't resist getting a little jab in. i think i found one for him

synaps3 wrote:Make sure to ride some longer rides, you can't really properly break in a scooter on two-mile long rides!

Since your commute is so short, you need to adhere to the maintenance requirements carefully -- you'll probably need an oil change from time sooner than from mileage.

I've been riding a few miles in the afternoons and on weekends...have put nearly 100 miles on it in about 2 weeks....all in local traffic. I live near downtown and no "country roads" around here to do any extended non-stop riding. It's all stop and go traffic.

All breaking-in advice welcome!

JHScoot wrote:

synaps3 wrote:Make sure to ride some longer rides, you can't really properly break in a scooter on two-mile long rides!

Since your commute is so short, you need to adhere to the maintenance requirements carefully -- you'll probably need an oil change from time sooner than from mileage.

i change my oil every morning

scubadoobie wrote:

JHScoot wrote:hey scuba you think we could get rick perry scooting

might get lucky with a vespa and he'll move to Italy to sip cappuccinos' all day

One can only hope!!!

cool beans

just so you know we don't discuss politics on the board, but i couldn't resist getting a little jab in. i think i found one for him

I usually adhere to the "don't discuss politics or religion" cosmic rule, but I do like your choice!

Ok, done with politics. Thanks for the chuckle.

scubadoobie wrote:All breaking-in advice welcome!

Don't use full throttle, ever, for any reason. Keep RPMs varied (never just hold your wrist in the same position -- rotate it all the time to make the engine make different noises). Ride in traffic, the consistent start - stop helps break in engines well.

Since you said you're riding in traffic, you have the best environment to break-in the engine. Just remember to avoid full-throttle when you accelerate or are moving and you'll do fine.

Most of all, don't stress about it too much. I've had friends go out riding specifically to break-in an engine. That's dumb. Riding should always be for fun, never make it a chore, even during break-in.

synaps3 wrote:

scubadoobie wrote:All breaking-in advice welcome!

Don't use full throttle, ever, for any reason.

Why should you avoid full-throttle at the beginning? At what point is that ok? I've logged just over 600 miles, and had my first service 65 miles ago. I'd like to take a longer ride in the hill country, and open it up to see how it feels.

i've wondered about the "no full throttle" rule as well, and find myself at full throttle sometimes even though unintended. i back off, but it seems to me the little engine (125cc) takes some time to reach max rpm even at full throttle

is there really a difference between riding at 50mph which is not full and perhaps 55-60mph which may very well be?

when breaking in an engine, i mean?

i tried to keep it at 45mph max, but at times reached 50-55mph for brief periods. new engine is all well and broken in now, no issues

There is, because the piston rings are still notching out the cylinder walls and forming a tight fit. The faster they go, the more abrasive the rubbing, and the less compression your engine will have. More compression = more power + more efficiency.

Your engine won't necessarily have problems, but if you take it from 0 miles and peg it at full throttle, bouncing off the limiter, your engine will burn oil, get terrible gas mileage, and your scooter will be 5-20mph slower than an identical scooter that was properly broken in.

Luckily, with modern scooters, most of the break-in is from the factory. Really, after the first service, do whatever you want because it is basically broken-in at that point. I'd still avoid consistent throttle for the first 1500 miles or so though, and always avoid riding at full-throttle for any longer than a minute.

Or, you could follow PGO/Genuine's recommendations, found on page 26 of your manual:

0-150 mi - no more than 1/2 throttle, plus cooldowns, no constant speed
150-500mi - avoid over 1/2 throttle for long periods
500-1000mi - avoid over 3/4 throttle
1000+ mi - avoid full throttle for long periods

Engine and Gear oil change at 200 miles.

Every manufacturer differs as to how much (if any) factory break-in of the engine is actually done. If this were a new car or a BMW cycle, yeah, maybe a lot of the break-in is already done for you. In Buddy's case, with a first fluids change recommendation at 200mi (300km/186mi on the headset sticker), I wouldn't assume a lot.

Welcome. If your commute is only 2 miles, you'll need to get a Battery Tender Jr. or equivalent. Short hops will not allow your battery charging to keep up with all the electric starts.

As far as break-in, you'll hear all different theories from babying it to riding it like you stole it. I basically followed the proper break-in procedure by riding around my residential neighborhood until 380 miles. That's when I had my first service. Then I began to ride it more or less normally. I tried not to ride WOT for more than two to five minutes at a time until about 1,000 miles. Then I began riding it hard. I don't think my scooter has suffered at all by pushing it so hard so early.

The problem is you'll never rack up 1,000 miles using 3/4 or less throttle and varying your speeds constantly unless you live in a big densely populated city and only ride downtown. For those of us in the suburbs or countryside, it's nearly an impossibility to rack up 1,000 miles like that. Either you'll get arrested for erratic driving or someone will run you over for driving them nuts. In cities you have 25 to 35 mph speed limits everywhere and because of bumper to bumper traffic, you might not even hit that. In the suburbs or country, you have 45 mph + speed limits everywhere. Try varying your speeds constantly and not using more than 3/4 throttle in that environment and see what happens.

Dang I miss Texas!

iMoses wrote:Dang I miss Texas!

Me too. I didn't realize how much until I went to San Antonio last year. Dang.

I was simply told to just drive it like I would normally (sans highway/extended periods of WOT) until first service, and avoid taxing it greatly until about 1000 miles. Racked up miles easily since it takes me 15 miles one way to get to work. At around 600 miles, I started taking the interstate home from work when I closed the store (which is 55 not 65 and does not require me to be WOT once I am up to speed) once a week for practice, then 2-3 a week as it got noticeably colder around 900. At 1000 miles, I took my first long distance trip, I'd say 200 miles altogether (not all of it continuous of course).

I'm now at 1350, and the consensus seems to be that it's completely broken in at 1500.

One of the most-often discussed and disagreed on topics in motorvehicledom!

The one thing that's usually agreed on is to vary your RPMs and don't do WOT for extended periods of time until after first 600 miles or so.

I favor a "hard" break in rather than that "keep it to 1/2 throttle" stuff. A few reasons: It's easier. Too hard to keep a 1/2 throttle all the time. And a new engine should be exercised like a muscle—full extension without over straining it. This is what I've done on new scooters and when I've had kits installed. Works for me.

Other methods are probably just as good. (Shrug.) But vary those RPMs!

Thanks eveyone for the break-in info! Sounds like I'll be ok with the kind of riding I'll do most of the time.