Modern Buddy

So yeah. Venting ahead.

My Super 8 150 needed a little warranty work right off the bat to ensure that just riding it didn't drain the battery. I also installed the running light mod on my Buddy 50 which I found, with my short commute, to be a battery-killer if I didn't use the kickstart. So I've been kickstart-only for quite some time.

The Super 8 150's kickstart has always had a little hiccup. Sometimes when I kick it, my foot literally just bounces off. I think I didn't do my due diligence in finding out why that might have been. Backfire? Crunched gear? I don't know enough about scooters yet to even hypothesize.

So I've gotten into the habit of kicking it as hard as it needs to be kicked. Which apparently has led to this evening's lovely event: the snapping off of the lever. Or, what I'm afraid is probably Bad News, the snapping off of the shaft the kickstart lever is attached to.

I wouldn't mind if someone wanted to explain what I'm in for in terms of repair. Seems like this would be warranty work... if only all of the shops around here hadn't closed. I can't go look at it this evening because a) it's late and raining and cold, and b) I almost died TWICE on the way home. (congratulate me on choosing two adult beverages instead of one adult beverage and one cancer stick) The southeastern Michigan scootering season had one more day for me, but I'm pretty sure I've received a loud and clear message that tomorrow begins bicycling season.

Kicking it as hard as it needs to be kicked is your mistake. Especially regarding a 4 stroke engine. Kicking a 4T scooter engine to life is more about technique than brute force.

Without producing a long dissertation, finessing the piston to the proper place (stroke) in its 4 strokes of possibility is the key. Youre wasting your energies kicking it if it isn't approaching the TDC Of its "compression" stroke.

That being said, if you think youre saving the battery for some running lights or short rides by kick-starting the scooter you're wrong. The pay-back for the electricity you used from the battery for a simple el-start is about 2 minutes of run-time if that.

Many of the Super 8's had a recall for a faulty VR causing poor to no charging, and that sounds like your root problem. The kick starter is really for more show than go, and just basic emergency use only.

That VR is located up in the headlight binnacle. Call your/a dealer with your VIN number to see if you have an affected unit due a new, free VR. Oh, and the KIckstarter should be warranty too provided the scooter is under the 2 year warranty period. (Don't need to tell them you kick it like an angry mule...)

Good luck.

I'm afraid I may have already had that replacement done (before all the local shops closed), but... generally still found the electric start to be weak to worthless (ie the clock on the cluster would reset every time I used it, and not when I kicked, so I kicked...). Still, it's good to know that I was just plain a dufus about kicking in general and can avoid future duftastic behavior.

That's not to say you had the better VR replaced....I've seen the same defective one installed only to fail again almost immediately.

Just Saying.