Modern Buddy

So, as some of you know, I had an absolutely horrendous experience trying to get my scooter from my local Vespa (and Genuine, he just doesn't keep them in stock) Dealer. I have been waiting a while to ask this question because I figured, if I ran into this problem while I was doing any of the routine first-service maintenance, then I would actually need to ask. I didn't, so I'm going to ask before I might run into any problems.

From the last phone conversation I had with this immature, unprofessional, unorganized, grown man, about 2 days before I picked up my scooter, he was screaming and crying (for reals) in the phone that I can't take my scooter anywhere else in the world because no one knows how to work on it, and only HE has the special tools needed to work on it. (I had told him that he will never see me, or my scooter again... I guess that was too much for him..? ...he later defended himself by calling me fat and stupid. Both of which I am not.)

SO... since I have yet to run into a situation where I need special tools, I am asking now.

Am I ever going to need any sort of special Genuine Buddy-specific tools given ONLY to Peter from the scooter gods?!

Or are all the tools I need available from most tool-purchasing locations?

I dont think anything is "Buddy specific" but Im always buying new ones to serve my needs. I just ordered a tappet tool set from Scooterworks so I can do my own valve adjustment. My dealer is not quite as bad as yours, but he is lacking as a good Dealer. Its a Vespa shop so I dont really think he wants to be bothered with servicing my Buddy. He quoted me $90 for a valve adjustment(1 hr/work), which I know takes only about 25-30 for a NOVICE. This is work that he should have done the first service BTW, but he only did both oil changes. I dont think this is uncommon w/dealers. The only reason I let that slide is that I got the first service free. If I had the $, my garage would look like a damned shop. While my rant may have not been helpful, I appreciate you reading it.

Ali,

From a local dealer here, it's standard metric tools. There are a few that are helpful I'm sure, but nothing that is magically specific to the Buddy.

I think Scooterworks or something had a special oil filter wrench that made life easier for $10. heh.

Most mechanics will eventually admit that tools are like drinks to an alcoholic: one is too many and a thousand not enough! So far the routine stuff on my wife's Buddy 150 has required only the standard metric stuff. I am a firm believer that if I take care of the routine stuff of regular maintenance that her Buddy and my Kymco Yager will run for years without major repairs needed.

I have NOT been impressed with ANY dealer ANYWHERE.

Karl

I've found several dealers I'm very favorably impressed with here in the San Fernando Valley, David & Linda at Vespa Sherman Oaks and Mike at NoHo Scooters.

I love my dealer. I let them do the stuff I don't already have tools for or are intimidating to me (engine and transmission work, tire changes), but nothing I know of is special equipment: I just don't want to expand the toolbox currently. Okay, maybe the tire changing machine, but there's ways around that.

I learned how to do oil changes on my scooter. It's a PITA on the motorcycle, so I can understand the importance of a motorcycle lift.
Wait...the scooters have a center stand.

Special Tools only make the job easier and quicker.

Most can be made yourself with scrap metal or going to a hardware store.

I don't yet have a variator-holding wrench nor an impact wrench and its related sockets, but other than that a basic metric tool kit plus a torque wrench will do just about everything.

Wait.. so am i the only one that got the super special golden wrench
THAT WAS CRAFTED BY THE TEARS OF DRAGONS AND THE FINGER NAILS OF THE TROLLS THAT FELL IN THE BATTLE AGAINST THE VAST HORDE OF MOLE PEOPLE THAT CRAWLED OUT OF SCOOTERLAND!!!!!

Dang it! they said all scooters needed it.


i'll be back, gotta throw something in a volcano.

You're probably fairly well covered for tools if you are already doing basic mechanical work on vehicles. Not particularly specialized, but you definitely want at least a couple of torque wrenches to cover both the small things (like tightening the oil filter to spec) and the big things (wheel axle bolts). I think torque wrenches are more crucial for motor bikes given the consequences are potentially greater for something falling off your scooter as opposed to your car!

If you're going to work on your transmission you will absolutely need a variator tool (also used on the clutch). This is an easily fabricated tool and you can find guides here and on other scooter forums.

An impact wrench is helpful for removing the variator nut. It's not a necessity. If you have a variator tool to hold down the variator, then you can use a breaker bar to loosen the nut. CAUTION: do not use an impact wrench to tighten the variator nut. Bad.

The only "special" tools I would see required outside of the typical allotment in a 100 piece Craftsman "mechanic" socket set are as follows for a Buddy or similiar Asian automatic scooter:

-Torque wrench ($22 at Harbor Freight)
-Electric or Pneumatic impact wrench (Electric ones as cheap as $40 at... you guessed it: Harbor Freight)
-Proper SOCKETS for said impact wrench (about 20 bucks for a metric simple set)
-And... well... hang on. I'll think of some thing.

Really, that's about it. These bikes were made to be quick to assemble and quick to service. That's the appeal of a GOOD auto scooter. The Buddy is really one of the easiest bikes to get around. There is ZERO reason why you could not do 99% of everything on that scooter yourself, including removing and replacing the entire engine swingarm. You don't need a special degree, special tools or an emo-dealer attitude.

And for the record: FAT?!?!?! What the HELL is wrong with that loser? You got NOTHING to worry about in the looks department from what your avatar pic shows Don't pay that tool no mind and focus on YOUR tools to keep the scoot running nice

That dealer is a special tool.

Nothing out of the ordinary is needed for Buddy maintenance. And if there were anything special needed it would be available from Scooterworks.

Tool List from the Tech Library

Skootz Kabootz wrote:That dealer is a special tool.

I've done quite a bit of work on my scooter using only sockets and wrenches (for places where the sockets wouldn't fit). I recently replaced my rollers with sliders and did not need an impact wrench or special variator holding tool. All I needed was a second person to steady the variator while I loosened and tightened it. I did use a torque wrench to tighten the variator, just to ensure I got it right. I've never used a torque wrench on my oil filter, simply because I can't get the wrench in there. I've changed my filter several times without incident, so I guess I'm tightening it properly. My vote: No special tools are needed, the dealer in question is a douche.

Thanks for the replies everyone! Sorry I haven't gotten back sooner, I had to make a trip down to Norwalk, CT last night.. got home around 2am.

So, to my understanding here, I already have all of the tools that I should ever need (and more) for this scooter. That makes me happy.

Skootz Kabootz wrote:That dealer is a special tool.

Indeed he is.

In my opinion.. good customer service means that you shouldn't hit on, or otherwise try to become involved with your customer until they are (at least) not your customer anymore. BUT you should provide the customer with knowledge and trusted services, which I don't think will ever happen at Vespa Schenectady.

The first time I went by the shop I was alone, so I'm guessing he had assumed that I didn't have a boyfriend, because why would a dumb girl come into a scooter shop to buy a scooter without her boyfriend if she had one? The next time I went by the shop I had Tom with me, and Peter was like "WTF boyfriend!?" and went from professional-ish 27 year-old into jealous 3-year-old mode. That's when the whole thing went to shit.

He is STILL trying his very hardest to maintain some kind of contact with me, even though I told him that if he called me again I would report him to our local police department for harassment. He had friend requested me on FB several times through the beginning of this year, and sent me a few messages about why we should still be "friends". I ended up just blocking him. Then just yesterday tried to add me on Google+, again, I blocked him. Then I got an e-mail about "why won't you be my friend anymore, wah wah wah," (from a *NEW* personal e-mail that he must have created recently, because I had blocked his other two) which I ignored.

Long story, short: if you're an attractive girl around 20-25 y/o, don't try to buy a scooter from this dude.

Thankfully I did my research and from what I saw I wasn't going to need to have a dealer so close at hand if I bought the Buddy. But just because he whined and cried about special tools, with which I am all too familiar with for my Volkswagen, I felt that I should make sure I had them, if they existed, just in case.
A 3 hour trip to Burlington, VT is not a big deal to me. A 2 hour trip with the scoot in the back of a truck, if it totally breaks down and I can't fix it myself, is no problem either. It's worth not having to go down the road and see that crazy again. I wouldn't trust him (or his techs) with something that could malfunction and kill me, because this guy just screams "bad ex-boyfriend," like the crazy "if I can't have you, then no one can! bwahahahahahaaha!" type.
[/rant]



Thanks again everyone. You guys are awesome.

You may wish to forward this to Genuine. While I wouldn't expect them to be policemen to the scooter world, I might think that they'd be concerned about the business practices of those distributing their products.

That's way more than a douche - that's a stalker. Yikes! I'd drive hours to keep away from this one too.

AWinn6889 wrote:He later defended himself by calling me fat and stupid. Both of which I am not.

Maybe he has pretty good luck with fat and stupid women in the past. Perhaps he thought that it was a compliment, and hoped to rebuild his relationship with you. I guess now he has to go find a real fat, stupid woman since you won't play the part. Oh well. Too bad for him.

DanielPerrin wrote:

AWinn6889 wrote:He later defended himself by calling me fat and stupid. Both of which I am not.

Maybe he has pretty good luck with fat and stupid women in the past. Perhaps he thought that it was a compliment, and hoped to rebuild his relationship with you. I guess now he has to go find a real fat, stupid woman since you won't play the part. Oh well. Too bad for him.

Fat n Stupid need love too.

And once again I count myself lucky to live in NE Ohio and to have Pride of Cleveland as my dealer because I would have considered retaliation with that a-hole. What everyone else said, there aren't really special tools. I mean I am sure there are some, but nothing that you can't get somewhere. And, any motorcycle shop would be able to do the work, although I would look for one that also sells scooters.

There are Piaggio-Vespa specific tools for working on those scooters. You can do it all without those tools, but they make it easier.

NO SUCH THING for the Genuines. Ridiculous.

scootavaran wrote:Wait.. so am i the only one that got the super special golden wrench
THAT WAS CRAFTED BY THE TEARS OF DRAGONS AND THE FINGER NAILS OF THE TROLLS THAT FELL IN THE BATTLE AGAINST THE VAST HORDE OF MOLE PEOPLE THAT CRAWLED OUT OF SCOOTERLAND!!!!!

^^^ APPARENTLY ...they made 2 of them...Muhahahaha


To answer the OP question...No nothing special needed for routine maintenance. If you are going to do your own valve adjustments, you will need tools for that. But oil and spark plug, maybe tightening rear break cable? No special tools needed.

All ya need for a valve adjustment, beyond a screwdriver and an open-end metric wrench and a couple of sockets, is a feeler gauge with a .08mm blade. The tappet tool from MotionPro might make the job go a little quicker, but it's not a requirement by any means. I've set the valves on my old 4cyl hondas and aircooled VWs for years without benefit of such a(n albeit nifty) gadget.

You do need specific tools for certain jobs, however there are no BUDDY-specific tools that you need and that aren't readily available at a decent hardware or auto parts store.

as others have said no special tools needed. Metric socket set in both a 3/8" and 1/4" drive, flat/philips head screwdrivers, feeler gauge for valves, impact wrench & sockets for the drive & wheels. That will be the main tools you will need for mostly everything.

AWinn6889 wrote:Thanks for the replies everyone! Sorry I haven't gotten back sooner, I had to make a trip down to Norwalk, CT last night.. got home around 2am.


The first time I went by the shop I was alone, so I'm guessing he had assumed that I didn't have a boyfriend, because why would a dumb girl come into a scooter shop to buy a scooter without her boyfriend if she had one? The next time I went by the shop I had Tom with me, and Peter was like "WTF boyfriend!?" and went from professional-ish 27 year-old into jealous 3-year-old mode. That's when the whole thing went to shit.

He is STILL trying his very hardest to maintain some kind of contact with me, even though I told him that if he called me again I would report him to our local police department for harassment. He had friend requested me on FB several times through the beginning of this year, and sent me a few messages about why we should still be "friends". I ended up just blocking him. Then just yesterday tried to add me on Google+, again, I blocked him. Then I got an e-mail about "why won't you be my friend anymore, wah wah wah," (from a *NEW* personal e-mail that he must have created recently, because I had blocked his other two) which I ignored.

Long story, short: if you're an attractive girl around 20-25 y/o, don't try to buy a scooter from this dude.


[/rant]



Thanks again everyone. You guys are awesome.

Wow, Ali. I don't have Tom's height on my side, and I do my best never to be supermegajealous husband, but I've seen mechanics act similar when Angela brings her truck in. Either that or they see $$$! Apparently I am capable giving a look of absolute murder. I'm sure you've perfected it by now too.

Dude sounds like a grade A creepoid.

skully93 wrote:Apparently I am capable giving a look of absolute murder. I'm sure you've perfected it by now too.

I practice at work

Again, thanks everyone. I should already have all of the tools I will need in mine and my bf's vast collection from working on VWs and motorcycles. Should be all good. Thank you!

Not to be super paranoid, but this guy sounds a little psycho. You might want to file a report with the police so that they have something on file already if this guy were to continue to harass you. Multiple incidents would help. Well, what I really hope is that this guy is done and you don't have multiple incidents.

bluebuddygirl wrote:Not to be super paranoid, but this guy sounds a little psycho. You might want to file a report with the police so that they have something on file already if this guy were to continue to harass you. Multiple incidents would help. Well, what I really hope is that this guy is done and you don't have multiple incidents.

He has my address, and has yet to show up, or even drive by (I live on a small culdesac, and if I'm not home, my bf is, and we both know Peter's car). Although, now that I think of it, because he stupidly registered and titled the scooter to my parents address after I told him several times that my new address was clearly written on the invoice, he may not actually still have the copy of my current address. Either way, I think my parents would tell me if some handsome, young, crazed maniac came to the door looking for me.

Thankfully, the woman that used to live on our half of the duplex is actually a Saratoga County cop, and she has stopped by a few times while on duty to see how we like the place, and what we're doing with her (horrible, pain in the ass) garden. (Taxpayer money at work right there!) Anyway, she knows all about my scooter, the hassle I went through to get it, and my problems with Peter.
SO, if he does EVER come anywhere near my house, I will be calling her right away.
I have records of all of the calls from all of the different numbers he has, all of the e-mails from all of the different e-mail addresses, all of the facebook crap, and now the google+ nonsense, so there is no doubt that I would easily be able to get a restraining order if it becomes absolutely necessary.

If he comes to my house, he's in deeeeeep trouble.
If I don't get to him before Tom does, he'll be spread about in pieces on our front lawn.
...or we'll sic our 70lb basenji-shephard bitch on him and let her "play" for a little bit.
...or just point the tactical AR15 at him until he runs away, and shoot him in the knee if he doesn't

AWinn6889 wrote:...or just point the tactical AR15 at him until he runs away, and shoot him in the knee if he doesn't

i used to be a psycho, stalking, scooter dealer/mechanic . . .







. . . but then i took an AR15 to the knee . . .

black sunshine wrote:

AWinn6889 wrote:...or just point the tactical AR15 at him until he runs away, and shoot him in the knee if he doesn't

i used to be a psycho, stalking, scooter dealer/mechanic . . .







. . . but then i took an AR15 to the knee . . .

. . . reflected on the cause, and became a decent human being/scooter dealer/mechanic, less of a creepy psycho stalker, and realized that I am indeed sorry for being a dick every single day of my pathetic life.

Not much else for him to learn from losing a knee to a 5.45 russian surplus round

...oh, and, leave the little bitch alone from now on.


I swear I am not still bitter about the whole ordeal.

Is he this kind of creepy

So. when will you be buying these specialzed Buddy tools? I heard that Scooterworks has a super special sale on them.

agrogod wrote:Is he this kind of creepy

I would say so.


Hellvis: I have the magical batman on a unicorn tools given to me by the scooter gods in my box downstairs already, they sure do deliver quick!