Modern Buddy

I recently bought a Psycho Buddy 125 and it says that it comes standard with the Stebel air horn (139 decibel) under the spec section on http://www.genuinescooters.com/psycho.html#Specs.

NOT TRUE!

I thought it was quiet so I took the front access panel off and there was a no name Made in Taiwan horn in its place. Has anyone else noticed this? I do love the scooter and have about 100mi on it. Dealer in Boston was great. Also ran into the vapor lock and carbon canister fuel leak problem. Time to drill the cap…

Hmm. Website's probably wrong. If indeed the Psycho is built up from a base 125, it's going to have the lesser horn. Of course, if one or two other Psychonauts chime in and find a Compact Nautilus, then you can go argue for a swap with more ammunition.

I think you have a case for a swap. On the Genuine website under the Psycho specs the first line cleary states the horn is a "Stebel air horn, a 139 decibel intimidator." And "Stebel air horn" is in boldface.

Since these were a limited production run, it may just have been overlooked in assembly.

I'd call the dealer.

Sidenote: WHY did the Blur not come standard with the stronger horn? The 170i does :/ QQ

When I first read about the Psycho and its "limited" status, my first impression was that Genuine still had a few left over parts from the Blackjack and rather than to let them go to waste, they decided to paint a 125 flat black, throw the surplus of parts into it and ta da! A new model is born.

Having said that, I'm surprised they would miss on the horn. The spec section on the website doesn't specify a Stebel horn, but I clearly remember it being there about a month ago.

Stick to your guns and get what you paid for.

Ya I have a email into the dealer. Hope they come back with good info. Get what you pay for. Right.

Ok, this morning the Psycho link in the original post definitely showed the Stebel in the specs. This afternoon, it does not. Draw yer own conclusions.

TCaruso wrote:When I first read about the Psycho and its "limited" status, my first impression was that Genuine still had a few left over parts from the Blackjack and rather than to let them go to waste, they decided to paint a 125 flat black, throw the surplus of parts into it and ta da! A new model is born.

They sold out of all the Blackjacks, which were very popular. The Psycho has a number of differences—seat, wheels, blacked-out chrome, etc.—that wouldn't make it worth doing in such a small run just to get rid of 174 Blackjack body panels. This came about because of the popularity of the Blackjack and because it had been some time since they'd done a numbered limited edition.

As far as the horn, it's not in the specs now, so that was probably an error. I'm guessing someone copied/pasted Blackjack specs and neglected to change that bit. I've heard Stebel distribution has changed and they're no longer available (or maybe just not in Taiwan?).

I feel scammed. Who changes the web site. Not cool. Apparently my email and blog was unsuccessful. Bad business practice.

Nickd2587 wrote:I feel scammed. Who changes the web site. Not cool. Apparently my email and blog was unsuccessful. Bad business practice.

Not sure what you hope to accomplish by blogging about it. Call your dealer, explain it to them. Your dealer has a direct line to Genuine, warranty replacements, parts, etc.

ericalm wrote:I've heard Stebel distribution has changed and they're no longer available (or maybe just not in Taiwan?).

While you're usually a pretty darn trustworthy source, I would hope that you're wrong on this one (no offence, of course). Any details? I love my Stebel. Would hate to know I couldn't get a replacement if it went kaput.

Witch wrote:

ericalm wrote:I've heard Stebel distribution has changed and they're no longer available (or maybe just not in Taiwan?).

While you're usually a pretty darn trustworthy source, I would hope that you're wrong on this one (no offence, of course). Any details? I love my Stebel. Would hate to know I couldn't get a replacement if it went kaput.

That's pure unconfirmed hearsay at this point. Their Italian site has nothing; the US site is basically a reseller from what I can tell.

Worst case, if Stebel distribution becomes a problem, the WOLO Bad Boy, which just coincidentally, amazingly, and unbelievably is shaped just like a Compact Nautilus, is widely available, at outlets like JCWhitney and good old Harbor Freight.

Wolo's website rates it at 119dB, but a couple of cruiser rider forums compare it equal to the Nautilus, the difference being point of measurement in the specs. A Google search of 'stebel vs. wolo' will show you what I mean.

http://www.wolo-mfg.com/motorcycle.htm

Okay… so… Stebel went bankrupt over a year ago. Of course, that bit's not on their websites, ha.

There's still a lot of stock at some retailers and online. There are also a lot of Chinese knock offs and clones online, which no doubt didn't help. But they can no longer supply OEMs with quantities for manufacturing.

I better stock up!