Modern Buddy

Just got my Buddy 150 back from dealer (1 hr away), because would not idle down below 10 mph, he cleaned carb and tweaked idle, he said ir was good.. Got home and now I have to throttle up to get it the buddy to move, it makes it very difficult to turn corners and u-turns, test coming up. Would a mild idle adjustment help? $75.00 dollars plus travel time and still not right kinda makes me crabby.

Really sorry to hear that! If I were you I would try to tweak the idle myself. Just remember to do so when engine is warmed up to get a accurate reading on it. I adjust it a quarter turn at a time, then ride. Adjust again if needed. That said Ive never had the trouble you are having so it may be a different issue. Don't let this sour you on your 150! Ive got one and Ive had 4400 trouble free miles. Ok, so ONCE I put bad gas in the scoot and had to get it towed, but it wasnt its fault.

This doesn't sound like an idle issue to me. When you say you have to throttle up, what does that mean exactly? Does the throttle feel loose? You might just need to tighten the cable.

Didn't you say yours is a new 2009 bike with only 50 or so miles on it? Wouldn't cleaning the carburetor and adjusting the idle be something that would be covered under warranty? Doesn't seem like you should have been charged for that...

Why would you not need to idle up (open the throttle) in order to make the scooter move? That sounds totally normal to me. You sure don't want a scooter to move with no idle applied. What exactly is the problem?

It's not the idle.

The idle setting controls the flow of gas to the engine when you're not applying the throttle. If it has issues while you're riding and isn't stalling out at stops, it's going to be something else.

Right - it should NOT be like a car with automatic transmission. The bike should NOT move with the brakes off on level ground. The clutch should be disengaged until you throttle up.

This may be obvious, but that's me - Captain Obvious.

Yeah, Im confused.

Sorry guys for the confusion, it's clear I don't know anything about mechanics, ithe idle is fine, but it takes a lot of throttle to get the scoot to move, because it takes so much throttle, when I finally get going it purges
, which is my fault because I'm waiting, waiting for the tires to go. My hubby is reading on here how to adjust the throttle and I'll call the dealer back. As far as warranty , cleaning the carb is not included.
Again, sorry for the confusion, frustrated.

We would like to know a little more about your situation in order to help you better. I will ask just a few questions. Others may have more.

Someone else posted you mentioned the scooter has just 50 miles on it? Is this true? Is it new? When did you purchase it? Is it still under warranty?

Who told you it needed a carb cleaning and adjustment? I assume the dealer, but what was that based on?

If I understand you correctly you took the scooter in for one problem (poor idle under 10mph) and it came back with another (poor performance over all)?

Can you clear these things up for us a bit?

As far as the idle goes, it's pretty simple. Warm the scooter up until the idle settles. That should only take a few minutes. With the scooter on the center stand, the back wheel should be slowly spinning. If it is, then you do not need to mess with the idle.

I hate to say this, but I'm wondering if your expectations about how the scooter should behave off the line might not be inline with reality. If you are a brand new rider, I'd suggest doing some practice time in a parking lot before you take your test. I apologize if I'm off base with that, but I had to throw it out there.

dandidori wrote:Sorry guys for the confusion, it's clear I don't know anything about mechanics, ithe idle is fine, but it takes a lot of throttle to get the scoot to move, because it takes so much throttle, when I finally get going it purges
, which is my fault because I'm waiting, waiting for the tires to go.

I'm assuming you mean 'surges'.

If you're really having to rotate the throttle very wide (to where you're reaching the limits of your wrist's mobility) before the engine RPMs go up, that sounds like a loose throttle cable, which can be adjusted back at the carb. There should be just a small amount of play at the throttle grip - a little slack, so as to make sure the throttle's fully closed when the grip is released, but not so much that you have to crank the thing many degrees to get the engine to respond.

Assuming any excess slack is adjusted out, then it's a clutch thing. Without a tachometer it's hard to describe how and when the clutch should engage. It's probably prudent for a dealer or other experienced scooter rider to verify that it 'feels right'.

And as pdxrita mentioned - expectations are key. An 'automatic' scoot should not at all be like a car with an automatic transmission. Looking back at what you said in the original post, I'm trying to understand if you expected the scoot to move when you released the brakes but did not yet open the throttle. That's _not_ how it should be, although in a car that would be the expected behavior. On a two-wheeled scoot, especially on a slick road, that could be deadly.

Like I mentioned above, (Captain Obvious speaking again) on level ground with your weight on the scooter, with the brakes off and the throttle closed, it shouldn't move - the engine should just be idling. I'm not sure what you mean by your 10mph comments.

JHScoot wrote:Someone else posted you mentioned the scooter has just 50 miles on it? Is this true?

Her first post was here: topic21531.html