Modern Buddy

I have read several posts about upgrades made to your scoots. Several have commented on rollers, etc. Would anyone like to give the long and short of the best mods to make on a 50 that are not really expensive to increase hill speed and give a little performance boost? I love my Buddy but could use a wee bit of a power boost on hills outside city limits.

Thanks so much!!!

Yorkiemom wrote:I have read several posts about upgrades made to your scoots. Several have commented on rollers, etc. Would anyone like to give the long and short of the best mods to make on a 50 that are not really expensive to increase hill speed and give a little performance boost? I love my Buddy but could use a wee bit of a power boost on hills outside city limits.

Thanks so much!!!

Buy a 170i.

Seriously.

Hills will bleed the speed on pretty much any 50, 125, and 150. There's no replacement for displacement.

Depending on the size of your hills and the speed limit, even a 170i might not get you to 55mph. I have a 125 and can't do better than 45mph on some of the hills around me.

You could always try a 70cc kit. But that might blow your "not really expensive" requirement and it might not solve your problem. What do you consider expensive?

Has your 50cc been de-restricted? You could also try a performance pipe and performance variator.

Yes, first of all make sure both restrictors have been removed. They make a huge difference. One in the pipe and one behind the front pulley.

Yorkiemom wrote:I have read several posts about upgrades made to your scoots. Several have commented on rollers, etc. Would anyone like to give the long and short of the best mods to make on a 50 that are not really expensive to increase hill speed and give a little performance boost? I love my Buddy but could use a wee bit of a power boost on hills outside city limits.

Thanks so much!!!

First define cheap? Next how does your scoot perform now? How would you like it to perform?

cheapest mod is rollers. The stock weight is 7.5 grams. I weigh 250lbs and currently have 3 6.5's and 3 4.8's for an average of 5.5 grams. Lighter rollers will increase acceleration and decrease top speed.

lovemysan wrote:

Yorkiemom wrote:I have read several posts about upgrades made to your scoots. Several have commented on rollers, etc. Would anyone like to give the long and short of the best mods to make on a 50 that are not really expensive to increase hill speed and give a little performance boost? I love my Buddy but could use a wee bit of a power boost on hills outside city limits.

Thanks so much!!!

First define cheap? Next how does your scoot perform now? How would you like it to perform?

cheapest mod is rollers. The stock weight is 7.5 grams. I weigh 250lbs and currently have 3 6.5's and 3 4.8's for an average of 5.5 grams. Lighter rollers will increase acceleration and decrease top speed.

First of all thanks for the replies...as for "inexpensive" I wanted to keep the whole process under or around $100...and for the most part I am perfectly happy with her performance. My dealer removed all restrictors before it ever left the lot. I definitely don't want to decrease top speed and for the most part, hills are not in my path...but on occasion, I like to scoot outside city limits and find myself on 55mph rural highway, but not for too terribly long. I was mostly wondering what the roller mods were all about and if that would help...and what exactly the roller mod does to the scoot to help.

As for purchasing a bigger scoot, I have no need really. I have a touring motorcycle that can take me anywhere, but I love the Buddy in and around town...it's all I ride on my commute to school (teacher), to the gym, to visit my mom, small errands around town, etc. etc.

Yorkiemom wrote:As for purchasing a bigger scoot, I have no need really. I have a touring motorcycle that can take me anywhere, but I love the Buddy in and around town...it's all I ride on my commute to school (teacher), to the gym, to visit my mom, small errands around town, etc. etc.

If you need to do 55 actual mph with no hills, you need at least a 125. Keep in mind it's not a "bigger" scoot. The 50, 125, 150, and 170 are all exactly the same physical size.

I can't tell you which rollers to get since I don't have a 50. But as a general rule, heavier than stock rollers will decrease your acceleration, but increase your top speed. Lighter than stock rollers will increase your acceleration, but decrease your top speed. But we're only talking about small increases and decreases. It won't get your 50cc to 55mph actual (around 63bmph).

I occasionally wish for a little more power from my Buddy 50, usually either going up hills or when I venture onto a 55mph road for a little bit, as you describe. I haven't done any upgrades however, because there's a trade-off on all the options: slower acceleration, more noise, or poorer gas mileage. So I accept it as it is. It's good enough, it's fast enough, and doggone it, I like it.

I went from the stock 7.5 roller weights to 7s and already noticed a slight increase in acceleration. I never get to the top speed (too many pot holes where I like) so I don't know how much it has changed.

Lighter roller weights are a great option.

TVB wrote:I occasionally wish for a little more power from my Buddy 50, usually either going up hills or when I venture onto a 55mph road for a little bit, as you describe. I haven't done any upgrades however, because there's a trade-off on all the options: slower acceleration, more noise, or poorer gas mileage. So I accept it as it is. It's good enough, it's fast enough, and doggone it, I like it.

I think you are right...I had not thought about a trade-off in gas mileage. I definitely don't want to mess with that...it's one of the reasons why I love my Buddy so much for my daily commuting. My questions arose after reading posts about such mods, but after reading all of the great feedback, I think I'll just leave her stock. I, like you, like her just the way she is.

Thanks again to all for the replies and advice. I don't think the trade-offs will be worth the mod or the money.

Yorkiemom wrote:

TVB wrote:I occasionally wish for a little more power from my Buddy 50, usually either going up hills or when I venture onto a 55mph road for a little bit, as you describe. I haven't done any upgrades however, because there's a trade-off on all the options: slower acceleration, more noise, or poorer gas mileage. So I accept it as it is. It's good enough, it's fast enough, and doggone it, I like it.

I think you are right...I had not thought about a trade-off in gas mileage. I definitely don't want to mess with that...it's one of the reasons why I love my Buddy so much for my daily commuting. My questions arose after reading posts about such mods, but after reading all of the great feedback, I think I'll just leave her stock. I, like you, like her just the way she is.

Thanks again to all for the replies and advice. I don't think the trade-offs will be worth the mod or the money.

Changing your rollers won't affect your mileage much, if at all.