Modern Buddy

Hello everybody, I am new to the forum. I currently have a Kawasaki KLR 650 and looking to trade down to a scooter. I am living in a condo and the KLR is just too loud to start at 5:30 in the morning and I am afraid that I will wake the neighbors. I am looking to purchase a Buddy 125cc and have a few questions.

1. Do you need to warm up the Buddy before riding it in the morning? If yes, how long does it take to warm it up.

2. Is the motor loud? I know loudness is subjective. But has anyone's neighbors complain about the noise? How does the noise compare to a car engine?

3. I am 185 lbs. What top speed could I expect to get on leveled roads.

I will primarily use the Buddy to go 10 miles to my work early in the morning so noise is a big concern for me.

Thanks in advance for answering these questions.

None of the buddys are really that loud, even after you put a loud pipe on them (such as the prima pipe). As for top end, you should be looking at something like 62mph based on the speedo... but then that's optimistic, so it's more like 54-56 roughly. I would encourage warming up any bike... but it shouldn't take any more than 2 minutes while going through your standard check before riding. It may take a little longer when it's cold out... but as a biker, you know the drill behind that.

Oh yeah, welcome to the forums.

jamisfoes wrote: 1. Do you need to warm up the Buddy before riding it in the morning? If yes, how long does it take to warm it up.

It takes a few minutes for the idle to settle when warming up, but a lot of people, including me, don't wait. Since the first few minutes of my ride entail a slow speed exit from my neighborhood, I think it's safe. If, on the other hand, you're immediately hopping on a 45MPH road, you might want to let it warm up.

jamisfoes wrote: 2. Is the motor loud? I know loudness is subjective. But has anyone's neighbors complain about the noise? How does the noise compare to a car engine?

In my opinion, no, the motor is not loud at all. It's definitely quieter than a motorcycle, and I don't think it's louder than an average car.

jamisfoes wrote: 3. I am 185 lbs. What top speed could I expect to get on leveled roads.

I can't speak directly to that, since I don't weight that much, but based upon other comments on this board, I'd venture that you could do up to 65MPH and maybe even more. However, it's not something you want to do all the time.

I have an 2007 Buddy 125, I let it warm up for a couple of minutes while I get ready in the morning. You know, jacket, helmet, gloves by the time I get those on it's warmed up. As for your weight, I'm 210lbs and my ride is a little over 12 miles to work. As long as you are not hopping onto the freeway you should be good on surface streets. I have a 2 mile stretch that is 55mph, I don't have issues keeping up (or passing) traffic.

Safe riding!

You live in So Cal so your warm-up won't be too long.
The stock 125 or any of the 4 stroke Buddy's, are really quiet.

Thanks guys. That's what I like to hear. I will post pictures once I get mine.

Every morning at 4:30 am I go to my buddy 125 to start up ( electric starter) to give time and take helmet , goggle and gloves on , It take 2 or 3 minutes then go.
I have no problem with this for two years now . The neighbor next door never complain about noise in the early morning.

I leave at 5 am and warm it for two or three minutes.I drive 26 miles down the coast hyway. I drive alot of full throttle 55 to 60 mph. noise has never been an issue.Coming home with the crazy people driving cars is another matter !

With a stock Buddy you can easily go on roads posted 45, but you're not going to burn up the freeways, as these scooters were not build for that. I'm 235lbs and live in Denver and can get the scooter to 50 on the speedo (which is a touch slower in reality due to "optomistic" speedos in these things). Where your lighter and at sea level you should be able to go faster than that. If you search the posts some people have heavily modified their scooters to go way faster...

These things are rather quiet in stock form (don't know about ones with aftermarket pipes). As for letting them warm up, it doesn't hurt to let it idle for a min or two before taking off. Wouldn't suggest just jumping on then opening it up...

First note that the speedometer is off by about 7 MPH at mid range; it varies a bit at the other other ends of the speedometer. I tested mines against the GPS and for example 52 MPH is actually 45 MPH. Top speed is a little over 60-65 MPH depending on the headwind, I comfortably run it around 50-55 mph (57-62 on the speedometer), although I like it better around 45-50.

At start up, I let it run until it throttles down automatically before I take off, about 2 minutes. I have the stock muffler and it is fairly quiet.

jamisfoes wrote: I am 185 lbs. What top speed could I expect to get on leveled roads.

I'm 5'7" and 185-190lbs (depending on season (haha?)) and I tested my top speed on my Buddy 125 with a GPS.

We all know the speedometer is optimistic. Everyone is different and I'm only giving you info based on our similar weight and same scooter.

I hit about 65ish mph (cant recall) but I do remember my phone gps/speedo saying it hit 59mph. I remembered it because I always wanted to hit the 60mph mark but never achieved it.

Either way, it's an awesome ride. I have a Vespa GTS250 now and still think the buddy is a fun ride... Especially for my height.

I just helped my friend pick up his "new" 2007 Buddy (1.7 miles when bought!) from the repair shop and rode it home for him.

On a downhill, on a major highway, the speedometer hit 70mph and my phone gps said i hit a max speed of 63mph.

This is on a 125cc and me being 185lbs.

Explanation of Buddy (and other scooter) Speedometer Accuracy:
topic10818.html#139168

jamisfoes wrote:Hello everybody, I am new to the forum. I currently have a Kawasaki KLR 650 and looking to trade down to a scooter. I am living in a condo and the KLR is just too loud to start at 5:30 in the morning and I am afraid that I will wake the neighbors. I am looking to purchase a Buddy 125cc and have a few questions.

1. Do you need to warm up the Buddy before riding it in the morning? If yes, how long does it take to warm it up.

2. Is the motor loud? I know loudness is subjective. But has anyone's neighbors complain about the noise? How does the noise compare to a car engine?

3. I am 185 lbs. What top speed could I expect to get on leveled roads.

I will primarily use the Buddy to go 10 miles to my work early in the morning so noise is a big concern for me.

Thanks in advance for answering these questions.

Haha, you sound just like me. I'm 165, my Buddy tops out around 60, but I cruise between 45-55 no problems. I'm up and at it around 5:30, so no issue with noise. Infact, the disc lock being removed is louder then anything. As for warming up, I start it, then strap my helmet, select my favorite ipod track, put on my gloves, then go. It takes me about another minute to descend the parking garage at low speeds, and I'm ready to roll. I'll give it an extra minute in cold weather.

Oh, and a KLR 650 is the only other bike that parks with my 2 buddies.