Modern Buddy

I just recently got a 2008 125cc buddy..I feel as though it maybe not be accelerating as well as it should. I'm yet it get it over 45. I weigh about 130 lbs and there has been slight wind here but nothing over the top. Im ride flat roads, here in south florida. Does it take a serval mile stretch to hit top seed 60 or so? I hit 40 no problem at full throttle but it doesn't go much faster i have hit 45 a few times but not 60...I've read about people hitting 70!!it runs smooth, quite I love it I just want to make sure I that i get what I paid for. Please help....thanks

Sounds like it needs some minor service.

Do you know the history of it? oil? rollers? belt?

I wouldn't fret too much, but you might have to put a little work in.

Well I was told from the shop I bought it that it belonged to an elderly lady that bought it to drive around her retirement community and traded it in for a 50cc scooter.. So I don't know anything, i did get a bad impression from the dealership... seem slimy..But it was to good to pass on it. 2008 1300 miles for $1200 I hope I didn't,t make a mistake..your post was reassuring though unfortunately I don't have any mechanical knowledge or much money to invest.. Thank you

BudBudny wrote:Well I was told from the shop I bought it that it belonged to an elderly lady that bought it to drive around her retirement community and traded it in for a 50cc scooter..

Any vehicle-history story that involves a little old lady is grounds for suspicion.

Valve adjustment check. New spark plug, as well as the other parts already mentioned.

agrogod wrote:Valve adjustment check. New spark plug, as well as the other parts already mentioned.

I would check the air filter also and replace if dirty. A couple ounces of seafoam is probably not a bad idea...could be as simple as a garfed up jet

Before you start looking for mechanical problems, do me a favor. Go ride the scooter up to maximum speed on a straightaway. Note your top speed. Pull in at a safe, convenient parking lot. Open your gas cap. Give a listen when you unscrew it to see if you hear anything like the "whoosh" when you open a vacuum-sealed food jar. Even if you hear nothing, hop back on the scooter and continue riding in the same direction you were going. Note your top speed speed now. Is it the same? If it's suddenly faster, then you have the dreaded "vapor lock" which is easy-peasy to fix. There are multiple threads on this site, including this one that show you how.

Faster now? No? Rats! I lose the bet.

Okay, next is the common gas overflow problem. It's stupidly easy to overflow the gas tank on a Buddy. Very inconveniently, the excess gas can, and will, end up in your air filter box. So, as shown on pages 19 & 33 of the Buddy Owner's Manual, open up your air filter box, pull the filter and see if it is wet with gas. If it is, that will "choke" your motor at higher speed and slow you down. Replacing it (wipe out your air box, too) will solve this. Then, you have to learn to fill the gas tank very carefully. Almost everybody has run into this problem at one time or another.

P.S. If the above doesn't resolve the problem, page 13 of the Buddy Service Manual has a troubleshooting flow chart that walks you through the troubleshooting process in a logical way, pretty much starting with the items the others have suggested above.

Good luck! Please let us know what it turns out to be.

[edited - to fix a bunch of stuff of which my elementary school English teachers would not have been proud]

I agree, it only needs some minor maintence. I weigh 180 and my top speed is about 70bmph under prime conditions. I have no issue getting up to 60 in under 10 seconds. Sounds like a fair price. I would start with a Carb clean, plug,valve check, air filter. If no avail, transmission belt.

Thank You everyone for the info/support. I haven't had a chance to check it yet. I did wipe out inside the air filter which was to my surprise kind of oily. Nothing extreme but there were drops of oil/liquid. My filter itself appeared to be in pretty good shape but also slightly oily. I blew it down with some compressed air. I will be leaving work soon and I will on the road. Thanks again, I really really appreciate it. I was having buyer remorse yesterday but day I feel good again about my Buddy!

Are you absolutely sure you got a 125cc and not a 50 cc? If 125's and 150's get passed off as 50cc to avoid registration why not the other way around ? Look at your paperwork. Compare VINs and there Is an engine number (I had to put that on registration papers together with VIN)
When my bike was going that slow it was bad fuel. I used Seafoam and it cleared the Caribs or whatever was clogged in a week

A shot of SeaFoam may help. Whenever mine gets a tad sluggish an ounce of that stuff with a gas fill up really helps. All the other things listed above should be done/checked also.

Stormswift wrote:Are you absolutely sure you got a 125cc and not a 50 cc? If 125's and 150's get passed off as 50cc to avoid registration why not the other way around ? Look at your paperwork. Compare VINs and there Is an engine number (I had to put that on registration papers together with VIN)
When my bike was going that slow it was bad fuel. I used Seafoam and it cleared the Caribs or whatever was clogged in a week

If it has a dipstick on the right, it ain't a 50.

You made a comment that I did not see anyone address:

Regarding oil on your air filter, check out this thread:
viewtopic.php?t=22853&highlight=air+filter+oil.

Though the thread was started about a different type of scooter, there is this quote from ericalm (which I left only the relevent bits here) about the Buddy:

ericalm wrote:......the Buddy has a dry air filter......

......If you overfill with engine oil or gas, they can back up into the filter. The filter can be cleaned. Remove, wring it out, wash with mild dish soap and warm water, wring again. Leave out to dry. Blow it out with compressed air if available....

PeteH wrote:

Stormswift wrote:Are you absolutely sure you got a 125cc and not a 50 cc? ...

If it has a dipstick on the right, it ain't a 50.

Or if it has a second cap under the seat for refilling the oil tank, it is.

A pleated paper filter becomes restricted if ANY oil misting gets to the airbox.

Although I don't know the location, all four stroke bikes have a oil seperator with a drain out hose that has a removable plug....for draining.
If it is not drained, the oil mist bypasses the seperator and goes into the airbox, fouling the filter.

In the OP's case, I recommend servicing the drainout and replacing the filter......resstriction is likely causing the lack of top speed.

Rob

So I spent sometime this afternoon trying to fix my acceleration problems. Checked the plug and replaced plug...nope. Check the air fliter..nope. Checked the gas cap/vapor lock...nope. Although the plug did help provide more power, the gap wasn't set on the old still not breaking 45. Hit 50 down a slight hill, But that's still not 60!.. I plan on getting some sea foam as recommended tomorrow..thanks to everyone and this fourm what a lifesaver, it's nice to have the support..oh and it's a buddy 125 cc with a 125cc engine..thank you again

Just to clarify what I mean be more power after replacing the plug..it idles strong and is way more responsive...it's got more pep

1300 miles on a 2008? I would also bet it may need a carb clean. Seafoam may be enough but it may need a tear-down. It hasn't been ridden much so it probably needs to have it's ass spanked and let it tear on down the road a bunch. Motors don't like to sit around.

Tocsik wrote:1300 miles on a 2008? I would also bet it may need a carb clean. Seafoam may be enough but it may need a tear-down. It hasn't been ridden much so it probably needs to have it's ass spanked and let it tear on down the road a bunch. Motors don't like to sit around.

Yep..if it's running it's getting some fuel through. Seafoam may degunk but a full cleaning might be needed

Hello Budbudny:

You may wish get a calibration reading on your speedometer to find out how fast your buddy is really traveling. That is because scooter speedometers are too often not accurate. You might have a friend drive their car in front of you and then give you a signal when they reached 30MPH, then look at your speedometer. Or if you got GPS, use that.


My 2009 Buddy 125 indicates 60MPH when I am actually going 50MPH. However, many of the suggestions offered in this subject are good ones to check out. Your 45MPH at full throttle sounds too slow.

Rick71454

Thank guys I appreciate all the feedback..I'm taking it back to the shop I bought it from tomorrow. I did the speed check the other night the speedo is correct. I ran sea foam thru 2 tanks...nothing. I'm really bummed out, I'm back on the bus again tomorrow, public transportation in s.florida is the worst! Hopefully they don't keep it to long and its a simple fix..by simple I mean inexpensive and quick. I'm gonna fight to have to worked on for free, we will see how that works out..More will be revealed. Thanks again

Make sure the oil is not over filled

Any updates on this. I also had a thought to check the carb CV diagham. I had a Honda that ran good but would not hit top speed. The diagham had a hole in it causing the problem.

My Buddy125 wrote:Any updates on this. I also had a thought to check the carb CV diagham. I had a Honda that ran good but would not hit top speed. The diagham had a hole in it causing the problem.

Good thought for this problem! I didn't think about the carb diaphram. Frustrating, especially that has caused a similar problem here fairly recently. I, too, a interested to hear if there was ever a follow-up.

Well no updates because I was involved in an accident...thanks everyone for your interest and support. I had to lay the buddy down avoiding a inpatient driver who ran a red light..good news is minimal damage to my little orange friend. Bad news I broke my hand and can't ride with a cast on. Lots of road rash on the left side of my body and both knees. I'm healing up fine and hopefully soon this cast will come off and I'm back scooting. I was going about 35 to 40 just getting up to speed and outta no where an SUV head straight for my..I panicked locked up the brakes as did the SUV and hit the ground. I SUV took off and after the shock wore off I realized my hand my in lots of pain. Anyways minor scrapes on the bud, very minor, and the muffler very scraped..handle bars look bent but other than that its fine. I was able to ride it 20. Or so miles home..but haven't been back on since. I will ride again, in fact I can't wait until that day. My bud is my sole means of transportation and the bus system in south Florida sucks..anywho I will get this problem solved soon but first I must heal.. Keep ya posted..thanks again

ouch!

Glad you're OK! Consider contributing to the 'who's crashed?' thread.