Modern Buddy

On my way into work today, when suddenly when starting up from a stop-light, the scooter was super loud! It was clear that I had suddenly developed an exhaust leak of some sort, because nothing was being muffled, and the sound seemed to be coming from underneath the scooter.

So I brought it into the shop, and it turns out, both nuts holding the exhaust pipe onto the bottom had disappeared. Just like that, gone!

Fortunately only charged me $5 for the replacement nuts, and I was in and out of there in 5 minutes.

Has anyone ever had that happen to them? Been riding this scooter for 2 years (warranty just ran out), so it seems crazy that they could come loose after all that time.

Interestingly though, the scooter seemed extra quiet, and extra peppy on the ride back from the shop, so maybe they've been loose for awhile now, and just finally disappeared entirely.

Got any enemies?

Better than losing your nuts!

That just happened to our poor new puppy (my wife's idea ... not mine). No wonder dogs seem to hate the vet.

Rob

Wife keeps mine in her pocket book

I lost mine last summer.

easy wrote:Wife keeps mine in her pocket book

You're a lot closer to your money than I am.

Back to the O.P.:

Is it possible that someone messed with the scoot out of spite or just for some mischief?

^ Its just the 'Out Of Warranty curse' that happens to some. Things will begin to fall off on a regular basis. BEWARE.

charlie55 wrote:

easy wrote:Wife keeps mine in her pocket book

You're a lot closer to your money than I am.

Back to the O.P.:

Is it possible that someone messed with the scoot out of spite or just for some mischief?

Considering they would have had to get down onto the ground, with a socket-wrench... very unlikely. Mischief would be more like putting dog crap on the seat, and no one spites me.

Dean F wrote:I lost mine last summer.
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Man That's a lot of stuff to have fall off!

Rob wrote:Better than losing your nuts!

That just happened to our poor new puppy (my wife's idea ... not mine). No wonder dogs seem to hate the vet.

Rob

Was this the stock pipe or did you have the Prima installed? The Blackjack ships with the standard exhaust and the dealer installs the Prima.

Was there a recent rear tire change? The pipe has to come off for that so wondering if the nuts weren't tightened back down properly afterwards.

Tocsik wrote:Was this the stock pipe or did you have the Prima installed? The Blackjack ships with the standard exhaust and the dealer installs the Prima.

Was there a recent rear tire change? The pipe has to come off for that so wondering if the nuts weren't tightened back down properly afterwards.

The Prima was installed by the dealer 2 years ago. The only service, other than oil changes, that it has had since then, was last summer when I got a bad tank of gas. They drained it, cleaned the carb, and eventually replaced the spark plug. I doubt any of that would require loosening those nuts though.

I guess I'll just blame it on the terrible terrible Boston roads. They're basically one long endless rumble-strip.

Greets - I read your post about the exhaust becoming loud and this just happened to me TODAY. I got home tonight and found both nuts missing from where the exhaust pipe connects to the engine.

What size are these nuts?

I live in super-rural area and I am not sure what the size is. I don't want to drive the scoot with it being this loud.

Also, I know there is a gasket between the block and the pipe. I can't tell if that blew out of there or not. Wondering if this needs to be replaced and if so where to get one and which style of gasket is the best?

Thanks,
Buddy 150 in Southern Oregon
5/20/13

Buddy 150 wrote:Greets - I read your post about the exhaust becoming loud and this just happened to me TODAY. I got home tonight and found both nuts missing from where the exhaust pipe connects to the engine.

What size are these nuts?

I live in super-rural area and I am not sure what the size is. I don't want to drive the scoot with it being this loud.

Also, I know there is a gasket between the block and the pipe. I can't tell if that blew out of there or not. Wondering if this needs to be replaced and if so where to get one and which style of gasket is the best?

Thanks,
Buddy 150 in Southern Oregon
5/20/13

I don't actually know what they were, since the shop just replaced them. But looking at the documents on scooterloungeonline.com:

http://www.scooterloungeonline.com/buddy125muffler

Looks like you'd need parts 11 and 12. This makes me wonder if my shop checked and replaced the gasket if it was missing.

Thanks. If the noise went away after they put on the new nuts then it probably doesn't matter. My closest dealer is a couple hundred miles away so I am going to have to wing it and go down to the local hardware store and try to figure out what the size is. I was reading somewhere that it could be 8MM.

Buddy 150 wrote:Thanks. If the noise went away after they put on the new nuts then it probably doesn't matter. My closest dealer is a couple hundred miles away so I am going to have to wing it and go down to the local hardware store and try to figure out what the size is. I was reading somewhere that it could be 8MM.

Or you could call Scooterloungeonline or Genuine and ask the size. You could just order them from there though. $2.30 per nut, and 92 cents for the gasket looks like.

Thanks !
Have a great night.

Rob wrote:Better than losing your nuts!....

ha. i had the exact same thought off the top of my head. i was going to post it

now, i don't have to

Believe it or not those acorn nuts come off on scooters quite often. Lot of vibration right there, with gravity helping them, this is a nut that needs to be checked. Especially if you're jumping your scooter.

Hello BuddyLand:

What a sense of humor you all got.

My acorn nuts fell of my bolts holding the muffler on my Buddy 125 as well. I had taken them of when changing my rear tire and doing some experimentz with exhaust back pressure.

I did not torqure down the nuts enough, and not long after, they fell off.
While having the original acorn nuts is nice even at $2.39 each, I just used ordinary hex nuts and they have not shown any quality degradation. If your worried about degradation and you don't want to pay $2.39 per acorn nut, even automotive grade 6-8 nuts will cost you pennies.

Rick71454

Hmm, maybe y'all could try using M6 Fuji Lock nuts. They have a locking spreader that prevents them from rattling off. They'd be fine for exhaust applications, unlik the stander Nylock nuts which will just melt.

JHScoot wrote:

Rob wrote:Better than losing your nuts!....

ha. i had the exact same thought off the top of my head. i was going to post it

now, i don't have to

I would use that old saying about "great minds .......... ", but I'm not sure either of us want to be that company.

Rob

recommend using LOCTITE on all screws and bolts. Blue for the ones you change more often, and the red for more permanent attachments, or higher heat.