Modern Buddy

WOW! So I helped my friend get his Buddy 125cc fixed yesterday and rode around on it. Riding it felt so small!

REWIND!!!

My first scooter was a 2007 Buddy 125cc. I loved that thing and rode 16k miles in like 4 years. I then "upgraded" to a Vespa 150S and a year later to a Vespa GTS 250.

I really really don't know how I rode the Buddy 125cc the way I did. Going back to it felt like a toy! I felt like a giant on it and I'm only 5'7". I still love it but I really don't know how I rode highways with it. I'm not saying anything negative about it but I just felt it was really small. It's darn fun to ride locally though.

*When I had my Vespa 150S, I still had my Buddy 125cc and it still felt small going from the Vespa 150S to the Buddy.

I'm 6' and 250lbs I KNOW I look odd.

I had a similar thing happen with me the other day. I've been mainly riding my new Beo 500, and when I got on one of my Buddy 125s to back walk it out of the garage I marvelled how light it felt...almost like a mountain bike!

Not dissing the Buddy at all. It's a super scooter....and me at just 5'5", seems weird...but then the Beo is no lightweight.

Right? I'm 6'1", 235 lbs and I'm sure I look like a joke, but it's fun anyway. I took the MSF course on a 2012 Zuma 125 and going from that to the Buddy felt really odd. The seat is much narrower and closer to the ground.

I still love my Buddy 125, but I could see getting into something bigger.

I am no giant myself and going from my chromed up Stella to a buddy 170 definitely felt strange... the Stella felt a lot more stable due to its higher weight. Also the wider floorboard on the Stella made me feel like my feet were gonna slip off on the buddy

michelle_7728 wrote:I had a similar thing happen with me the other day. I've been mainly riding my new Beo 500, and when I got on one of my Buddy 125s to back walk it out of the garage I marvelled how light it felt...almost like a mountain bike!

Not dissing the Buddy at all. It's a super scooter....and me at just 5'5", seems weird...but then the Beo is no lightweight.

Now that I have a similar stable, I know what you mean. The Beo is heavy, but well managed. The Buddy is very light! I actually knocked mine over (it's sits a little wonky on a plank of wood in a lot) firing it up this morning. Gloves and a lunch everywhere .

The small and light frame is the urban appeal of the buddy. I've ridden it up highways and stuff too, and for some pretty good distances! It's fun, but I prefer the 'right tool for the job' method.

NEWS FLASH!!!!!!

The Buddy IS a small scooter

omg

JHScoot wrote:NEWS FLASH!!!!!!

The Buddy IS a small scooter

omg

Haha. My original post was about the FEELING of going from a larger scooter to the buddy. It could've been the same for Yamaha Vinos and other small scooters... It wasn't really focused on how large or small the scooter is or how comfortable it was etc.

you see now i feel bad. i want my motorcycle!!

ALL of you, 'Bud traitors!

i guess i just won't know what i am missing 'til i get there and start kicking the little guy around myself

"oh hey, Buddy. i didn't see you parked there. sorry to have knocked you over with my new, Big Bad BEO" (BBB)

Disney wrote:

JHScoot wrote:NEWS FLASH!!!!!!

The Buddy IS a small scooter

omg

Haha. My original post was about the FEELING of going from a larger scooter to the buddy. It could've been the same for Yamaha Vinos and other small scooters... It wasn't really focused on how large or small the scooter is or how comfortable it was etc.

oh i know i am just funnin' around. i still feel bad for Buddy, though

If I were to get another lower displacement scooter, it would be a buddy. I love that damn thing. I actually helped fund my friends Buddy... Gave him 30% of payment when we bought it. We got it for $1000 with 1 mile on it! Some young girl bought it but her dad didn't want her riding around. What a steal.

So I own 30% of it and can ride around anytime without having the trouble of really having to take care of it. Haha. (Insurance, parking, etc.)

The "peppiness" and top speed of the Buddy are some of the things that make it so fun. You don't expect something built like the Buddy to be so damn fast and it's that incongruity that makes it a total blast!
It can be so deceptive to riders and the "cagers" around us.
I love watching my rear view mirror for the drivers who just instinctively make a lane change to go around me. I'm not out to ride aggressively or get on anyone's nerves, but when I just twist the throttle and leave them way behind me, I've got the biggest grin inside my helmet.

"Small bikes are big fun!"

Tocsik wrote:The "peppiness" and top speed of the Buddy are some of the things that make it so fun. You don't expect something built like the Buddy to be so damn fast and it's that incongruity that makes it a total blast!
It can be so deceptive to riders and the "cagers" around us.
I love watching my rear view mirror for the drivers who just instinctively make a lane change to go around me. I'm not out to ride aggressively or get on anyone's nerves, but when I just twist the throttle and leave them way behind me, I've got the biggest grin inside my helmet.

"Small bikes are big fun!"

I like your ending: "Small bikes are big fun." Makes a lot of sense.

Bill in Seattle whose 6' 170 lb. frame fits his "small" 170i Italia perfectly and who also enjoys leaving the cagers in the dust when the light turns green

Tocsik wrote:The "peppiness" and top speed of the Buddy are some of the things that make it so fun. You don't expect something built like the Buddy to be so damn fast and it's that incongruity that makes it a total blast!
It can be so deceptive to riders and the "cagers" around us.
I love watching my rear view mirror for the drivers who just instinctively make a lane change to go around me. I'm not out to ride aggressively or get on anyone's nerves, but when I just twist the throttle and leave them way behind me, I've got the biggest grin inside my helmet.

"Small bikes are big fun!"

Exactly!

Like I said, I'm not dissing Buddy's. I still love my Buddy's (I still have 2 of them), they are super fun. BIG GRIN!!!

Anything with wheels is ok in our stable.

"Two wheels good." – George Orwell's Motorbike Farm

I've owned over 60 motorcycles and scooters from a Honda Leadwing with a sidecar and two Harleys to many Japanese UJM's and even roadraced a Yamaha RD250 in the 70's, but the "grin factor" is ALWAYS bigger on a smaller bike or scooter.

I just watched some video taken during a ride at last year's (2012) Amerivespa... I'm 6' and I too look like a giant on my 07 Buddy. Though I always have fun riding my Buddy

Think a Buddy is small? Try a Vespa Primavera 125 smallframe


And can we PLEASE stop using the term Cagers? The only place I have ever heard it is pretty much from newbies on internet forums trying to sound cool.

Believe it or not everybody else in the world calls them cars.

Keys wrote:I've owned over 60 motorcycles and scooters from a Honda Leadwing with a sidecar and two Harleys to many Japanese UJM's and even roadraced a Yamaha RD250 in the 70's, but the "grin factor" is ALWAYS bigger on a smaller bike or scooter.

Sweet!
Loved my RD200! Red line was like, a gazillion RPM's.

BuddyRaton wrote:Think a Buddy is small? Try a Vespa Primavera 125 smallframe

Honda Spree.

JohnKiniston wrote:

BuddyRaton wrote:Think a Buddy is small? Try a Vespa Primavera 125 smallframe

Honda Spree.

This. Any scooter that can get romped on by mopeds and is not trumped by a motorized barstool in the two-wheeled food chain solely because of the stool's wheel count...would be a good yardstick for "small scooter".

az_slynch wrote:

JohnKiniston wrote:

BuddyRaton wrote:Think a Buddy is small? Try a Vespa Primavera 125 smallframe

Honda Spree.

This. Any scooter that can get romped on by mopeds and is not trumped by a motorized barstool in the two-wheeled food chain solely because of the stool's wheel count...would be a good yardstick for "small scooter".

I was on a group ride a few weeks ago where the "smallest" bike was a Honda Aero 50 (same powertrain as a Spree) and it actually wasn't the slowest scooter there. Mind you, the slow bike was a 50cc 4-stroke scooter that looked like it had originally been designed to accept a 150cc powertrain, and the Aero 50's rider was a petite lady, but still... not bad for a tiny, 30-year-old bike without a CVT.

I ride either a Stella or LX150 most of the time. Sad to say, no more Buddy at our house.

However, I do get to ride one on occasion. Yes, they feel small, especially at first. They feel light, despite being almost the same weight as the LX. And every time I ride one, I'm reminded how much fun they are to ride.

Rusty J wrote:I was on a group ride a few weeks ago where the "smallest" bike was a Honda Aero 50 (same powertrain as a Spree) and it actually wasn't the slowest scooter there. Mind you, the slow bike was a 50cc 4-stroke scooter that looked like it had originally been designed to accept a 150cc powertrain, and the Aero 50's rider was a petite lady, but still... not bad for a tiny, 30-year-old bike without a CVT.

Hey, I was on that ride! Hi, Rusty!

Rusty J wrote:I was on a group ride a few weeks ago where the "smallest" bike was a Honda Aero 50 (same powertrain as a Spree) and it actually wasn't the slowest scooter there. Mind you, the slow bike was a 50cc 4-stroke scooter that looked like it had originally been designed to accept a 150cc powertrain, and the Aero 50's rider was a petite lady, but still... not bad for a tiny, 30-year-old bike without a CVT.

Ah, but the Aero 50 is variated. Top speed is around 35mph. The odd bit is that the Aero has an engine code of AF05E, which is the same as the Spree. Problem is, the engines only have displacement and 2T design in common...almost no parts are interchangeable. The crankshafts even rotate in opposite directions!

The only kin to the the Spree (that was sold in the US, at least) is the '88-'91 Elite E and ES. To make matters worse, there were two distinct iterations of the Spree motor. There was an early ('84-'85) and a late ('86-'87 and for the most part Elite E) engines. Early motors lack the kick starter and have 12.5:1 final drive. They're good for 27-28mph. The later model has 11:1 final drive and a kick starter. They can hit 32-33mph. In both cases, there was an Iowa-specific version that was nerfed down to a mere 25mph. The Elite E was supposed to be restricted to 25mph as well, but the ones I've seen generally do 27-28mph.

Final point on the Spree. Dry weight on the early-version Spree is 87lbs. The late ones weigh 94 lbs. I think the weight comes from the kicker mechanism, revised flywheel and crankshaft, as the chassis didn't change much. Hard to find another scooter that weighs under a hundred pounds, even when fueled (gas is 6lbs./gallon and the tank is only .66 gallons).

I do love them, though. I have a black '85 model.

@ ericalm: Hey Eric! Of course you were there-- it was your group's ride, after all!

@ az_slynch: I stand corrected. Thanks for the details on those old Hondas!

I have no idea why, but I have always wanted a little black Spree.

Unfortunately, the way people drive around my 'hood, I am now glad I moved up from my Zuma. At least on the Buddy I can get out of the way.

skully93 wrote:I have no idea why, but I have always wanted a little black Spree.

You want one because they're the most stupid fun you can have on a scooter. It's almost like stealing the neighbor kid's toy scooter and hooning around on it.

skully93 wrote:Unfortunately, the way people drive around my 'hood, I am now glad I moved up from my Zuma. At least on the Buddy I can get out of the way.

I'm looking forward to getting my Zuma cleaned up and sorted out. Planning to do a little porting, put on a Tecnigas exhaust and tune the CVT. These horizontal Minarellis have huge tuning potential! Good thing, as there's an Aero 50 down a the garage that'll be a hot tamale once I get to rebuilding it for the owner and I'd hate to get walked on my Zuma by an elderly Honda.

Oh yeah, I'm gonna do this to it too.

itt:

Buddy sounds like a POS

mentioned in the same breath as a Honda SPREE!!!

not even Mr. Admin rides one anymore. his message board bears the namesake!!

JHScoot wrote:mentioned in the same breath as a Honda SPREE!!!

It"s the difference between serious fun and silly fun.

Rusty J wrote:It"s the difference between serious fun and silly fun.

Hell yes! One of the most awesome times I've had on on a scooter was racing GGR John across Tucson on non-variated 50s. It was a royal battle between a Razz and an Elite E, where tucking and trying to minimize your profile mattered just as much as the line you took when going up or down a grade. When you don't have horsepower, it comes down to guile and shenanigans in order to get an edge!

az_slynch wrote:When you don't have horsepower, it comes down to guile and shenanigans in order to get an edge!

While I am a bit low on shenanigans, I have a 20% surplus of guile.