Modern Buddy

Just wanted to know:

What kinda life can I expect outta of my buddy? I dont abuse it, but i do use it. What milages/problems have yall been having? Any rebuilds? Why did you have to do the rebuild?

I usually over service my bikes, and give my bike time to warm up before riding.

Right now I have 2000 miles in only a month and a half. Im guessing I will ride about 15k a year.

I have going on 14,000 miles and the only problems I've had are:

1. The ground wire from the coil wasn't well grounded (happened in the first month) and the dealer fixed it.

2. The oil filter backed off and dropped most of the oil out (at about 3 months and was my own fault). I fixed it myself.

3. I replaced the rollerweights at 12,000 miles with 10.5 gram items. Tried to replace the belt, but I had the wrong one so the original is still on and looking like new, yet.

I change the oil and filter regularly and have had no other problems.

--Keys

Since they've only been on the market for 2 years in the U.S., it's hard to say. As Keys indicated, a lot of it is maintenance. As well as oil changes, you'll need to keep an eye on your tires, and the parts that wear out like the rollers, belt, spark plug, etc.

Maybe there's a Ligero owners' club in the U.K.? We've had a few BuBu owners post here, but they've all modded their engines like crazy.

how does one check or know rollers need replacing. Is there a suggested replacement interval?

are yall checking your valves every 4k miles?

4800 miles. I had to have the bottom half of the motor rebilt about 1000 miles ago. The crank bearing went bad causing wear on the crankshaft and the mechanic said it was probably caused by badly worn rollers.They all hade multiple flat spots on them.
i properly broke it in then it was all out all the time.and the fact i weigh 300lbs might have to something to do with it.

Initial (minor) problems:
1. Seat Latch didn't work.
2. Speedometer cable fell off.

Only other issue at 3K miles, oil leak-In repair now for this.

Leeroy Jenkins wrote:how does one check or know rollers need replacing. Is there a suggested replacement interval?

are yall checking your valves every 4k miles?

The lifespan of rollers seems to vary according to a number of factors... I've heard of riders needing to replace them at 4800 miles (as above) and otehrs who are past 10K and whose are still going strong. Probably good to check them at least at same interval as valve checks (which are important, too). You may be able to feel when rollers are wearing —sometimes this will cause the scoot to drag a bit off the line or be slower to respond when accelerating. You also may be able to hear a little metallic rattling when accelerating because they won't fit as well in their seats in the variator.

I haven't done the replacement myself (though others have) but hear that when worn, the rollers will get flatter on one side.

ericalm wrote:

I haven't done the replacement myself (though others have) but hear that when worn, the rollers will get flatter on one side.

the roller will have muptilpe flat spots around the outside of the roller. heck my rollers were so bad they wernt even round anymore

novice non-mechanic here...what is a "roller"?

There are a couple of threads around here that explain it better than I can...use your search function. Short answer, though, is they are rollerweights that as the engine spins will "roll" outward from the crankshaft (due to centrifugal force) and press part of the variator portion of your transmission against the drive belt. This will in effect make the belt think it's running on a bigger shaft, thereby increasing your gearing.

In other words, your transmission won't work without them.

--Keys

actually, that was quite helpful. thank you.

The leak maybe resolved. I'm checking every other day or so.

But mechanic at the dealer did do a valve adjustment. It wasn't due in another 1K

I'm trying to find a post on how to check roller weights. Any help here?

kmo2771 wrote:I'm trying to find a post on how to check roller weights. Any help here?

Are you trying to check them for wear? How many miles on your scoot?

I'll be checking for wear.

I think there are some instructions, with images in the Buddy 125 Service Manual (click link to download PDF).

The rough basics are to remove the transmission cover, unscrew variator nut, remove the top of the variator, check rollers seated inside. Here's a correctly-labeled image (I'm responsible for the incorrect label on here, so what do I know?).



There's a great new tutorial on doing this on a Vespa here. It's essentially the same, though the special tools mentioned will be different for the Buddy.

ericalm wrote: It's essentially the same, though the special tools mentioned will be different for the Buddy.

to avoid eternal frustration, make sure you have access to an impact wrench...

found this on utube, I found it informative, it a C3 but its close to a buddy.

bad english and its a bit slow, but gives you and idea of what the process looks like.

part 2 of 5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR8Piutd9VQ