Modern Buddy

Hi, I perused the site for a long time and couldn't find anything, so please excuse me if this has been answered. Perhaps I used the wrong keywords.

I just bought a used 2013 170i with 2100 miles on it in excellent condition. The thing is when I am at a stop and accelerate, the scooter "jerks" for 1 second then is smooth sailing thereafter. This only happens from 0-10MPH.

Is this common or is there some issue/problem forthcoming? Thanks so much.

That's fairly normal for cvt's. Most of your transmission is a belt that gets squeezed between two pulleys. You could always pull the cover off and look at it just to make sure the belt isn't obviously damaged, but at 2100 miles it should be fine.

Take your battery out and put it on a charger overnight.(disconnect completely) Fill your tank with premium and add 2 oz of seafoam. Put the battery back in and take it for a long ride.

This will cause your ecu to reset. Might be something to do with your fi at low idle.

Sounds like normal transmission operation on a Buddy.

It's normal, typical of a cvt trans like was said above, no worries!

Thanks! Interesting note on the octane. The previous owner said to only use the cheap stuff after I mentioned I would use 91 because the engine is so small (I have a SMART CAR and 91 oct is required). He said the high oct might ruin the engine. Slowly learning about the scooter life...but loads of fun!

My 170i just started doing this too. Only from a full stop. I take off, the buddy gets to maybe 10 mph, sort of jerks, then takes off quickly. It feels like it's changing gears. It's always been totally smooth. I guess I'll take it to the dealer to see if they can figure it out.

91 octane won't hurt it.

You folks with the grabby clutches could try "bedding" them. I've used this technique before on my Yager when the clutch got grabby. I've only had to do it twice in 10K, but the symptoms were as described, the bike would accelerate slightly, jerk, the revs dipped a bit and them the rest of the acceleration was normal. Anyway, read first and ask questions if the instruction seems unclear.

Start the motor and allow it to warm up. Prior to the bedding, mount the bike and take it off the stand. Grab a handful of rear brake and put it in tight. Roll on the throttle for at least 5 seconds, then close the throttle. I've heard of 15 seconds but I find that extreme and could overheat the clutch. Release the brake and allow the bike to idle for about another 15 seconds. Shut it down and allow about 15 minutes for the clutch to cool. Test drive and see if the clutch is still grabby.

That seemed to help a lot. Thanks!

az_slynch wrote:You folks with the grabby clutches could try "bedding" them. I've used this technique before on my Yager when the clutch got grabby. I've only had to do it twice in 10K, but the symptoms were as described, the bike would accelerate slightly, jerk, the revs dipped a bit and them the rest of the acceleration was normal. Anyway, read first and ask questions if the instruction seems unclear.

Start the motor and allow it to warm up. Prior to the bedding, mount the bike and take it off the stand. Grab a handful of rear brake and put it in tight. Roll on the throttle for at least 5 seconds, then close the throttle. I've heard of 15 seconds but I find that extreme and could overheat the clutch. Release the brake and allow the bike to idle for about another 15 seconds. Shut it down and allow about 15 minutes for the clutch to cool. Test drive and see if the clutch is still grabby.

I just did this and my clutch is smoother. Sweet trick you have there.

Careful to not do this too much!
91 octane CAN'T hurt the engine. It's all I use and I'm under the impression that it is what Genuine spec's for the 170i (Disclaimer: I could be wrong about the spec as I haven't reviewed my data sources before posting, my bad).

I prefer to bed the clutch the old fashioned way - attempt to do a burnout in a parking lot, give up after a couple seconds, ride away like you weren't trying to do a burnout with 3 horsepower.

My Kymco Like had the same issue, turned out to be caked on belt dust (from a fairly new belt) in the variator keeping the sliders from transitioning smoothly. A good blow out of that buildup every once in a while is good.