Modern Buddy

Took a turn too fast. Heard the sound of the centerstand scraping before I felt the loss of traction. I think there might have been some sand on the road. Onc it started to slide, I couldn't recover. This is my first road crash in over 40 years of riding. Anyways, stayed at home nursing a sore shoulder, the Vicodin has kicked in and I have run out of work to do, so here's my analysis:

Cause: probably the smaller rear shock I put on just dropped the centerstand too low. I immediately noticed this problem, thought I had figured out adjustments and such over the past 4 months. The sand may have contributed, but also those stock tires suck. They have always felt a little washy-wobbly in turns.

Damage: I have a "displacement" in my shoulder, probably wouldn't have happened to a younger man. I wear full gear, so nothing else happened except for a small scrape on my shin and my left thumb has a bruise. Notably, my full-face helmet has scratches on the face shield and the chin.

The bike has severe damage to the windshield, the handlebar covers, and the headlight chrome trim piece. The left brake lever is scraped down to bare metal. The left blinker cover is scraped, but not broken. Other than the air filter cover on the back, everything else is just minor scratches. I only slid about 15 feet before going into a soft (sand) shoulder, so that probably helped a lot. Notably, while I had lots of adrenaline in me, I rode it home the last ten miles, no problem.

So, I need to buy some plastic pieces. I saw the top handlebar cover is obtainable for about $65, so that's not too bad. Any source recommendations?

Corrections:
1. buy new parts for the severely damaged plastic.
2. Try to rub out the minor scratches (any ideas how?).
3. Buy some better tires, probably bigger (130/70).
4. Probably remove the center stand.
5. Take turns slower.

This should help with identifying the needed parts:

http://www.scooterloungeonline.com/genuinebuddyparts

They sell 'em, too.

Sorry to hear about your crash, happens to the best of us. Good thing the damage to yourself and the scoot were minor. I buy my parts from www.scooterloungeonline.com, although there are other dealers around. Of course, if you have a local shop that can order the parts for you, by all means, support them. Scooterlounge has all the parts diagrams with part numbers available online.
And about the centerstand, I've done the same thing on my Blur, but was able to recover due, I think, to my many years of dirtbiking. Anyway, I removed the centerstand and have never had another problem with scrapping my dangly bits. I'm also running Michelin tires which helps the handling quite a bit.

Argee wrote:Took a turn too fast. Heard the sound of the centerstand scraping before I felt the loss of traction. I think there might have been some sand on the road. Onc it started to slide, I couldn't recover. This is my first road crash in over 40 years of riding. Anyways, stayed at home nursing a sore shoulder, the Vicodin has kicked in and I have run out of work to do, so here's my analysis:

Cause: probably the smaller rear shock I put on just dropped the centerstand too low. I immediately noticed this problem, thought I had figured out adjustments and such over the past 4 months. The sand may have contributed, but also those stock tires suck. They have always felt a little washy-wobbly in turns.

Damage: I have a "displacement" in my shoulder, probably wouldn't have happened to a younger man. I wear full gear, so nothing else happened except for a small scrape on my shin and my left thumb has a bruise. Notably, my full-face helmet has scratches on the face shield and the chin.

The bike has severe damage to the windshield, the handlebar covers, and the headlight chrome trim piece. The left brake lever is scraped down to bare metal. The left blinker cover is scraped, but not broken. Other than the air filter cover on the back, everything else is just minor scratches. I only slid about 15 feet before going into a soft (sand) shoulder, so that probably helped a lot. Notably, while I had lots of adrenaline in me, I rode it home the last ten miles, no problem.

So, I need to buy some plastic pieces. I saw the top handlebar cover is obtainable for about $65, so that's not too bad. Any source recommendations?

Corrections:
1. buy new parts for the severely damaged plastic.
2. Try to rub out the minor scratches (any ideas how?).
3. Buy some better tires, probably bigger (130/70).
4. Probably remove the center stand.
5. Take turns slower.

Glad you're mostly ok. Full face helmet sounds like it saved you a good amount of pain and suffering too. How fast were you going? Also, what type of riding did you do most of the time, scooter or motorcycle (or both)?

babblefish wrote:Sorry to hear about your crash, happens to the best of us. Good thing the damage to yourself and the scoot were minor. I buy my parts from www.scooterloungeonline.com, although there are other dealers around. Of course, if you have a local shop that can order the parts for you, by all means, support them. Scooterlounge has all the parts diagrams with part numbers available online.
And about the centerstand, I've done the same thing on my Blur, but was able to recover due, I think, to my many years of dirtbiking. Anyway, I removed the centerstand and have never had another problem with scrapping my dangly bits. I'm also running Michelin tires which helps the handling quite a bit.

Without a center stand how do you know your oil level is accurate?

Bill in Seattle

Your story makes me question my using a 3/4 helmet.

I had to replace the top handlebar cover and the silver ring around the headlight. That ring is expensive because, as the scooter store clerk said, "they can". Anyway, I was able to get used parts from Scooterville, Minneapolis. They were like new and very affordable. If you are open to used, which can still be quite nice, try scooter stores and also the buy/sell site on Modern Buddy.

Type-scoot, I was going about 20 mph. Babblefish, I too rode a bunch of dirt as a kid, and had scraped the centerstand a couple of times before, so I knew how it felt. This just happened much faster. I pulled straight and leaned way over to get the stand off the ground, but it kept sliding sideways. I just checked the corner, there is sand covering the entry to the corner just before the deep scrape from the center stand. There's another route I can take home that stays away from the lagoon, I think that will be my first choice for awhile.

I have ridden all sorts of bikes, all of my life, from the Trail 70 to a big twin 650, in the city, country, and mountains. I would rent bikes when on travel for business, like in Tucson or Reno. I used to race in the desert, mostly 125 scrambles. This is my second scoot; in 1980 I rode a Vespa 125. I got the Buddy about a year ago, and have put about 1800 miles on it so far. Sufice it to say, I have a bit of experience.

Bill: the only reason I have left the center stand on was to check the oil level! I think I can figure something out, just need the bike vertical. I'll probably make a temporary stand out of something.

Thanks, everyone, for the advice and support. Ride on!

Sorry to hear about your accident.

If you need one, I have a new Series Italia bottom cover you can have for $30. I see you are in S. Cal, so if you're close enough to Woodland Hills, you could stop by and pick it up.

Thanks, Tazio, I might take you up on that. You're not far.

I just finished removing the bad parts; the lower handlebar cover doesn't look too bad and looks much more difficult to remove. I'm going to try to repair the lower first, and see how it looks.

Checking oil level without a centerstand: I either put a 2x4 block of wood under the side stand or I just hold the scoot in a vertical position. Either way is close enough. There is some leeway in the amount of oil that should be in the crankcase. Don't forget, as long as the oil level is within the hash marks molded into the dipstick/oilcap, you're golden.

In my experience, the local dealer is a good source for replacement body panels. Glad you came out of it mostly okay. Be sure you post on the "Who's crashed" thread. topic635.html

You are right, the lower panel is a bear to replace. I glued mine together with Auto Goop as a temporary repair 8 years ago and still haven't gotten around to replacing it. Somehow I ended up with 2 new lower panels.

I just did the same thing today: hit a patch of gravel on a turn and slid into the grass. Same damage to my Buddy. So bummed because I just topped 25000 miles and I have had to replace very minimal stuff

I cut out a new windshield, bought the top handlebar cover for $65, the headlight chrome trim for $30, painted the airbox, and removed the center stand. It looks OK from about 20 feet away. The center stand for oil changes was easy; two 2x6 boards and a piece of composite deck.

Now, I just have to paint the left brake lever and buy some new tires. I might try the existing tires and let more air out. I was running 32 psi on the rear.