Buddy 50 Resurrection - Project: Black Jack Jr
Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2017 2:01 am
Back in May of 2016, I bought my very first scooter - a slightly used 2014 Buddy 50. And for the next 10 months I had an absolute blast every time I rode it regardless of where I was going, which I imagine is a familiar feeling to many of you.
Then, in March of 2017, less than a year after we were brought together, my Buddy was stolen and I was sad. Angry too, but mostly sad.
And as the days and weeks continued to pass by, I really didn't think I would ever see my Buddy again...
So when I finally received a call from the local police department telling me that my scooter was found abandoned across town, I was beyond elated. Until I saw the condition it was in. The ignition had been completely drilled out and it wasn't running. The center stand was bent and it had been dropped several times. There was damage to the front windshield panel from being removed many, many times to hotwire it. In a little over 3 months it had been driven over 800 miles.
When I got it home and started cleaning it, I found some broken glass drug paraphernalia in the under seat storage area. That made me imagine the lives of the people who had stolen my scooter and how difficult, scary, stressful, and challenging things must have been for them. So I really hope that while they had my scooter, they experienced some joy that gave them an escape from their challenges for a while.
Now that my scooter is back, I want to get it back on the road and better than it was when I first bought it. I'm not a mechanic and this is my first scooter, so I kind of figure that since it isn't running it would be hard for me to worse (but not impossible), making this is a good opportunity to learn how to fix and maintain my scooter.
Right now my vision is upgrading various parts to improve the overall performance and changing the appearance to something similar to the Buddy Black Jack. I'm sure I'll have a ton of questions and I'll post pictures and progress in this thread. Onward!
Then, in March of 2017, less than a year after we were brought together, my Buddy was stolen and I was sad. Angry too, but mostly sad.
And as the days and weeks continued to pass by, I really didn't think I would ever see my Buddy again...
So when I finally received a call from the local police department telling me that my scooter was found abandoned across town, I was beyond elated. Until I saw the condition it was in. The ignition had been completely drilled out and it wasn't running. The center stand was bent and it had been dropped several times. There was damage to the front windshield panel from being removed many, many times to hotwire it. In a little over 3 months it had been driven over 800 miles.
When I got it home and started cleaning it, I found some broken glass drug paraphernalia in the under seat storage area. That made me imagine the lives of the people who had stolen my scooter and how difficult, scary, stressful, and challenging things must have been for them. So I really hope that while they had my scooter, they experienced some joy that gave them an escape from their challenges for a while.
Now that my scooter is back, I want to get it back on the road and better than it was when I first bought it. I'm not a mechanic and this is my first scooter, so I kind of figure that since it isn't running it would be hard for me to worse (but not impossible), making this is a good opportunity to learn how to fix and maintain my scooter.
Right now my vision is upgrading various parts to improve the overall performance and changing the appearance to something similar to the Buddy Black Jack. I'm sure I'll have a ton of questions and I'll post pictures and progress in this thread. Onward!