Modern Buddy

While looking at the Genuine website I noticed that one of the pictures of the Buddy 170i shows a kick starter.

I wonder if it is a functioning kick starter. Or if it was assembled with the wrong CVT cover, or maybe it was an early sample scooter and it had the wrong color CVT cover so they mounted a Buddy 125 cover for the photo.

If you go to the Genuine website and look at the Buddy 170i page then click on Glossy Titanium in the colors section you will see this picture showing a Buddy 170i with a kick starter. http://www.genuinescooters.com/buddy170i.html

If I remember correctly, the gear is there. You might try a cover off the 125, and see if it fits. My C3 has a kickstarter. It's fuel injected. The kickstart is very reliable. I've never seen a 170i with one, and I've worked on a few.

How is it even possible for a fuel-injected scooter to have a kickstart? I was always told the reason the 170i can't have one is because the fuel injectors have to be pressurized to a certain amount before the engine can crank. Is this meant to be used if the battery is partially dead, but not completely? Like enough juice to pressurize the injectors and then you kick start it? I don't see how you can kick start if there is no power for the fuel pump and injectors to do their thing.

Try the cover off a 125, and see what happens. There is a kickstart gear in there on the crankshaft. C3 and Zuma 50f are fuel injected. C3 will start with the kick when the battery is going south. The fuel pump went out on one of my C3s. The kickstarter was the only way it would start. Up until the fuel pump completely died.