Modern Buddy

I can start my Buddy with the starter, after a couple of tries, but it appears that it "prefers" starting via the kickstart.

Why would this be?

Thank you!

Battery not strong enough to power both starter and ignition?

When you start with the button, what is the battery voltage while it's cranking?

My 97 Shadow 1100 was sensitive to weak batteries. It would crank well enough, but didn't want to fire...

I'd do a compression check. In considering this along with your other post, I was reminded of a fussy Honda Elite E. It had a bad crank seal and low primary compression. Never could start off battery. It finally got to the point where it would kick over, run when on the bystarter (enricher), and die as soon as that closed. New crank seals fixed it. On the Buddy, there's an O-ring under the oil pump that seals the crank chamber too. If you end up having to fix the seals, do the oil pump O-ring too.

The less troublesome thought is, have you checked the vacuum line for the fuel tap? Maybe sure there are no leaks and that the carb bowl is filling quickly.

Last thought, check that the reeds are sealing property. If they aren't, you may see less intake vacuum and lower primary compression.