help! how do you take off front panel of buddy?

HMBscoot · Post by **HMBscoot** » Thu May 15, 2008 3:44 am

i was trying to adjust the head light angle but when i turned on the buddy to see where the light was aimeed the screw came loose and fell into the front. how do i get in there?

Orange Guy · Post by **Orange Guy** » Thu May 15, 2008 3:47 am

I think what you're after is in the second and third pics here.

KRUSTYburger · Post by **KRUSTYburger** » Thu May 15, 2008 3:49 am

Really easy. Unscrew the big bolt in the middle of the front panel and two small screws on the back. The back screws are toward the top on the far left and right side. After you take those off, you may have to wiggle it a bit to get the tabs unhooked (from the bottom front left & right), but it should come off pretty easily... just be gentle and don't pull on it too hard.

If the screw fell down in there, it may have gone all the way through and could possibly be resting on top of the front fender or even on the ground nearby...

edit: yeah, those pics should help, thanks Orange GUY!

HMBscoot · Post by **HMBscoot** » Thu May 15, 2008 4:04 am

thanks for the quick response i got the cover off but the screw was not there went and looked around the ground and came up with the washer but no screw...... its dark now so guess im screwed!

KRUSTYburger · Post by **KRUSTYburger** » Thu May 15, 2008 4:18 am

HMBscoot wrote:...... its dark now so guess im screwed!

you mean unscrewed.

Sorry, you left it wide open.

P.S. you don't have a flashlight?

Orange Guy · Post by **Orange Guy** » Thu May 15, 2008 4:22 am

The best time to fins a lost screw is at night.

Put your flashlight close to the ground and shine it across the pavement. The screw will cast a long shadow making it easier to spot.

HMBscoot · Post by **HMBscoot** » Thu May 15, 2008 4:54 am

i've been over the area a few times now and still no luck, weird that the little washer wound make it to the ground but not the screw? and i don't see any where that it would have been caught up inside the fork area???

Maybe just another screw of similar size would work?

it's going to be a great day to ride tomorrow and im wishing i never touched a thing on my buddy

HMBscoot · Post by **HMBscoot** » Thu May 15, 2008 6:31 am

do you think it would be ok to ride the scoot without the screw for a while the light seems to stay pretty still and a still cant ride at nite so maybe i'll just leave it as is?? thoughts??

Post by **ericalm** » Thu May 15, 2008 6:36 am

I did the exact same thing at some point and never found the screw. Riding during the day you should be okay as long as the headlight isn't pointing down. When I did this, the headlight didn't seem to move too much.

I did replace the screw at some point, but don't know the size; I happened to have something that fit.

Kurzer · Post by **Kurzer** » Thu May 15, 2008 7:44 am

no magnetic wand? those things are great little tools often overlooked

jmazza · Post by **jmazza** » Thu May 15, 2008 11:24 am

HMBscoot wrote:
Maybe just another screw of similar size would work?

Well a screw of EXACT size will work!

I was looking at the parts diagram and list from this post and the screw you are looking for is part E1613010000 from diagram F1 (part #8 ) but unfortunately it's simply labeled "Regulating Screw" with no size indicator.

Which makes what I've posted completely useless. Though I did try!

You could run over to your dealer and ask if you can borrow a screw from another Buddy and take it to a hardware store to match. The dealer might even have the right size laying around.

Good luck!!