Modern Buddy

What is the top speed of a Buddy 50 ?
Does a 50cc engine have enough power to get up a good sized hill without being tailed by traffic? Is it necessary to get a 125 to go more than 4o+ mph up hill? I am a first time scooter buyer and want to make sure I get the right one.

hey joshugua!

my experience with my buddy 50 (in denver) is that it easily reaches 40 mph. but of course, it makes a difference what type of weight is on the scooter.

for my purposes, the 50 has been perfect. if you have any doubts though, you might want to go with the 125 or 150. 50 certainly won't get to 40mph on a hill from a stop.

just my two cents. but regardless, enjoy and good luck with the scooter buying! it's so much fun!!!!

Thanks scoot-scoot,

Thats helpful, I weigh about 165 lbs and only have about a two mile ride to work. But it is a fairly gradual up hill climb- with several lights. I'm hoping the 50 is going to be enough. And if you can get around comfortably in Denver, I imagine I can manage the hills of Austin.

It is a lot of fun, isn't it...

I can't wait to ride.

If you are torn between a Buddy 50cc and the 125cc or 150cc, you could supercharge your Buddy 50cc. Sportique Scooters modified my Buddy 50cc with a 70cc upgrade kit and a high performance Prima pipe.

One upgrade I have not done is the carburetor upgrade, which when combined with the 70cc kit and pipe, rivals that of the Buddy 125cc.

I still get the benefit of parking on sidewalks, no insurance or license fees and it still has plenty of power. Traveling uphill is a bit tough on it, but I can still go about 35+ depending on the slope of the hill.

The top speed on my supercharged 50cc is around 50-55mph on flat and one time I went an indicated 63mph down a hill. The top end speed is not great, but off the line acceleration is excellent.

Awesome!
How much does an upgrade cost? And do you max out at 35 (up hill) with the boost?

$0.02

My girlfriend and I ride my Buddy 125 2 up all over Seattle. On almost any hill we are able to get to around 40 or 45 + mph. That is with me weighing around 200 and her around 130. Just my input. Either way you go, you are gonna have crazy fun on it!

I paid $500 for the malossi cylinder and variator upgrade kit installed and $300 for the Prima Pipe installed.

The carb runs about $200.

The speed up hills varies on rider weight and slope of the hill, but I have been able to ride 40+ if I have a good run at the hill.

Consider that once you get you're scoot, you'll want to ride a lot more than your commute. You may find yourself riding it everywhere, all the time!

My .02: Instead of putting $700 in mods into a 50cc, get the 125 if you can. If you find yourself wanting to go farther and faster, you won't be restricted by the limits of the 50cc.

Quite a few people own the 50s and are happy with them, and you very well could be too. But I've never heard someone who bought a 125 express regret that they didn't get a 50.

Also, I've removed the duplicate post from the For Sale/Wanted forum (there weren't any replies). This is the appropriate place for this thread. Thanks!

Scootbeast wrote: I still get the benefit of parking on sidewalks, no insurance or license fees and it still has plenty of power. Traveling uphill is a bit tough on it, but I can still go about 35+ depending on the slope of the hill.

Hmmm, I don't recommend a 50 to friends who are interested in getting into scooting. A souped up 50 does not peform as well as a 125/150 and costs as much or more. They also have much lower resale value. Important as most folks don't end up keeping a 50 very long.

I'm also not so sure that riding without insurance and without a license (usually plus no MSF course) is actually a benefit. While we're at it. Most jurisdictions won't let you park 50s on the sidewalk anymore than any other scoot (with a Buddy, how would they tell even if they cared?)

Also the anything that supercharges your Buddy will likely void the warranty. Plus you need to consider that the stated speeds are what is shown on the speedometer and not actual speeds. It seems like stated buddy speeds are 5-10% optimistic. 35 on my b125 is actually 30mph.

Sorry I don't have any experience with the 50cc, so you can take my comments with a grain of salt if you like. But it seems to me that if you even have to ask the question about whether or not a 50cc is good enough for you, then it probably isn't. It's kind of like buying a computer. Buy what you can afford, of course, but you'll never be wishing you'd bought the slower, less powerful one.

People will pass you if you ride a 50cc everywhere. A few members bought a 50cc because they didnt want to go through the hassle of getting their license, but in the end a few sold their bikes and went through the process for their license and a bigger bike.

Thank you everyone for your input, this helps greatly in making a decision. And thank you ericalm for removing the other post from the wanted/sale section.

The Buddy 125 is easily mistaken for a Buddy 50cc.

You won't regret going to a 125cc.

I was going to get the 50cc and glad I followed the dealers advice.