Forgive me Buddy, for I have sinned...with a Bubu-edited pic

peabody99 · Post by **peabody99** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 5:32 pm

I am in Hawaii (Oahu) and we were really missing sunshine scootin, so we cheated on the Buds...so sad. Anyway as our faithful steeds sit in Cleveland with their batteries draining, we rented scoots here. I of course selected a My Bubu. It is a 50cc "unrestricted" whatever that means. Very similar in handling. No turn signals hanging down, the mystery switch on the right handle bar turns the lights on and off. Shoots of the line, but tops out quickly. they call them "mopeds" here (gasp), but you get to park them at bike racks. I put on nearly 100km -they come right from Taiwan so not in miles. Mine had over 6000km before we were done. The gas gauge barely left empty. the shop owner said they are really reliable which is great to hear. This Bubu looked and felt like it had been rode hard and put away wet, but it still did great. R.D had another 50cc PGO...a T rex, or g-max or something. It was literally taped together, but still did fine. Mine was red with silver...just like the Australian version. I also saw purple (custom?), black, and a cream with flowers. Anyway I will attach a picture from a ride around the coast of east Oahu...just don't tell the home Buddys.

[/b]

peabody99 · Post by **peabody99** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 5:37 pm

p.s. sorry this pic of the bubu is so small..I will attempt to resize later when I get back. It is not letting me post anything larger.

GenuineSlacker · Post by **GenuineSlacker** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 6:50 pm

Well I can't find the video, but the Bubu is a buddy, I saw a commercial for it in japan. The t-rex and g-max are blurs (i think, maybe the t-rex is a black cat...) so really, you kinda didnt cheat, or at least you kept it in the family.

BuddyRaton · Post by **BuddyRaton** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 8:37 pm

You scared me there for a min! When you said BuBu I was thinking of Yogi's little friend.

Im feeling better now....and so am I

BR - Not David

ellen · Post by **ellen** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 9:12 pm

I guess them 50cc "mopeds" don't have to pass DOT regulations.

Wow, scootering around Hawaii.. That is near the top of the list of things I want to do!

Post by **ericalm** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 11:18 pm

ellen wrote:I guess them 50cc "mopeds" don't have to pass DOT regulations.

That's interesting... The "unrestricted" part makes me wonder if they were just flagrantly flaunting the law in all sorts of ways.

Scootering in Hawaii sounds awesome, though there are so many 2-lane roads of varying quality!

ellen · Post by **ellen** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 1:26 am

ericalm wrote: That's interesting... The "unrestricted" part makes me wonder if they were just flagrantly flaunting the law in all sorts of ways.

I don't know anyone who doesn't "unrestricted" their 50cc. I did it myself on my first scooter, an Eton Beamer. All it took was a snip of a green wire on the CDI. Went from a max of 30mph to 40mph

But a scooter in the states without the dongle directionals in the front and a switch to turn the headlights on and off. That is way against DOT specs.

Post by **ericalm** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 1:30 am

ellen wrote:
ericalm wrote: That's interesting... The "unrestricted" part makes me wonder if they were just flagrantly flaunting the law in all sorts of ways.
I don't know anyone who doesn't "unrestricted" their 50cc. I did it myself on my first scooter, an Eton Beamer. All it took was a snip of a green wire on the CDI. Went from a max of 30mph to 40mph

But is it legal to do that?

GenuineSlacker · Post by **GenuineSlacker** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 2:53 am

ellen wrote: But a scooter in the states without the dongle directionals in the front and a switch to turn the headlights on and off. That is way against DOT specs.

Meh, you don't have to have turn signals at all. And DOT only tells you to have your lights on at all times, doesn't mean you can't have a switch to turn them off.

Elm Creek Smith · Post by **Elm Creek Smith** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 3:03 am

ellen wrote: But a scooter in the states without the dongle directionals in the front and a switch to turn the headlights on and off. That is way against DOT specs.

DOT specs are only required to import, manufacture, and sell NEW motorcycles/scooters. You can, and people have, taken the DOT turn signals off the Buddy, after they bought it.

ECS

rajron · Post by **rajron** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 3:41 am

East coast of Oahu â€“ anywhere near Makapuu, Waimanalo, Lanikai, or Kailua??
Itâ€™s a small picture but it looks like Makapuu, across from Sea Life Park.
Kailua is my home town â€“ my mom lives there â€“ sheâ€™s too old to ride scoots otherwise I would encourage her to get one.
I was there last year, short stay but I did notice there werenâ€™t too many 2 wheeled vehicle - did you notice that as well?

pocphil · Post by **pocphil** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 5:23 pm

My Bubu - is the name of the Buddy in foreign markets. It comes in 50, 110 and 125cc versions. It is sold in Australia as the Bollwell Bella 125 and has an awful headlight assembly required to make it legal in Oz.

Turn Signals - You can relocate them to the lower position once you own your scooter. DOT specifies that they must be a certain distance apart and that the lenses / assembly must be a DOT approved unit. These are things the importer/dealer worries about. Things you do on your own are called "aftermarket and modification" the rule of thumb there is if you don't get caught, it's not illegal.

Once you dump the DOT front signals you will need to install a resistor or a different flash unit to make them flash at the correct speed. I prefer the fast flashing, I think it gets drivers attention better.

Headlight Switches - You can rewire these switches to work (quite easily in fact, but why?) but the DOT also says all US motorcycles must have the headlight on any time the motor is running.

It's cool that you were able to rent basically the same scooter you have at home.

Don't worry about your baby resting in the garage....it's like 29 degrees here and you wouldn't want to ride anyway.

Keys · Post by **Keys** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 9:16 pm

Actually, Phil, I just replaced the bulbs in my turn indicators with standard ol' 1156's and it not only made them brighter, but slowed the blinking down to a more conventional speed...

--Keys

ScooterMonkey · Post by **ScooterMonkey** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 10:51 pm

pocphil wrote: Once you dump the DOT front signals you will need to install a resistor or a different flash unit to make them flash at the correct speed.

Any idea where I can get a flash unit that will allow me to use LEDs without having to install load resistors? I love how loud the Buddy flash unit is, but I want to have LED bulbs.

peabody99 · Post by **peabody99** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 12:06 am

Rajron you are correct the pic was taken near Sealife Park in front of Rabbit Island. We went as far as Waimanalo (had a great plate lunch). If we come again, we will go as far as Lanikai and Kailua. Oahu had a lot of PGOâ€™s. Gas is near $3 a gallon so they seem pretty popular.

We are now in Kailua (Kona)Tons of scoots...although mostly Hondas on the Big Island. The ones that are all stripped down looking (Helix?)and Metros which look like they belong in the islands . They are pretty plentiful, but I am cringing at all the unlicensed drivers dragging their flip- flopped feet along the ground. No helmet laws either although I wore one anyway. We are not riding here on the Big Island, but next time (I hope there is one!) I think it will be a must.

The turn signals did work on the Bubu, but they were not the hanging ones like we all have, rather the ones on the front panel were activated. As I mentioned the head light can be turned off and on.

The rental cost for a 50cc scoot for a whole day (not 24 hours) on Waikiki was $35. Not bad I must say (although more than renting a cage!). The next size up I saw was a maxi size --too big for me. Either way the scootering is great in Hawaii--lots of curvy roads with panoramic views and thy can be parked like a bicycle. Also they are plentiful, so the cars seem a little more aware of them.

Sadly we are headed back to mainland light tonight. I got the Buddy some souvenir island style bumper stickers. Hopefully I will be forgiven

Catalyst · Post by **Catalyst** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 8:44 pm

Buddy 50s have the restrictors removed before initial sale in Colorado, at least in our area they're done at the dealer. He explained that at this altitude, they don't run with the restrictors on them.

NOt sure how badly that skirts the law, but I've only topped out at 48mph in Colorado Springs not having the restrictor. (6,012ft if I remember correctly)

The lights thing though, I"m finding that interesting, because in the U.S. they require that the lights run at all times, so my Buddy came with the headlight on/off switch disabled. I have a high/low beam switch, but the on/off switch is decoration.

How is it that Hawaii gets to import the overseas versions without modifying them to fit U.S. legal codes?

I guess, since it's a scooter, it doesn't count

Vehicles have to meet or beat U.S. laws when they're imported, I think the only exceptions are antique/collectible.