Modern Buddy

last night 22 deg f, got off work , tried to start it with the electrict starter and it wanted to but noooooo, so i said oh well lets try kick starting(i usually can kick start it cold on the second kick after 5 attempts I started going through phone numbers in my head , but realized i left my cell at home.
so i tried the starter one more time and away it went thank u powers of the universe I think i will try to sneak my scoot into my work place after the bosses go home, its just to cold outside i guess. at home i keep it in the garage and its usually about 30 ish when i leave at 1:00 pm and its starts up fine. I dont have a charger yet but soon, still looking for a pair of gloves, a friend at work who snowmobiles like a mad woman is going to let me use hers to see how they work for me so I know what to look for.
any way thats what happend to me made it home no problem nice ride no stutters . rock and roll.( my first buddy hard start problem in 2187 miles)

i had a heck of a time starting mine a couple of weeks ago. i had left the key on start for several hours the night before and tood about 20 kicks the start.

icp wow like the masks mine keeps me face nice and warm

[email protected] wrote:last night 22 deg f, ... I dont have a charger yet but soon, still looking for a pair of gloves,...

Whew! Cold. Brrrrrrr

At those cold temperatures I'd get that charger sooner than later. It'll help a lot.

Gloves: I've been riding many, many years and found the best gloves for wind, rain, and cold are a really good pair of 5-finger ski gloves. I've been very satisfied with Grandoe brand.

I remember once riding a m/c in drenching rain from Kansas City to Iowa City. At the end of the day my hands were still warm and dry. (I also had on a really good rainsuit.)



..rickko..

When it's in the 20s and below it helps mine if I twist the throttle ~3 times before hitting the starter. Starts right up.

thanks for the tips and the laughs

Another option for starting in cold weather besides twisting the throttle a few times is to have the kill switch in the kill position, key on and just push down on the kick start lever a few times. Flip the kill switch and it should fire right up with electric start.

the throttle tip and kicking the kick start a few times before trying to start really helped out alot thanks all

These carbs don't have accelerator pumps. Twisting the throttle will do the same as jumping jacks, a little soft-shoe or throwing a pinch of salt over your shoulder.

Giving a couple of kicks with the kickstart will rotate the engine internals thereby freeing up any sticky parts and spreading lube where it needs to be. On old airplane piston engines we used to turn the engine over by hand, then crank the starter without fuel or spark before an actual start. worked great!

when you kickstart, do you hold in the rear brake lever or not?

in the past, i've tried to start my scooter without holding the rear brake lever in and never had any success. advice, please.

There's been a few times I've considered getting one of those glove warmer hat pack things and just setting it on top of the engine under the cowl a few hours before I leave for work.

The Stella does not like cold starts.

scullyfu wrote:when you kickstart, do you hold in the rear brake lever or not?

in the past, i've tried to start my scooter without holding the rear brake lever in and never had any success. advice, please.

You don't have to hold the brake to kickstart. It's an art, kickstarting the 4-strokes. It took me awhile to develop a technique, but I can usually do it first kick above 40F and by the 5th kick below 40F.

I stand way back behind and to the left, push down on my milkcrate so the rear wheel is on the ground for good balance, pump the kickstart until it's at its highest point, visualise kicking past how far it wants to go, and then kick. Sometimes if it's really cold, I may hold open the throttle a tiny bit.

I can start the stupid Vespa with one kick while standing on the bike...the Buddy makes me feel like an idiot. I hope to god I never have to kickstart it at work as all the security guys look on. They already worry about me riding in the dark, in the rain, in the cold.

thanks, siobhan.

i haven't ridden my scooter for about a month , but it is in an underground parking structure. thought i'd go start her up since i can't ride for a while (5" of snow in my seattle neighborhood last night, with no end in sight), she wanted to turn over, actually did but quickly died; so i did the kickstart deal a few times and she started right up. after she warmed up, i revved the engine for about 10 minutes.

i still can't get her to start with the kickstart. thank goodness i live in a pretty moderate climate.

kick started mine today at 12 deg havnt started it for a week due to our snow and ice issues got it on the 5 th kick . I start with a couple kicks with the kill switch one just to get the juces cirtculated and flip the switch to on and by the second kick he starts no riding today 8 inches of snow and still falling starting to look like Hoth around here talked to my kids in the north west and they are getting 2 feet a day crazy times

[email protected] wrote:kick started mine today at 12 deg havnt started it for a week due to our snow and ice issues got it on the 5 th kick . I start with a couple kicks with the kill switch one just to get the juces cirtculated and flip the switch to on and by the second kick he starts no riding today 8 inches of snow and still falling starting to look like Hoth around here talked to my kids in the north west and they are getting 2 feet a day crazy times

But it's soooooo pretty! I'm loving every flake (and I've been digging out 3 households because neighbors are away on vaca). This kind of weather is why I live in New England!

When using electric start you can hold the front or rear brake lever.

I had a bit of trouble starting up Big Red this morning myself. It was 5 degrees this morning. I did not think I would have a problem starting up b/c I've been riding into work most days.

Well, it was no dice with the electric starter right off the bat so I tried to kick start it but that didn't work either. I tried the electric starter again and this time it started to turn over but died as soon as I let go of the starter. I worked the kick starter a little bit more and then hit the electric starter again. Similar to before it sound like it was about to turn over but was struggling to do so. I held down the starter for a good 20 seconds and then it finally turned over.

I hope I didn't drain the battery too much by laying on the electric starter but that boy was cold this morning! When I got into work, I noticed that the inside front of my helmet was covered with a layer of ice from my breath

Gotta love the search function of the forum...great thread.

The last two nights has seen negative overnight temps which kept my scoot at work because it won't turn over (even with the kick-start, battery dead)

Found this thread and this morning I tried again. Added some Sea-Foam in the tank, turned the key on, kill switch off, and did two very slow full motion kick starts. Then, turned the kill switch on and started right up after one kick-start

BlackCat wrote:Gotta love the search function of the forum...great thread.

The last two nights has seen negative overnight temps which kept my scoot at work because it won't turn over (even with the kick-start, battery dead)

Found this thread and this morning I tried again. Added some Sea-Foam in the tank, turned the key on, kill switch off, and did two very slow full motion kick starts. Then, turned the kill switch on and started right up after one kick-start

its pretty amazing how that works huh?

Most def!

Bought a battery today also. Three things solved that annoyed me:
1. Not being able to use the auto start
2. A "whinning" sound in my electrical panel after letting off the gas
doesn't exist anymore
3. Blinkers are bright and my oil light doesn't trip when my blinkers
were on while at idle

Now I just need to take care of this new battery and "tend" to it more.

Thanks all!

Great thread! I will have to try some of the methods described above.

Also, I had these stored in my 'favorites', so I thought I'd add them in here for anyone who has an interest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De4b2BpueOo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZA9JGmFqnI&NR=1