Modern Buddy

Hi all,

I'm new here because I've got a serious itch to buy a Stella. I currently ride a Lance Cali Classic 125 and I really like it, but I want something more powerful and exciting! I've been reading every post on your forum, sounds like Stellas are fun and loved, but definitely a project. So I went to the local dealer yesterday and they have a 2010 in the Dijon color, it's awesome, and he said he could give it to me for 2500. I sat on it and it felt really poorly balanced, i know the engine is on the right side, but it was far leas balanced than i thought it would be. Afterward, the salesman told me the battery was not in the bike which got me thinking that probably would have balanced it out a lot. Anybody have any input for a potential new owner? Does the battery weigh enough to somewhat balance it out? Should I buy a Stella?

you will never notice the balance issue with the 4t. battery or not.

When dismounting and propping her up on the kick stand I always do it from the right side. The couple of times I tried from the left it felt awkward. My thoughts were because I couldn't grip the front brake and because of the engine weight. Other than that I haven't noticed any imbalance. Scoot On!

You get used to it very quickly.

Thanks for the replies, I figured the balance wasn't noticeable, but it felt pretty weird when I sat on it. Does anyone on here have any experience with a Cali Classic? I am curious how the two compare. My assumption is that the Stella is faster/more powerful as the engine is bigger and it has a manual transmission, but at the same time, Lance's website says the bike has 8.38 HP and everything I have read says the Stella has 8, so I'm wondering if there's any difference at all. Finally, any reason why getting a brand new 2010 would be a bad idea as opposed the 2012? I realize it's been sitting longer and I should definitely stress that I need it set up properly, by the dealer, but but as far as I know there haven't been any changes to the bikes in those 3 years, correct?

Does anybody have input regarding the purchase of a 2010 vs. 2012?

I don't believe there have been any changes in the 4T Stella since they came out so as long as they both have the warranty you should be fine.

Oddly enough, my stella feels like it is left-side heavy. I don't notice it though, unless i take my hands off the handlebars and try to coast.

-duo

Duo: What kind of Stella do you have? I see that it says GB and it's #42. I am aware of the collectible Atomic Fireball Stellas, were there other collector editions as well?

the GB150 was the 1st LE that Genuine put out in 2004.
It is British Racing Green, with a tan seat. there were 100 made.

It is a stock 2T Stella, with a nice paint job, whereas the Fireball has different gearing that make it faster.

Link

Only 100 made? Cool, how did you get your hands on it? Did you get it new? Also, what does "LE" mean?

I got it used. Had just come into my local dealer.
I've only had it for about 2 months now, but i've put 2k mi on it.

LE = Limited Edition

I just googled it, beautiful color, looks particularly nice with the matching rims. Thanks for the info Duo!

The lean on the Stella is barely noticeable. I run mine without battery and I took the spare wheel from under the cowl and put it on the back using a fancy rack. By all means my Stella is as right side heavy as it gets but it doesn't feel weird at all.

Lokky wrote:The lean on the Stella is barely noticeable. I run mine without battery and I took the spare wheel from under the cowl and put it on the back using a fancy rack. By all means my Stella is as right side heavy as it gets but it doesn't feel weird at all.

Umm, So I just had a idea occur to me as to why your DC system isn't working so well with the bike off

Ok, well, sounds like I just got spooked in the store, probably because I almost dropped the bike. The weight really took me off guard. My current scooter and the 3 motorcycles I've had have always been very centered. I am going to test ride the bike this weekend, so we'll see how it goes,

I came from a few twist & gos and had ridden motorcycles and a smallframe shifty Vespa and was surprised that the Stella 4T has no lean or pull to the right.

In terms of raw performance—acceleration, top speed, handling, etc.—a Stella 4T isn't going to be at the top of the list for scooters in its price range. It's certainly quick enough and very capable; I ride mine in LA traffic every day. Typical top speed around 55mph. Off the line, good enough for lane splitting in rush hour.

Eric,

Thanks for the input. I understand it's definitely not going to perform like a newer bike, but they're just so cool looking! Haha, I just want to be sure it's not going to be slower than my Cali. I miss shifting, it adds to the experience, so, we'll see how the test ride goes this weekend.

A Stella 4T at 150 CC's shouldn't underperfom a 125cc bike.

Even with the weight dis-advantage.

Mine was broken in hard and does alright, Cant say how alright until I fix the speedometer cable tho.

JohnKiniston wrote:A Stella 4T at 150 CC's shouldn't underperfom a 125cc bike.

Even with the weight dis-advantage.

Mine was broken in hard and does alright, Cant say how alright until I fix the speedometer cable tho.

Last ride we did, you hit about 52-53 on Hughes Access Rd., but it was a slight uphill and I was doing voodoo math from my highly innacurate speedometer.

ProTip: Pirelli SC30s ride nice, but they're at least 1/2" taller than Michelin S83s and throw your speedometer *way* off. Mine reads 7-8 mph low at top speed. Great for cruising, though!

well, I don't know what container or port mine was shipped into; I know MY particular machine was originally sent to a dealer near DC and then shipped to BMA Cycles as part of a buyout after the DC area dealer went out of business; I was told by a Three Mile Island Scooter Club member about his crank or bearing going kablooey recently (@ 1200 miles) and then a few others chimed in (who also have Stellas and had exact problem between 1000-2000 miles);

whether their rides were stock or modded wasn't discussed; I was told to keep my fingers lightly touching the clutch and be ready to pull it in if I start hearing funky noises and hope it doesn't completely lock up before it starts fishtailing...

kmrcstintn wrote:well, I don't know what container or port mine was shipped into; I know MY particular machine was originally sent to a dealer near DC and then shipped to BMA Cycles as part of a buyout after the DC area dealer went out of business; I was told by a Three Mile Island Scooter Club member about his crank or bearing going kablooey recently (@ 1200 miles) and then a few others chimed in (who also have Stellas and had exact problem between 1000-2000 miles);

whether their rides were stock or modded wasn't discussed; I was told to keep my fingers lightly touching the clutch and be ready to pull it in if I start hearing funky noises and hope it doesn't completely lock up before it starts fishtailing...

The crank isn't the usual failure point; it's the flywheel-side bearing that rides on the crank. It's a needle roller bearing with a removable inner race. The inner race presses onto the crank and the outer race and needle cage are pressed into the flywheel side of the crankcase. It seems that the older 2T Stella's had more issues with bearing failures than the later ones.

The thing to listen for will be a chattering sound from the fan area when idling. A friend and I also observed that when the bearing starts to go, some observable lateral play will manifest. With the engine off (and the fan cover too, if possible), grasp the flywheel fan on opposite sides and try to move it side-to-side. If the bearing is shot, you will be able to rock the fan back and forth a noticeable amount. Keep an ear out or the sound and check the flywheel for play every so often and you should be fine. If you do find the bearing wearing out, stop riding it and get it into a shop. The bearing itself is a lot cheaper than a crankshaft, piston, cylinder and cylinder head.

I got my Stella last weekend! 2010 Dijon. I have put abut 100 miles on it so far and it's been great! It did cut out on me twice yesterday when I was cruising around 50 mph (indicated). So, I ordered a 2T cap. The Savas aren't terrible, but I agree with what everyone has said, they're definitely squishy. I'll probably be updating those soon.

I would show y'all pictures, but when I tried to add them as an attachment it said I was trying to upload empty files. :/

Magnato, check your fuel line routing. Make sure that the fuel line from the fuel tap to the carb is free of kinks and that the line and filter does not sag below the inlet in the carb at any point.

JohnKiniston wrote:

Lokky wrote:The lean on the Stella is barely noticeable. I run mine without battery and I took the spare wheel from under the cowl and put it on the back using a fancy rack. By all means my Stella is as right side heavy as it gets but it doesn't feel weird at all.

Umm, So I just had a idea occur to me as to why your DC system isn't working so well with the bike off

Haha just saw this, I simply removed the battery after deciding to give up my fight with the electricity gremlins

JohnKiniston wrote:A Stella 4T at 150 CC's shouldn't underperfom a 125cc bike.

Even with the weight dis-advantage.

You wouldn't think so...but a Buddy 125 is surprisingly quick!

az_slynch wrote:Magnato, check your fuel line routing. Make sure that the fuel line from the fuel tap to the carb is free of kinks and that the line and filter does not sag below the inlet in the carb at any point.

Thanks for the tip! I've been lurking here for awhile and had read about this problem. After I got it home it was the very first thing that I checked. The fuel line routing is ok though. It was weird, both times that it cut out, I slowed down to second gear speeds and it seemed to go away, so then I just went back to riding. I'm not sure what that indicates, but I figure that either way it can't hurt to have a 2T gas cap,

BuddyRaton wrote:

JohnKiniston wrote:A Stella 4T at 150 CC's shouldn't underperfom a 125cc bike.

Even with the weight dis-advantage.

You wouldn't think so...but a Buddy 125 is surprisingly quick!

Buddy Raton is correct: The 150 Stella will be slower than a 125 Buddy. I know that my friend's brand new Stella 150 4T is slower off the line by quite a bit than my Agility 125, and the Agility is just a hair slower than the buddy 125. Top end was about 52-ish, but he's still breaking it in. On my Agility broken in, I'm hitting 70mph indicated (so roughly 65-67mph)

I echo that on the Buddy/Stella thing, the Buddy is very quick off the mark and pulls away from the Stella with ease under just about every circumstance, though I imagine the 4T would give it more oomph.

We "race" our Buddy and Stella against each other all the time, unless I'm driving the Stella, in which case, I just cruise along, and then pop past Rafa when he slows down to say "where you at?"

I've informally raced a Buddy 125 with my pretty-darn-stock P200 and he initially gave me a run for my money! Based on what I saw then and what I've observed while riding along with a 4T, a 125 would smoke a 4T Stella. Powerful voodoo would be needed to make the Stella a contender...

Ok, so, I've had the Stella for about a month and have 360 miles on it. I really wanted to add a top box for practicality, but an old style one, not one of the new ones. So, I did a lot of searching for Vespa BBQ racks to start, and then, I found one in San Francisco on craigslist and it happened to come with this awesome box! My buddy brought it down for me because he was coming down for the Santa Barbara Beer Festival. I had to do a few mods on the brackets and get a longer seatpost, but finally, yesterday I got it all put together. It looks awesome, it's huge, and since I haven't been able to stop reading Underboning the World (http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=716979) I know this is going to be an awesome asset for a long road trip next summer. So check out the pics I took when I stopped at Lookout Park in Summerland today.

Regarding HP and CCs my owners manual for my 2012 Stella 4T says
that the motor is 150cc displacement and maximum output/power is 9+0.3
bhp at 6250 rpms. I am just breaking it in and have kept it at 50mph or
under for periods of time.
Really like that top tank set up. Fully loaded, if it is any thing like my TGB
Delivery 150, it will make it a little top heavy but not hard to get used to.

Wolfhound wrote:Regarding HP and CCs my owners manual for my 2012 Stella 4T says
that the motor is 150cc displacement and maximum output/power is 9+0.3
bhp at 6250 rpms. I am just breaking it in and have kept it at 50mph or
under for periods of time.
Really like that top tank set up. Fully loaded, if it is any thing like my TGB
Delivery 150, it will make it a little top heavy but not hard to get used to.

Thanks, I really like it too! . I haven't really put anything in it, so I don't know how heavy it will get, but I have a top case on my Cali Classic and have ridden around with a 2 gallon jug of water in there and didn't even notice it. Hopefully this one will be the same way, although if I end up taking an awesome road trip next summer (I'm thinking Portland), I will definitely have more weight on it.

I did the Dragon in WNC with the TGB Delivery150. Had 2 gallon gas containers
in the box plus assorted 'stuff'. I made the trip OK but did notice it a
bit in the curves. You should have no trouble with yours, just take it easy
in the sharp curves.

Yeah, with the Savas on there, I take all curves pretty easy. When I get new tires, maybe things will change,