Modern Buddy

So I started out modding my Blur tonight. Apologies for the long post.

First thing to go was that godawful rear fender. Removing it was surprisingly easy. The two rear-facing bolts that hold the fender to the main bracket would normally require an angled-head socket adapter to get to, because they partially hide under the chrome tailpiece trim. I didn't have one of those.

I do, however, have opposable thumbs. And I found that one thumb can gently push the plastic out of the way enough to get a 10mm wrench in there to loosen the bolts. Done.

Now the decision. The Texas DPS is a bit anal about license plates and inspection stickers; the method Dave used for his license plate mount isn't really appropriate for me.

For now, what I did was re-mount the main bracket and put my plate frame and dealer tag back on. It doesn't look as nice as I'd like, but it's better than it was.

I experimented with some exhaust hanger strapping, using the stock bracket as a template to see if I could come up with something that would sort of "wrap around" the tail section, under/behind the chrome trim piece, using the mount points where the reflectors on the rear have those plastic snaps. They're a perfect location.

It would have worked, but I don't like the way it looked, even if I had painted it black. It felt chintzy, and just wasn't right.

So I'm going to rig something temporarily and send the stock bracket to my Dad, who is sort of a metalworking guru. He's going to fab a different bracket for me which angles up a couple more degrees and has mounting arms (the pieces that extend rearward) about an inch shorter. That should bring them inside the chrome lip, and angle up flush with the tailsection, allowing me and the DPS to be happy. I'll send you pics when it's done.

I realized though, that if PGO/Genuine simply shortened the bracket an inch and angled it another 3-4 degrees upward, it would be perfect.

Lights

I tried out some LED bulbs that I got from the auto parts store in place of the stock amber ones on the sides of the main headlight. While brighter, I didn't like the way they looked. I'm going to hang on to them as handy replacements, but I think I'm going to order some colored ones that look better than basic white. I'll order them from SuperBright LEDs.

I have considered ordering a Xentec HID light. I'm a little worried about heat, though. Not sure if that's a good idea or not.

Question - is the lube necessary/worth it when replacing bulbs?

I also took out the orange reflectors and discovered that the lower signals don't work. Then I remembered the earlier thread about that.

Frankly, it pisses me off. I'm going to go ahead and connect them properly and get rid of the stalks up top, but it just annoys me that they go to the expense to put them on but have them non-functional. I don't know how to do this, so it will be a careful learning experience. I've never done wiring stuff like that before. If I can't figure it out, then the orange reflectors are going back in, because the bike just looks weird and unbalanced with the clear lenses below and the orange stalks up top.

So that's to come.

Other Possible Mods:

I like Dave's Koso mirrors, but I'm thinking about putting some Napoleon bar-end mirrors on it instead. Not sure if they will look ungainly, but it would definitely clean up the top of the bike.

Considering de-badging it - taking off the Blur ss220i badges that run down the sides. I think that would look nice. Also considering removing the Genuine logo on the front cowling sides, and replacing those with the simple "G" logo sticker which is on the hood piece. Just seems like it would be a bit cleaner.

I was going to remove that silly rear-tire hugger (the one that goes around the rear tire) but it dawned on me that it would be a perfect place to put the inspection sticker. So I may leave that. Undecided right now.

When a pipe comes out for it, I am all over it. I'm already wanting more power.

That's all for now.

killbilly wrote:I have considered ordering a Xentec HID light. I'm a little worried about heat, though. Not sure if that's a good idea or not.

They are about 25% more efficient than the standard lights, so if they are the same amperage they will be cooler. You could probably increase amperage by 20% without any added heat.

I have no idea what safety margin the light housing has, but I'd wager you could put an HID light with double the stock amperage (or wattage) without excessive heat.

However, even if an HID kit works in the Blur, someone is going to have to very carefully evaluate whether it is safe - conversion kits in cars are illegal in some places because the HID creates an improper beam pattern in lights with reflectors made for halogens - resulting in beams that dazzle traffic and create a hazard. Of course in the Blur you may only need to re aim the beam to get an acceptable result. It's an unknown until someone goes to the expense to find out.

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Pictures, pictures, pictures! Seriously?! C'mon!

Hehe, that aside, for the headlight look for the PIAA 35w lamp. It's more efficient than the 55w lamps, uses the same draw that the stock lamp uses (so there's no strain on the stock wiring) and it's got a whiter output, but the best part is, there's no question about the legality of it. It's not as bright as HID, just so we're clear, but it's a lot better than the stock headlight.

The dielectric grease is preventive maintenance. put it on any electrical connection that's exposed to weather or high humidity - it displaces water and prevents corrosion. Get a tube of it for a few cents more than the 99 cent packets and use it on any switches you come across (it's also easier to apply with the little nozzle on the tube).

Stalks - yuck and WTF? get rid of em and be happy!

Oh, and PICTURES!

i'm thinking about finding a slip on and modifying it to fit on the exhaust. can you post some pics up without the fender cause i was also thinking about doing this mod to.

Bjc617 wrote:i'm thinking about finding a slip on and modifying it to fit on the exhaust. can you post some pics up without the fender cause i was also thinking about doing this mod to.

I talked to Scooterworks about this, and what they've said is that they haven't found a pipe yet that works properly with the EFI. I don't understand this part, but since I haven't found another option, I'll wait for a pipe.

Pictures further in this thread.

As requested.

1) Left side of tail section since removing the fender. Good look at the bracket holding my license plate. This is the stock bracket. If it was about an inch to an inch and a quarter shorter in length, it would tuck under the chrome lip under the taillight. Then a steeper "up" angle to be flush with the tailsection. This is what I'm going to try and get my Dad to fab.



2) Right side tail section up close. Again, cleaner than stock, but the bracket looks ugly. I considered taking a hacksaw to it for shortening up, but I don't have a way to weld it back together, and I'm afraid if I try and bend the mounting flanges...er...back, I guess....to increase the angle, I'll break them.



3) Full right profile. As you can see, it definitely cleans up the rear of the scooter.



4) Front end with orange blinkers removed. Looks much better, in my opinion, once I can get the DOT stalks off the bike.



If someone can give me a tutorial in how to handle the wiring piece of the blinkers, I'd be grateful. I'm going to call my dealer and ask him how much he'll charge me to make the change.

I seriously doubt they went to the trouble of making a new wiring harness. Pull the horn cast off the front (two screws at the top of the inside legshield, then gently pry the cover off the front from the top down) and take a look inside for a lamp base with an unattached connector. If you find that, then you can trace back the connector on the DOT stalks and see if they have the opposing connectors on them (as I suspect they do). If so, just make the connections on the lower signals and make sure you have an amber lamp in them and you're done.

One other note, on the license plate. Make sure it's far enough back to catch the light from the tail light. The tail light is white and the lens is red, but there's a section of clear light at the bottom which serves as the license plate light - most states require the plate to be lit. If your license plate is too far back, you might run into some difficulties if your state requires inspections or if you have observant patrol officers. It looks like you're fine as is, just be mindful when considering further modifications to it.

Lostmycage wrote:I seriously doubt they went to the trouble of making a new wiring harness. Pull the horn cast off the front (two screws at the top of the inside legshield, then gently pry the cover off the front from the top down) and take a look inside for a lamp base with an unattached connector. If you find that, then you can trace back the connector on the DOT stalks and see if they have the opposing connectors on them (as I suspect they do). If so, just make the connections on the lower signals and make sure you have an amber lamp in them and you're done.

I'll check that out. Thanks for the tip.

As for the amber bulb/lens...I am not 100% sure, but I think they are not required in TX. In which case, I might be able to get away with a white lamp. Something I need to look into. If that's the case, I'll consider putting in amber bulbs or putting the orange lenses back in.

EDIT: I did some searching. White turn-signal lamps are allowed on the front, which is cool. Back must be red or amber.

One other note, on the license plate. Make sure it's far enough back to catch the light from the tail light. The tail light is white and the lens is red, but there's a section of clear light at the bottom which serves as the license plate light - most states require the plate to be lit. If your license plate is too far back, you might run into some difficulties if your state requires inspections or if you have observant patrol officers. It looks like you're fine as is, just be mindful when considering further modifications to it.

Also a good point. I had considered the possibility of inverting the license plate light or adding on an LED that would shine on it. Will check on that. Thanks.

Bill,

Nice job. Looks great! Regarding the HID, it actually gives off less heat compared to the stock bulb. I was going to sell my spare Bulb & Ballast, but I decided to keep it as a spare in case I ever need it in the future, however the Xentec kit works great. It is excellent quality and it is the 3rd kit I have installed between my 2 other bikes I owned including my old Blur 150 with no problems. As far as the beam adjustment, I did 2 things. The first thing I did after the original install was to take the bulb out and remove the little metal reflector piece that was attached just above the bulb (just bend 2 small metal tabs and it pulls right out) When I did this I had to adjust my beam with the adjustment screw on the Blur's housing way down, but now it is SUPER bright and it does not blind oncoming traffic.
On the turn signals up front, Lostmycage is correct. I did a post on how to connect the lower blinkers and remove the ugly stalks, but if you need help just give me a call and I can walk you through the process. It only takes 10-15 minutes tops. I still have the Koso mirrors, but I am now using a set of brushed aluminum Outlaw mirrors because I liked the look better. The glass also has a blue tint to it. (Pic attached below) Pic is from the mirrors on my old blur, but the mirrors are the same. $30.00 on ebay. I found them under "honda zoomer mirrors" They have a ball joint and offer a ton of adjustment. I

For safety, I'd stick with amber turn signals, that's what people are used to. If you're coming at someone with a white light flashing 8 or 10 inches away from the headlight, that's just not gonna register with people.

Wow, I didn't realize the 220s had the weird rear fender, those things are ridiculous. But then again, a few years ago, there were a lot of 150 owners who saw them on asian-market bikes and wished they had one, maybe you could sell it, ha.

Someone should lobby voodoo to make a blur light adapter, if the buddy ones don't work already.

If you want the amber signals, remove the amber lens piece and just replace the clear bulbs with amber ones. This way you have the cleaner look of the clear lensesand your blinkers still light up orange

davelhunter wrote:If you want the amber signals, remove the amber lens piece and just replace the clear bulbs with amber ones. This way you have the cleaner look of the clear lensesand your blinkers still light up orange

Yeah. That's what I was thinking.

Also...two other things I think I might try....

1) On replacement mirrors, I think I'd like to try and paint the housings white, to match the body of the bike. Not sure if it would look good or not, but might be cool.

2) Going to re-paint the hugger on the rear wheel white. I think that might look nice as well.

Not sure on the base for the blur indicators but I have seen a bulb with a mirror finish on it. Yellow/orange when in use. Pretty cool I thought.

bigbropgo wrote:Not sure on the base for the blur indicators but I have seen a bulb with a mirror finish on it. Yellow/orange when in use. Pretty cool I thought.

I think that's the Silverstar lamps. I swapped out the lamps in my Buddy with those and the effect was pretty cool since the Buddy's signal lenses are clear.

where did you get the clear lense to replace the stock orange one???

The stock one is clear, it's just got an amber inner cover.

One other thing that I just remembered: make sure the seal on that lens is fully seated. It can look like it is and still be slightly off; that'll let in enough moisture to fog up the lens.

My dealer removed the turn signal stalks when I bought my Blur, as per my request. I didn't know why they were there until I drove home with the Dealer's son riding my scoot behind me. When I looked in the rear-view mirror I couldn't see any turn signals. The only time I can imagine this making any difference might be if the cager in front decided to turn in a different direction than he indicated.
Anyway, looks a whole bunch better without them.

P.S. To add a little pizzaz I taped a small bush to the right-hand mirror. Looks kind of nice, don't you think?

killbilly wrote: 1) On replacement mirrors, I think I'd like to try and paint the housings white, to match the body of the bike. Not sure if it would look good or not, but might be cool.

I accidentally snapped my left original mirror and ordered a replacement from the dealer. It came in white (the center portion facing the front). I took it and swapped it with my mirror center portion which was black. It seems that there are different "trims" of the scooters, i.e. my white Blur came with black mirrors. You might either get another pair of white mirrors or just paint the insert piece. It's held on with tabs and sticky glue, BTW.

The stock toolkit on the Blur 220, as we all know, is inadequate. I got myself a CruzTools kit, but I ain't happy with it slidin' around in the trunk and stealin' my space. So, I looked around and found that there is a bit of dead space between the seat and battery/fuse compartment cover... just enough, in fact. I didn't want to get to fancy with buckles, locking straps, etc., so I ended up just snipping the ends off a spare bungee, and threading it through some newly drilled holes through the ribs under the seat, and tying it underneath. After the cord stretches for a while, I can still tighten up the knots and snip off the ends to clean up the look a bit. The tool kit stays nicely retained when the seat is up, and is easily pulled out and put back behind the cord. After closing the seat trunk a couple of times, the tools settle in the bag and the seat closes easily. Used up some previously wasted space, the added weight of the tool kit is nicely centered on the bike, and I had the materials and tools on hand.

Also, (no pic, sorry) I found I'm able to carry the Blur manual, necessary papers, cell phone charger, and two stout bungee cords in the battery compartment, although I suppose over time there could be some ill effects from the battery, but I think I'll see that before it's a problem.

Hopefully, this will convince some people that they can carry more of what they need without sacrificing space.

That's a clever place to stash a tool set. Very nice.

Great ideas. I hopefully will be picking up my 220 tomorrow.