Modern Buddy

This board has become a little jumbled up over time and I'd love to see pics and lists of the mods people have done to their Buddies or any Scoot actually.

So far, I've done the 2 into 1 on the turn signals and removed the Buddy emblems replacing one of them on the air filter casing. Next, I'll be painting/powder coating the wheels and looking into chroming such pieces as both kickstands and the brake levers..........love to hear/see what everyone else is doing.

I have seen this now several times. I wish someone would explain powder coating to me.

Bert wrote:I have seen this now several times. I wish someone would explain powder coating to me.

http://www.finishing.com/Library/pennisi/powder.html


Sort of like painting, but much more durable.

Thank you Axe. I appreciate being informed.

Bert

So far I have only applied some tribal pinstipping and a flaming skull sticker on the front fender. After this picture was taken I removed the Buddy emblems. I plan to paint the silver panels and rims black, and get chrome handle bar grips soon.

...no pics yet, but i removed the buddy badges, did a little snipsnip, and now mine is officially a B125...

hey Jeff,
where did you get the tribal pinstriping, that's pretty cool.

KidDynomite wrote:This board has become a little jumbled up over time and I'd love to see pics and lists of the mods people have done to their Buddies or any Scoot actually.

So far, I've done the 2 into 1 on the turn signals and removed the Buddy emblems replacing one of them on the air filter casing. Next, I'll be painting/powder coating the wheels and looking into chroming such pieces as both kickstands and the brake levers..........love to hear/see what everyone else is doing.

I'd get your levers and kickstand and center stand all powder coated instead of chrome. There are several good powder coaters here in the Kansas City area. And if you haven't already done so, come out to Scooter World KC on a Sunday for the weekly 1pm ride. I'm hoping to be at the one this weekend.

does anyone think that you could put chrome stripping around the edges of the buddy?----as some peeps have done with their mets?

What do you think of these?

sweet. where'd you get them?

http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Brow ... 76/c-10111

These are however 10mm., so in true custom modification, I had to drill and re-tap to install them. Now they are both RH thread and I can put any metric motorcycle mirror on that I want. I plan on doing the grips next.

Do you have photos of the drill-out/re-tap procedure? Or could you list step-by-step info--like what size drill bit, metal I'm assuming, and what do you use to re-tap?

Or is it: if you have to ask, you should hire a professional?

Look for a new thread "How I re-mirrored" in a few hours. I'll document my experience.

I got the tribal pinstripe and the skull from Pep Boys.

Like the pinstriping, looks good the way you applied it.

Jeffindenver that looks SOOOO awesome. The tribal and all of it.

I am thinking about making a Buddy mods page on my personal site (after I make my B125 page and about scooters). I guess I'd have to ask for permission on some of owners to steal pics, oh and ask jess if I can.

OK here's the few things I've done to change the look of Brutus.
In order:
Removed decals
Chrome grips
Layed scooter down
Pirelli tires
Green LED thingies on the valve stems
Windshield
Crome front rack
Turned front turn signals inside(I think they look much better that way)

ScooterMonkey, I did the same thing with my turn signals!

ScooterMonkey wrote:OK here's the few things I've done to change the look of Brutus.
In order:
Removed decals
Chrome grips
Layed scooter down
Pirelli tires
Green LED thingies on the valve stems
Windshield
Crome front rack
Turned front turn signals inside(I think they look much better that way)

How about a pic of the tires.

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/it ... Division=6
I love the way they feel on the road. Plus they're on sale for $20...retail $31

sparty wrote:ScooterMonkey, I did the same thing with my turn signals!

Great minds think alike
Really tho, those things look so damned goofy in the out position. I just wish they'd left the regular turns signals working instead of these cheapy add-ons.

ScooterMonkey wrote:http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/it ... Division=6
I love the way they feel on the road. Plus they're on sale for $20...retail $31

What does it take to replace the tires? I guess replacing the tires is going to be an inevitable task, but I am wondering if this is something I can take to another local bike shops or only in speicalized dealer stores or my dealer?

Sorry I can't help you there. I didn't replace the tires my shop did. I'm sure someone on this site knows how. Can any of you help?

sparty wrote: What does it take to replace the tires? I guess replacing the tires is going to be an inevitable task, but I am wondering if this is something I can take to another local bike shops or only in speicalized dealer stores or my dealer?

Any motorcycle dealer or shop should be able to do it for you. Shouldn't cost more than ~$20 per tire if you bring them in off the scoot.

You could also probably do it yourself with a set of tire irons, though you will need to balance it before mounting it up.

Where do you balance the wheels/tires?

I have the creme 125...

@ Angieyou3...I have done this to the horncast piece, and around the front and rear mudgaurds...it looks pretty good, but I had to reenforce the glue on the rear with some superglue, because when the pipe got hot, it would come off!.

I also have added the front chrome rack (still waiting for the rear to come in), a black three piece racing stripe down the center of the front and behind the seat, took off the DOT signals and re-wired the originals, and cut down that god-awful mudflap thingy on the back (gotta love the dremel!)

I'll post pics when I get a new battery for the digi-cam.

If would be cool if they added a gallery to the forum list. Also one for tuning and tech

I agree.

Pictures as promised...

Front end...removed DOT turn signals and reflectors from the forks, added the front rack, a vinyl racing stripe, and some chrome bling to the mud gaurd and horncast:


Closer:


Rear end...chopped off the "duck tail-mud flap" with a dremel, continued the racing stripe behind the seat (sorry, you ca't see it), and added chrome bling to the mudgaurd:


Closer:


Let me know what you think...
-M@

x-mojito50mod wrote: Let me know what you think...
-M@

Looks great! I especially like the black stripe and the bit of chrome around the fender. Classy.

x-mojito50mod wrote:Let me know what you think...
-M@

that looks really great, really inspiring. How do you apply the racing stripe and where do you purchase it from. I love the black stripe with the cream.

Both the racing stripe, & the chrome look great! Where did you get them(especially the chrome)?

Thanks!

The racing stripe I had made at a auto-sign shop...I just told them how I wanted it, they drew it up on Illustrator, and cut it on the vinyl plotter...$30. Installation is a practice in patience! You can either dry mount it with a squeegee, or wet-mount it with a little soap and water, so you can move it a bit before it becomes "permanent", then use the squeegee to get the water/air bubbles out. There are a couple places online that have them too, already made (a place called vinzdecals.com?) The chrome is self adhereing door edging from Pepboys...$3.99 for 2x2' lengths, or $12 for 25'.

-M@

I've been wanting to do racing stripes.. I love how you did yours. I hope you don't mind, but I'm totally gonna copy you!@@

The black racing stripes go so well with the black part underneath the steering column.

Thanks for posting..

x-mojito50mod wrote:Pictures as promised...

Front end...removed DOT turn signals and reflectors from the forks, added the front rack, a vinyl racing stripe, and some chrome bling to the mud gaurd and horncast:

Let me know what you think...

Awesome! It's interesting that you can get such a different look from just a few relatively inexpensive changes. Nice work.

My favorite scooter mods

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg4laCnpGHo

been a while since I checked this thread, any new mods out there?

Painted rear rack
Painted silver trim (black 125)
H1 halogen conversion
Changed most bulbs to LED to preserve battery life and allow power upgrades

Will post pics once the paint is dry and parts are mounted.

Exhaust is in the post.

vitaminC wrote:

sparty wrote: What does it take to replace the tires? I guess replacing the tires is going to be an inevitable task, but I am wondering if this is something I can take to another local bike shops or only in speicalized dealer stores or my dealer?

Any motorcycle dealer or shop should be able to do it for you. Shouldn't cost more than ~$20 per tire if you bring them in off the scoot.

You could also probably do it yourself with a set of tire irons, though you will need to balance it before mounting it up.

You could do it yourself. Over on Modern Vespa one of our Vespa-riding bretheren had an "interesting" learning experience with changing his own tires. His rims ended up looking like this:


I know that the Vespa rims are made of softer material than the Buddy rims, but I present this picture as Exhibit A for the argument that changing tubeless tires is not the piece of cake that some folks make it out to be, especially for the novice.

Particularly if you get your rims powder-coated, I would enlist the assistance of an experienced mechanic the first time you try this.

Since I have a new canvas to work with...
I got my insurance money from the totalled one, and got my replacement...it's a new '06, same color.
Give me a couple weeks, and I'll share some pics of version 2.0.
I have plans
-M@

i will ditto that emotion.... definitely a couple of small tire pry's are helpful, but it is not the eaasiest task...i managed to not muck up mine to bad when i put the michelins on, but there definitely were a couple of nicks and scrapes...

Is there any function to the rear plastic "extender" that extends so far down below the license plate? Is it just for looks? Has anyone else cut if off besides x-mojito50mod? I'm thinking it should be one of the first things to go, unless I am missing something.

Thanks.

PasadenaSue wrote:Has anyone else cut if off besides x-mojito50mod? I'm thinking it should be one of the first things to go, unless I am missing something.

Thanks.

That looks like what most people on here do to their Buddy. I know it's one of the first things I'll be doing.

I just did it last week and it looks alot better.

In the short time I've had my Buddy, I've done some SCI analysis of the splatter marks on the rear mud flap, and I think it does keep mud and water from flying onto my back. That said, I am thinking about removing it anyway. Has anyone had problems after removing it?

You can't just remove it, you'll have to cut it down. The license plate and the light above it are held in place by the mud flap assembly. I took mine off last night, drew a line across the bottom of the plate mounting holes and took my dremel to it. I also drilled out the rivets holding the metal bracket and reflectors to the flap. Took less than 45 minutes and i was taking my time.

I'm planning on cutting our Bud's rear fender down when I get a chance. I'll take pics.

Mods still planned for the wife's pink Bud (in order they're likely to happen):

• Replacing zip-tied reflectors on front forks; possibly just putting rings of relective tape around that space.
• Graphics/paint. Still trying to decide on a "theme."
• Bullet lights for turn signals
• Fashioning/making our own saddle bags and maybe a bag for the rear rack. Gatsby Girl is getting pretty proficient on the sewing machine and I'm a designer so have some ideas for doing something unique with these.

If I could find a black/white checkerboard mudflap like below, I'd be ecstatic:

DouglasLive wrote:If I could find a black/white checkerboard mudflap like below, I'd be ecstatic:

Where did you see this gathering of Buddys & Blurs? Is this in front of a dealer?

Mudflaps:
http://www.t-a-s-s.co.uk/shop.php?product_id=2765

http://ccgi.bowden.force9.co.uk/catalog ... 5519fbdd73