I'm moping. Has anyone else seen this?

[Catalyst]

My instrument panel is melting. I took it in yesterday, and the guy doesn't know what could have caused it. He's thinking maybe the light inside somehow got messed up. Not sure if it's just a fluke from the factory, or if the accident I had a few months ago had something to do with it.

My odometer no longer works at all, except for the tenths marker. Everything else seems to work thus far, but if it continues, who knows??

So now I'm waiting for THREE parts. I've been waiting for the headlight bezel and the top plastic piece on the handlebars since January, now I get to wait for the instrument panel as well.

I'm starting to wonder if the company is actually ever going to catch up with demand as far as parts go? It's a good thing I'm not nuts and replacing everything that's been merely scratched. LOL The guy is going to see if he can set it up so that I can still ride it until the part comes in, and until then....I'm

[jperkins]

I know your frustration. I waited two months for a break lever. It was flipping rediculous.

[jrsjr]

It's a good thing I'm not nuts...

I sure would be if that happened to me. I'm so sorry this happened to your scooter.

EDIT: Ignore my incorrect earlier post. Skip down to the post by centaurcyclesandscooters. He's figured it out. Wow, am I impressed.

[lojical1]

How were you storing your scooter? Did you regularly leave it out or it still melted even though you kept it in a garage or with a cover ?

[BoneGirl]

I received a letter from Brett Ratner at Genuine Scooter Company today after writing to him about my frustration with the company's inability to supply parts in a timely manner. My husband and I have put considerable miles on our Buddy's since purchasing them less than a year ago (7,300+ miles). According to the Manual, we are past due on belt replacement but no belts are available. My husband's front suspension is shot but we have no idea when that will be fixed (and should be covered under Warranty). I worry about safety issues with both these items. Brett told me they didn't expect the volume of sales encountered in the States and Genuine receives shipments every week. But the bottom line is the parts aren't being manufactured fast enough to keep up with the demand and we are suffering because of it.

I absolutely love my Buddy but it really is aggravating, to say the very least.

[centaurcyclesandscooters]

Hi Catalyst,
I read your post with sympathy and interest. My question to you is: Does your Buddy have a windshield? Over the course of many years in the scooter/motorcycle business I have seen several bikes with similarly toasted/melted instruments like yours. It has always been caused by the windshield acting like a lens and focusing the sun's rays on the instrument panel, melting same. It can be prevented by throwing a towel over the panel when parked in the sun, or better yet, park in the shade.

hope this helps!
Richard @ Centaur

[AxeYrCat]

Holy crap, Angie! I can't believe you and Ben have racked up *that* many miles so fast!!

[xtetra]

Sorry about those of you waiting for your parts. I’d be really annoyed too, but on the bright side its good to see the Buddy is catching on here in the US. Wouldn’t mind seeing more fellow Buddy riders around. At the moment in my little city I’ve seen one Buddy and one Stella. I see a fair number of TNGs (nearly bought one myself.) Kymcos, Hondas, Yamahas, and some Vespas. Hopefully PGO will step up their production and marketing.

In the meantime I guess I’d better order things like the belt in advance!

[illnoise]

It has always been caused by the windshield acting like a lens and focusing the sun's rays on the instrument panel, melting same.

we had a vinyl cover on our BBQ grill and it always got these weird melted lines on it, and it always stumped me, I thought someone was putting the cover on the grill when it was hot. Then one day I was sitting on the deck and I noticed smoke coming from the grill cover, I went over and looked and realized that an upstairs window was reflecting a tiny point of light onto the cover and as the sun moved, it would melt a line into the cover. Luckily it never burst into flames. I'm surprised more fires don't start that way...

Anyway, after that, i can see how your panel could melt even in one afternoon parked with a mirror or window reflecting the sun just right (or wrong). I doubt it's a fault, just bad luck. But it's a drag they can't replace it right away. I bought a Genuine mainly because I knew they were based in Chicago and were scooterworks' sister company, so I was banking on convenient parts availabilty, so that's a bummer to hear, though they don't seem to be any worse in that regard than most other scooter companies.

Bryan

[JeremyZ]

Yes, on my third day of ownership I read this. I probably would've gone for a used Helix if I had known this ahead of time.

However, I'm in it for the long run now, so rather than bitch too much about it, I'm going to write PGO, both via their form on their web page:

http://english.pgo.com.tw/contact.shtml

and by letter. (addressed to the president)

I encourage everyone here to do the same. If they get flooded with emails & letters as WELL as empty inventory, they would probably ramp up production. How many active members are there here? A hundred or two?

PGO is the biggest scooter company in Taiwan I hear, so they have to cover their home market first. But they should cover us too, or license Genuine to make parts somehow.

[JeremyZ]

Here's the email I just sent them:

Would you please send more parts for your daughter company, Genuine Scooter Co. to the US? We are running low on parts and there is a huge demand. Check out this thread for more information topic1525.html

[lou76]

Brett told me they didn't expect the volume of sales encountered in the States and Genuine receives shipments every week. But the bottom line is the parts aren't being manufactured fast enough to keep up with the demand and we are suffering because of it.

that is the first time that i have heard of someone from genuine aknowledging that they were less than prepared for the popularity of the buddy, but the bit about parts "not being manufactured fast enough to keep up w/ demand" part is crap. the buddy has been around in other markets for some time. the parts exist, they just aren't getting to the dealers, and, possibly, they aren't getting to genuine. if this doesn't change in the next year or so, i think its safe to say that the popularity of the buddy will suffer as more of the 06's get into higher mileage and need more than an oil filter or a belt. i, too, had to wait like a month for a belt.

[rossini]

Yes, on my third day of ownership I read this. I probably would've gone for a used Helix if I had known this ahead of time.

Seriously? I find it interesting that people get so worked up over this "supply shortage" to the point you actually wouldn't buy a buddy. How many Buddy ornwers do you think are having this problem? I would say MAYBE 5%. The Buddy is unbelievably reliable and for most people part availability isnt even an issue. For every person that complains about the Buddy breaking down there are 19 people that have a great experience that don't voice their praise.

I guess what I'm saying is, it's silly to have buyers remorse when you haven't even had an issue with your Buddy and odds are, you won't.

[BoneGirl]

I just received an e-mail from Genuine that my belts and shocks are on their way as we speak. I have my fingers crossed the Dealer calls me next week with the parts I ordered.

[rob_fuel]

I encourage everyone here to do the same. If they get flooded with emails & letters as WELL as empty inventory, they would probably ramp up production. How many active members are there here? A hundred or two?

PGO is the biggest scooter company in Taiwan I hear, so they have to cover their home market first. But they should cover us too, or license Genuine to make parts somehow.

Done.

[jrsjr]

I just received an e-mail from Genuine that my belts and shocks are on their way as we speak.

That's pretty cool. There are ups and downs to dealing with a small company, aren't there? Can you imagine Honda, for example, e-mailing you a follow up to let you know your parts are on the way?

[illnoise]

Yeah, I think the letter to PGO is a little bit of an overreaction... The Buddy's only been out here for a couple years and supply isn't abysmal, at least you can find an oil filter. most other scooter makes are having much bigger problems getting parts, even PiaggioUSA can't meet demand, and they're a fairly large operation, and selling their own scooters, not importing others'.

Say what you will about Phil McCaleb and Genuine and Scooterworks, they have their faults, but Phil knows that his top chance at success in this market is finding a way to stay around for the long term. Piaggio is throwing their weight around and adding dealers willy-nilly for short term unsustainable profits, and although things seem to be turning around a bit, they've oversaturated themselves and I wouldn't be surprised if they bailed out of the US market in a few years when the "fad" passes. I think many other manufacturers and importers are learning from their mistakes. If Genuine has a shortage, it's because they're new-ish and just didn't know what to expect. They have a good relationship with PGO, both companies are in it for the long-term, and they know the value of happy customers (unlike Piaggio, or especially the mainland-Chinese junk). If they don't have belts, you can be sure there's a containerload of belts coming, but it's literally on the slow boat from china (OK, taiwan). If they can't get them from PGO, Phil will find them, don't worry. He's been buying Vespa parts behind Piaggio's back for 20 years, and selling them cheaper than Piaggio can.

I think you'll see the parts situation improve greatly for Genuine even as it gets worse for other brands.

Bryan

[JeremyZ]

Yeah, I think the letter to PGO is a little bit of an overreaction...

I don't think so. It was not rude, and can only help our parts situation.

For people who live where it is nice all year and have back-up transportation, maybe it is OK to wait two months for a part.

My point was that if I had a Honda, and it was the part the dealer didn't have in stock, I'd have it in a week. Two weeks tops. 1-2 months without a working scooter is unacceptable.

You talk about long term, but the reality is that if a manufacturer comes to the big leagues of the US wanting to expand, it had better be ready with support & parts, not just the new products. Otherwise, it is like the other poster said. As the new PGOs age and start needing parts, and the owners find that they have to wait weeks or months for them, their reputation is going to be hurt. Prospective new owners will ask existing owners what they think, hear about poor parts support, and look for something more mainstream.

That is why a Honda shop requires that parts be stocked and mechanics be on hand, so their company is not hurt from lack of after-sale support.

Genuine is a fledgling company in the US, but they need to come up to speed fast.

I dunno. Maybe I am over-reacting, but I bet if it were YOUR (only) scooter that were out of commission for two months, you would take some action, no?

At any rate, what could a nice letter & email asking for better parts support hurt? Kudos to Phil for digging for the parts, but he shouldn't have to. He should have PGOs support.

[ericalm]

I think writing to PGO is harmless, but misdirected. If Genuine is importing the scoots and distributing them to dealers under their brand, then they are the ones who are responsible for supporting both dealers and owners by ensuring that parts are in stock and available.

While it's encouraging to hear the Buddy demand and sales have topped their expectations, as a consumer it's frustrating to think that Genuine continued to order Buddys (Blurs, etc.) from PGO without a corresponding order for basic parts.

But, hell, I also own a Vespa. And getting Vespa parts can be an even bigger nightmare.

I just received an e-mail from Genuine that my belts and shocks are on their way as we speak.

This is the flip side of the whole matter—Genuine admits they under-ordered and is acting to do right for, or at least respond to, individual owners. While it may be little consolation if your scoot is sitting idle in the shop, at least it's better than the blanket "Yeah, on order from wherever, don't know when they'll be in, whatever" response most companies would give.

[BoneGirl]

I think writing to PGO is harmless, but misdirected. If Genuine is importing the scoots and distributing them to dealers under their brand, then they are the ones who are responsible for supporting both dealers and owners by ensuring that parts are in stock and available.

I wrote to PGO Friday and received a response from a gentleman today. A little bit of interpretation was needed but misdirected or not, it felt good to let this company know we are in need of parts and that I received a quick response. I was assured he will investigate this matter further. Go, Team, Go!

[JeremyZ]

FYI - A guy over on urbanscootin just said he waited over a month for Honda Metropolitan handlebars

Maybe it is just the motorcycle/scooter market in general that doesn't have enough support here... (yet)

[markontour]

Although it isn't a big deal to me, I've been waiting since the 10th of February to get a new chrome looking ring that goes around my head light.
You're all correct, it takes to long, but my problem was that I have an '07. My dealer gets '06 parts super quick.

[BoneGirl]

My dealer gets '06 parts super quick.

I think it just depends on where you live and who your dealer is.

[Catalyst]

Actually, my neighbor is seriously considering a scooter, but larger...I told him the BlackCat was probably more like what he wanted than the Buddy, but he wants to get a Honda or something else because of the parts availability issue.

My dealer is filing this under "warranty" and the new instrument panel should be in in about two weeks. (although this doesn't address the issue of the other two parts. LOL) He's going to fight to get this covered by warrantee if they decide to balk about it.

It's sunny out here, but it doesn't get overly hot (no triple digit heat) and the temps haven't been outside of teh 80s. The scooter was parked forwards in teh space (I usually like to back it in, but I've been lazy as of late), so the windshield wouldn't be focusing heat/light on the instrument panel, the sun would be either behind or above the scooter. Neighbor and I have been trying to figure it out ourselves.

Thing is, this kind of thing should be thought of, especially if it is the windshield doing this (they don't know, my dealer has contacted Genuine and they don't know, they're discussing it with their engineers right now) then it's still an issue they have to deal with, as it is their windshield. There are no after market parts on my Buddy.

My Dealer, at first, thought it was something wrong with the internal light, and was going to disconnect it for me so I could still ride it. It's my only mode of transportation outside of a bicycle, walking, or hitching a ride with a neighbor. But he's worried about it catching fire, I hadn't even thought of that, I was only worried about losing use of all the gauges.

It could also be the fact that I'm at 6K feet altitude. Things are hotter than they seem, but even that needs to be taken into consideration by the engineers. Tehy sell them in Australia, and I don't know of too many places with a harsher climate than there. America has a wilder climate than Japan. We have more extremes. Triple digit heat with no humidity, triple digit heat with 60-80% humidity, 80s and 90s with 80-100% humidity, you name it we got it someplace in the U.S.

I have no garage, the 6 foot privacy fence provides a lot of shade (except for a short time during the day) and the scooter spends 90% of it's parked time inside the fence (mostly due to high winds), but the rest of the time I have to leave it in an open parking space behind my unit. The military doesn't give us much choice when it comes to on base housing. We get what we get, and that's it. We spent 2 years with no A/C, and they installed central units about a month ago. Kinda sucks, but I like the neighbors. LOL

I'm getting really long winded, but that's the whole story of everything we've thought of and discussed thus far. I really really wanna stick with buying Buddies, but I guess it'll depend up on their dependability. I really like the extra zip coming from having a lighter body. I actually hit 50mph on a small downhill (not too steep, did only 45mph the last 2-3 times I ran that strip) on the day I took it in to get the instrument panel looked at.

If I did have a garage, that's where it'd be. It's bad enough I have to ride with agressive drivers on base, and my Buddy is showing this fact already. (No, I haven't wrecked or dropped my Buddy since that one incident) I have mysterious superficial damage that has appeared on my buddy, stuff that there's no way possible that I could have done it. It's really cheesing me off too.

But, there's teh long and the short of it, and at least it's in the shop while we're getting all this dadgum hail. Hailed twice today, and once a day or two ago.

Fun, fun, fun

[jrsjr]

The scooter was parked forwards in teh space (I usually like to back it in, but I've been lazy as of late), so the windshield wouldn't be focusing heat/light on the instrument panel, the sun would be either behind or above the scooter..

Catalyst, if you think about how the windshield is curved (towards the bike), having the sun come from behind the bike is exactly the right condition for the windshield to focus the sun on your instrument panel. The fact that you usually park it the other way but now parked it forwards (and probably the fact that the sun changes position in the sky a little every day as the earth's axis processes around) simply lends more credence to the windshiled theory, IMHO.

-John

[Bryce-O-Rama]

FYI - A guy over on urbanscootin just said he waited over a month for Honda Metropolitan handlebars

Maybe it is just the motorcycle/scooter market in general that doesn't have enough support here... (yet)

Bingo! In the US, motorcycles and scooters are viewed as toys because statistically, they are.

The Buddy has been a hot selling bike, perhaps more so than Genuine initially anticipated. When supporting any product, there are some guidelines and educated guesses that help a distributor carry parts needed for the amount of product they anticipate selling. Making more product itself available does not happen over night. Making more product parts available is even more difficult because it requires some growing pains to learn what to stock in the right quantities and it also requires the space and inventory management infrastructure to support the amount of product out there on the market. Expanding those things is often more difficult and takes longer than simply furnishing more scooters to dealers.

[Catalyst]

But are the other scooter/motorcycle windshields glass or acrylic? It just dawned on me last night, I learned (the hard way) that the Genuine windshields are acrylic, not glass. Heat and safety were the reasons I was switching glass windows for acrylic ones in our old mobile home. They insulate better, instead of reflecting or focussing light. The mobile home didn't heat up as bad after I'd switched the windows out for acrylic. They all lost a LOT OF WEIGHT once I switched them out too.

I had to think back to the days when I first laid hands on a plastic or acrylic magnifying glass, I couldnt' focus the light well enough to smolder dry grass. (I wasn't really into burning ants. I've tried, but didn't find it very entertaining)

I've had the scooter since December, and we've had quite a few warm days, and even on the hottest days, my dash was still cool, and so was my windshield.

Besides, if it was that, the company would have known right off the bat, but they're still stumped too. I'm now wondering if that's why Genuine makes acrylic windshields instead of glass ones. That plus the lighter weight and the fact that acrylic is stronger than glass.

I will forwarn others about the acrylic windshields though, they don't break like safety glass. They break into huge shards as well as small shards. Mine broke from top to bottom, and that was from a side impact. Eye protection is mandatory on base, but I wouldn't go without it anyway, with or without a windshield.

Eh, I'll ask if they ever got it figured out when I go to pick it up. If they don't know, then I might check back when I go back to get more oil, etc. I can't get the oil for it anywhere except my dealer.

At least, for the moment, it's protected from all this hail we've been getting. Hailed twice yesterday, and once a day or two before that. I'm sick of the rain. *bleah*

[jrsjr]

I had to think back to the days when I first laid hands on a plastic or acrylic magnifying glass, I couldnt' focus the light well enough to smolder dry grass.

OH! Now I see what's confusing you! I'm not saying that your windshield is acting like a lens. I'm saying that it's acting like a curved MIRROR focusing the sun's rays just like the curved concave primary mirror in a reflecting telescope. Sorry I didn't make myself clear. (I'm not doing a great job now, either. I need to go do a drawing and post it. I'll be back l8r with that when I'm near a scanner.)

[pocphil]

When you go into any enterprise you think "wow, wouldn't it be great if we sold 3000 of these things ?" that leads you to think "I'll bet that even if we sell 3000, only 10% of the owners will break them" that results in you ordering 300 of the parts you think they'll need most and a smaller percentage of everything else.

Now, what happens when you sell twice that number and it turns out 25% of them are getting damaged? You are now officially out of parts.

Yep, that sucks, now take into consideration it takes at least 4 weeks for stuff to travel from the manufacturer to the distributor. You end up with a giant parts lag.

I think we have had ONE pink Buddy that has survived a year without needing major panel replacement. I guess people aren't ready for the power and fury of these little 125cc scooters.

We have had nothing but excellent parts support from Genuine. Especially considering the Buddy has only been on the market for 1 year. A year that has seen a very heavily re-worked scooter for the '07 market.

We have been waiting on certain Honda scooter parts for over a month - so don't go praising Honda, especially since the parts I've been waiting on are for a scooter that has been in their supply chain for OVER 20 YEARS.

Every motorcycle rider who owns a bike with a big windshield has learned the hard way that it's safer to leave your gloves / hat etc. on the speedo while you're away. Speedo lenses on BMW motorcycles cost hundreds of dollars and I've got the "snake tracks" on mine to prove how effective windshields are at magnifying the sun.

[350kmi]

I talked with a fellow recently who order a crankshaft and head gasket for his 2005 Vespa GT200, from Vespa, about 3 months ago. The crank came in about a week ago but he's still waiting for the head gasket...

[polianarchy]

Every motorcycle rider who owns a bike with a big windshield has learned the hard way that it's safer to leave your gloves / hat etc. on the speedo while you're away. Speedo lenses on BMW motorcycles cost hundreds of dollars and I've got the "snake tracks" on mine to prove how effective windshields are at magnifying the sun.

Thanks for that tip. I've never heard of this happening before! This is my first scooter, so I've a lot to learn, I guess.

[illnoise]

Yeah, I think the letter to PGO is a little bit of an overreaction...

I don't think so. It was not rude, and can only help our parts situation.

Sorry, I thought you said you were writing to complain about the instrument panel melting. It stinks that it happens, but it's nobody's fault, and there's not much PGO, Genuine, a dealer, or the NHTSB can do about it, other than requiring all scooters and motorcycles to have a giant black cloak covering them at all times. : )

Well, I guess they could stock replacement instrument panel lenses...

Someone mentioned glass windshields vs. plexiglas... Do they actually make glass motorcycle windshields? That sounds sort of insane to me, even with safety glass (which would be really heavy, too). Just curious.

Windshields (even plastic ones) scare me, they always seem to sit right at my neck level, plus if there's a sidewind, they blow you around even more. i've never liked them, though I may be wishing I had one after the Lake Erie Loop, ha. But I'm glad to now have another excuse not to get one (meltage!).

Bb.

[ericalm]

I think we have had ONE pink Buddy that has survived a year without needing major panel replacement. I guess people aren't ready for the power and fury of these little 125cc scooters.

It would be hard to get real numbers on this, but I've long suspected that a higher percentage of Buddys get crashed/dropped than any other new scoot, and that among those, pink ones are disproportionately represented. Why? The Buddy's appeal to new/inexperienced riders combined with its relatively small learning curve compared to other rides, the "deceptively high confidence" factor, and as Phil mentions, "power and fury."

Before anyone jumps to any gender-based conclusions about why pink Buddys are over-represented here, keep in mind one thing Phil and I have in common: We're both men who've crashed pink Buddys!
They're just so cute. And crashable.

[polianarchy]

Before anyone jumps to any gender-based conclusions about why pink Buddys are over-represented here, keep in mind one thing Phil and I have in common: We're both men who've crashed pink Buddys!
They're just so cute. And crashable.

Gender-based?! I'm thinking color-based. Pink's obviously the fastest....

[louie]

, "power and fury."

that's it.

polianarch, is that your arm?

[peabody99]

I don't think Phil crashed the pink Buddy, rather someone trying it out. We discussed Pink being my loaner buddy, but I was afraid of wrecking her despite my good record. Oddly I think the Buddy experienced Renae was driving was pink. Makes you wonder.

[KidDynomite]

Although it isn't a big deal to me, I've been waiting since the 10th of February to get a new chrome looking ring that goes around my head light.
You're all correct, it takes to long, but my problem was that I have an '07. My dealer gets '06 parts super quick.

Why do you need one? I need one too. How did you go about getting one ordered?

[Catalyst]

I had to think back to the days when I first laid hands on a plastic or acrylic magnifying glass, I couldnt' focus the light well enough to smolder dry grass.

OH! Now I see what's confusing you! I'm not saying that your windshield is acting like a lens. I'm saying that it's acting like a curved MIRROR focusing the sun's rays just like the curved concave primary mirror in a reflecting telescope. Sorry I didn't make myself clear. (I'm not doing a great job now, either. I need to go do a drawing and post it. I'll be back l8r with that when I'm near a scanner.)

Acrylic won't do that either. It's one of the reasons I started replacing all glass windows in our old mobile home with acrylic. It's stronger, stays cooler, can't reflect or focus light the way glass can, and it's lighter weight. It was a HUGE difference during teh summer months in North Carolina when the humidity level would get so high that the Central A/C unit couldn't keep a 700 square foot home cool. (30K BTU, which was actually oversized for our mobile home.)

Last time I called him, he said 2 weeks, but I haven't called him back yet (has been a few days over that) because I have too much to do right now to go pick it up, etc.

I am curious to know if the front cover of the instrument panel is glass or acrylic? If anything was focusing or mirroring light into it, it would be that, if it was glass.

I'll probably talk to the dealer Tuesday. I won't be home most of the day Monday, and we have to make sure my eldest gets shipped off safe and sound to the Navy. Can't call him tomorrow because I'll be spending most of the day walking ponies in circles for little kids.

I really do miss my scooter.