carb or EFI question (from a noob)

[vas459]

Hello all - I am not actually a member of the Buddy club yet, but it's only a matter of making up my mind. I keep going back and forth between the 125 (in black) or the 170i (in Oxford green).

I live downtown Chicago and commute 8 miles to work on city streets so I feel pretty confident the 125 will meet my power needs. So it comes down to if I feel the fuel injection is worth the extra $500 (and I prefer the black of the 125).

Now, I am completely ignorant and have never even ridden a Buddy. But with the carbuerated 125, is there a choke? Do they take awhile to warm up? I've had several motorcycles (all carbuerated) and what I hated was having to wait 5 minutes for it to warm up when I just wanted to make a quick run to the store. Plus, I plan to ride well into the cold months here, I understand I'll have to rejet the carbs for that as well, which I don't mind, but, again, will it be hard to start in the cold and will it take a long time to warm up?

I'm leaning toward the 170i just to erase these fears, but I'd really like the black and cost of the 125.

Thank you in advance for everyone's help!

[Drum Pro]

You can't go wrong with either. If you are leaning toward the 170 GET IT. Totally worth the $500 bucks but I might be bias cos I got the silver one....

[Maximus53]

I agree on the 170. You will be surprised how fast the city streets dont cut it and you want to expanding your roaming territory.

[pdxrita]

Both are great scooters and you'd probably be happy with either one. Since you've gotten two endorsements for the 170i, let me speak up for the 125. To answer your question, it does have a choke - it's automatic, so not something you normally have to mess with. Depending on how you ride during the first few minutes of your ride, you probably won't have to let it sit. I don't warm mine up for more than 30 seconds or so before I take off. The choke is still engaged for a few minutes, but it's just fine. My commute starts off on a slow neighborhood street and I almost always wind up stopped for a couple of minutes at a stoplight, during which time my idle settles. So I'd say unless you're hopping right on a fast road, you don't have to sit and wait. As for riding a carb'd bike in the cold, I haven't had any issues with that and I routinely ride down into the 30's. I've ridden as low as 16 degrees and the bike did need a little more gas to warm up in that temp, but it wasn't a big deal. If I was in that temp a lot, I'd just raise the idle a bit to compensate.

I've just transitioned from a 150 to a 125 myself (due to totaling my 150). I can say that the 125 is a zippy little machine that would meet your basic commuting needs just fine. I've noticed only a small power difference from the 150 and my 125 isn't broken in yet, so it will gain some power over time. Really, you can't go wrong with either scooter, though.

[JHScoot]

for reliable cold starts every time i have read efi is the way to go in cold climes like Chicago.you can remove every panel from your 170 if you get it and paint them black, or order a set of new black from Genuine / PGO down the road. i believe the cost is around $400 for an entire set, or maybe get some used? someone has these in my local area, for instance:

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/mc ... 18420.html

just an example of what may be available out there to change the color of a Buddy. pretty sure these fit 170's, too

[vas459]

Thanks for the info pdxrita. I am more concerned about the cold starts that the color really. I'm not going to ride in the dead of winter, but do plan to ride into the 30s like you. I know the EFI will take care of all my concerns, but there is a dealership near me with a 2009 125 that I can get for $700 less than the 170.

I was trying to do a search on cold starting/riding but was not having much luck. Can anyone direct me to where I might find more on that topic?

[Raiderfn311]

170i.....no question.

[pdxrita]

Thanks for the info pdxrita. I am more concerned about the cold starts that the color really. I'm not going to ride in the dead of winter, but do plan to ride into the 30s like you. I know the EFI will take care of all my concerns, but there is a dealership near me with a 2009 125 that I can get for $700 less than the 170.

I was trying to do a search on cold starting/riding but was not having much luck. Can anyone direct me to where I might find more on that topic?

I don't know where you can find more information specific to that topic, but I can tell you that you really don't need to be overly concerned about it. There are quite a few riders on this board like me who ride in cold temperatures. Other than maybe bumping the idle up a bit, which is dead simple to do, you really don't need to do anything special to make the scooter run. Personally, I've never even done that and, other than the super cold 16 degree days, I've never had any issues at all related to the cold. On the super cold days, I stalled out a couple of times before the engine was completely warm - that's it. What you do need to be concerned with is proper gear to keep yourself warm. So I'd say, if that $700 bucks and the black color is important to you, go for the 125. You might need that $700 to get all geared up for the cold.

[SYMbionic Duo]

I live in Minneapolis and have ridden in -10F no need to worry about cold starts. Or rejetting for the cold.

I've had problems with efi in extreme cold starting. I think the computer wasn't mapped for that low of temp.... Or it was my battery.

[tortoise]

with the carbuerated 125, is there a choke?

One option is to install an on-off switch in the enricher circuit to keep the flow needle retracted longer during colder temperatures.

"The starting circuit (often called the choke circuit--but it doesn't really "choke" anything) provides a special fuel supply needed to start the engine, when the engine is cold.

Why does the engine need a lot of fuel to fire when it is cold? For a fuel mixture to ignite, it needs to be made up of very tiny (atomized) particles of fuel suspended in the air. Cold fuel tends to stay in big drops which don't ignite easily. Also these big drops tend to cling to intake walls. So in a cold engine, a lot of the fuel doesn't atomize correctly and is just wasted. Therefore you need more fuel to start with to make up for these losses, and assure that enough of it is atomized to give you a mixture which will ignite properly. As the engine warms up, atomization becomes much better and more complete, so less fuel is needed to create the proper air/fuel ratio" . . source

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[viney266]

Agreed with others 170i if you can swing it!, but you wont be unhappy with a 125 at all.

[JettaKnight]

Never had any problems starting or run in cold (sub-freezing) weather with my 125/161 cc.

It gets to warm up while I put on my helmet.

I guess only you can decide if the extra power is worth $700 more.