Carb replacement

swillscooter · Post by **swillscooter** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 3:16 am

So my dealer is suggesting a carb replacement on my wife's Buddy 125. It tops out at 35mph with her carb, runs like normal (55-60 BMPH) with a test carb from the dealer. He got a carb in and it's from Genuine, as a stock replacement. Runs about $200. Seems high to me for a stock replacement, but i could be wrong. So I tried to search alternatives and all I could find was the Keihin carb at scooterworks for $225, also looks to be a stockish replacent. So no performance options out there? Or, if only stock guys are out there, $200 looks to be standard?

For those reading, please know that I did my best to search for answers in advance of my post but came up pretty empty.

pdxrita · Post by **pdxrita** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 4:11 am

Is that price just for the parts, or does it include labor?
Here's all the carb parts:
http://www.scooterloungeonline.com/buddy125carburetor

It looks to me like you could purchase all of the parts for $100ish, but that's just a quick scan down the page. I'm also assuming that you might not need the entire assembly. The other question is, is it really necessary to replace it, or does it maybe just need a good cleaning?

swillscooter · Post by **swillscooter** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 4:42 am

It's been completely cleaned, according to the dealer. They've looked it over and can't seem to find any sort of issue. Rather than continue to rack up shop rates to investigate, the carb replacement could make sense. The $200 is just parts.

I was also thinking that if I need to get a new carb, I could donate my carb to my wifes scoot and upgrade mine with a performance guy. That's what started my search in the first place.

spr0k3t · Post by **spr0k3t** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 5:49 am

I say do the organ donation and do some digging for a slight upgrade on the carb. Just please make sure you have upgraded the pipe as well for the best possible gains. If you upgrade the intake at the same time, it's going to feel like a different scooter.

swillscooter · Post by **swillscooter** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 8:41 am

I've got the prima pipe on already. Looking around, it seems that the for a carb to be an upgrade, it would have a larger intake. I think that the stock carb has an intake of 26mm. So then the NCY 30mm carb at scooterworks would be an upgrade? Anything else I should be looking for?

spr0k3t · Post by **spr0k3t** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 12:43 pm

That would be all you need for the upgrade. I believe the NCY 30mm is made by Keihin... so you might be able to find exactly what you need for a better price. Also note, you will need a different intake manifold to get it installed. So you will need a carb, the intake manifold, and a good filter upgrade. Once you do that, the scooter should feel much different.

swillscooter · Post by **swillscooter** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 4:11 pm

OK, I took a look over at Buggy Parts NW since I had good luck with them when I got a variator and sliders. They answered my dumb guy questions last time, so I asked for some suggestions based on what they have. I know that they have a kit that may be a good starting point.[http://www.buggypartsnw.com/home?page=s ... egory_id=6]

Worst case, it looks like they has a stock replacement for about $65 instead of the dealer quoted $200+ [http://www.buggypartsnw.com/home?page=s ... egory_id=6]

So, I'll keep you all in the loop on the response!

PS, sorry about the links...I don't know how to make them click-through-able.

spr0k3t · Post by **spr0k3t** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 10:20 pm

swillscooter wrote:OK, I took a look over at Buggy Parts NW since I had good luck with them when I got a variator and sliders. They answered my dumb guy questions last time, so I asked for some suggestions based on what they have. I know that they have a kit that may be a good starting point.GY6 Air Performance Upgrade - Level 2

Worst case, it looks like they has a stock replacement for about $65 instead of the dealer quoted $200+ 24mm Stock Carburetor for GY6

PS, sorry about the links...I don't know how to make them click-through-able.

It's a simple surrounding tags thing. You have to start with . After that, put in some description text of what the link is, or just put the link again. Then end the tag with a close url tag like so: and it should show up as a link. The other option, you could use the formatting buttons in the editor when you post a reply, but you should put your mouse over them to see what the template looks like so it can be used correctly. If you need some more help, there's a slew of information about it in the FAQ.

Keep us posted.

swillscooter · Post by **swillscooter** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 2:09 am

Man, spr0k3t, you are a huge help! What a good teacher!

I will let everyone know what I find out...

gitsum79 · Post by **gitsum79** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 2:19 pm

Keihin carbs are pretty reliable. I would make sure the jets are clean and check the diaphragm/ slide. From what you decribed, especially check the main jet.

I believe the Buddy 125's carb is a 24mm CVK. If you want to replace it with a larger carb, 26mm would be the ticket, 30mm would not be the best choice.

The Genuine engine is one of the best GY6 motors ever, don't put a crappy Chinese made carb on it, it will never run the same (they can be purchased for about $25, not $65).

If you want to save a little money, OKO (made in Taiwan) has both a 24mm and 26mm CVK that should cost you about $120. The Buddy engine is tuned so good in stock form, I would stick with the original size carb

I found this Keihin 26mm CVK from Adly for $149. Open the air box a little, and with an upgraded exhaust you may see a little performance boost, at the expense of a little fuel economy. http://www.adlyparts.com/thunder-bike-1 ... 20102.html

swillscooter · Post by **swillscooter** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:18 am

Thanks, gitsum79! Poking around the forum and the web in general, it looks like a 26mm similar to what you found is a bolt-on sort of option. Meaning, no need for a larger intake or anything. This might be the best sort of option for me. I hope to discuss this with my dealer today. Thanks for the lead!

lovemysan · Post by **lovemysan** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 1:19 pm

I'd say the cylinder head is more restrictive than the stock carb. I've got a pipe/161cc kit and I'm still running the stock carb, running a 105 main jet. It doesn't run as nice or cleanly as stock 125cc. You will lose bottom end power and mileage with a larger carb. Unless you intend to upgrade the head, cylinder, and cam I wouldn't change the carb. Remember you'll need to purchase 3-6 main jets, 2-3 secondary jets, and a few needles to properly tune your new carb to your engine. Its not a bolt on and go. I don't think $200 is unreasonable for a cvk24. Is that an installed price?

swillscooter · Post by **swillscooter** » Sun Jul 29, 2012 11:06 pm

Since I couldn't find a one single definitive answer as to whether a performance upgrade on the carb was doable/desirable/worthwhile, I decided to just go with a stock replacement. That, and my dealer already has it in hand and I really can't ask that he just strand by as I try to learn everything there is to learn about carbs.

Thanks to all that responded to my question. The fact that a few of you suggested just staying with stock because its already a good carb helped me make up my mind.

Now about that big bore kit....

Mike59 · Post by **Mike59** » Wed Oct 03, 2012 6:25 pm

I have a 2010 Black Buddy 125, bought last year to replace
2008 Sunrise Buddy 125 I crashed. I was not hurt, thanks HP,
but frame bent.

New Buddy never been as "peppy" as my first.

Took it in for service with 3,100 miles. Dealer said they've
taken the carb apart three times, and it still does not run well.
(It was running when I took it in, but would cut out at stops, and
it had gotten worse over 2 week period, but still ran fine when
moving.)

Wants to replace carb fro $389.99. The machine has not been
abused or run super hard. I drive it to work and local stores etc.,
in primarily nice weather.

This is the only local Buddy Dealer. What do I do? Help. thanks.

az_slynch · Post by **az_slynch** » Wed Oct 03, 2012 9:19 pm

Mike59 wrote:Wants to replace carb fro $389.99. The machine has not been abused or run super hard. I drive it to work and local stores etc., in primarily nice weather.

That price seems a bit high for a carb (unless your're buying a brand new pimped-out Edelbrock for a Harley!). You may look to a non-dealer if you have no other local option.

Is the stalling at idle the only issue with it? Other than low top-end power? I'd suspect that the dealer didn't fully dismantle and clean the carb. It might still have a bit of trash in the pilot circuit.

rick71454 · Post by **rick71454** » Wed Oct 03, 2012 9:34 pm

Hello swillscooter:

I agree you made a good decision sticking with the stock carb.
I did, even with my Big Bore Kit 161cc upgrade.
All I did differenet to the carb was change the main jet from a stock #92 to a #102. I may do trial and error by going with a #112 and even going back to the #92.

rick71454

Modern Buddy

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