Wanting to understand Buddy 170i review comment

TroutBum · Post by **TroutBum** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 2:31 am

I read some reviews on the Buddy 170i and wanted to know what they meant by the shorter wheelbase (compared to a Vespa LX150) was better fitted to shorter riders. What is the defination of shorter riders?

2wheelNsanity · Post by **2wheelNsanity** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 2:40 am

Idk. I'm 6'1" and I fit, my wife is 5'4" and she fits. I think thats the beauty in the design of the Buddy seat, it allows the shorter people to scoot forward and the taller people scoot back. Other scooters tend to have two tiered seats that shoe-horn you in that one riding position. Just a thought

.

pdxrita · Post by **pdxrita** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 2:41 am

I don't see where the wheelbase would come into play when it comes to your height. What does come into play is seat height. The Buddy is great for short riders. I'd put "short" in this case as something in the range of 5'4" and under. But ultimately, it's up to you. Go and sit on the different scooters and see what feels comfortable to you.

Tocsik · Post by **Tocsik** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 3:51 am

So, I guess Jeeps are only for shorter people.

And tall people should get a Lincoln Town Car.

Post by **ericalm** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 4:23 am

Not wheelbase, but a smaller rear wheel. The LX has an 11".

Regardless, the Buddy has a lower seat height. It's all about inseam! My wife is shorter than I am but has a longer inseam. Never checked, but she may actually have an easier time flat-footing on the LX than I do (not that I have trouble with it).

The best test is to go sit on one and take it down off the stand.

neotrotsky · Post by **neotrotsky** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 6:11 am

ericalm wrote:Not wheelbase, but a smaller rear wheel. The LX has an 11".

Regardless, the Buddy has a lower seat height. It's all about inseam! My wife is shorter than I am but has a longer inseam. Never checked, but she may actually have an easier time flat-footing on the LX than I do (not that I have trouble with it).

The best test is to go sit on one and take it down off the stand.

This is VERY true!!

I have a barely 30" inseam. This makes the Buddy a great fit for me and my short stubby legs. My problem was that when I finally got on it, my super-long arms caused my elbows to be practically forced into my ribcage! This was a bummer since the Buddy is a great bike with good engineering behind it. But, every bike has a particular fit, and especially with scooters, you have to make sure that fit fits.

Luckily, Genuine also imports the Stella which is a great fit for me: Short leg friendly and a long saddle so I can scoot back and have plenty of room for the arms

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 2:09 pm

Bottom line, go sit on one and see how it feels!

TroutBum · Post by **TroutBum** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 4:03 pm

skully93 wrote:Bottom line, go sit on one and see how it feels!

Seems the consensus here so that is what I will do.

Thanks all for your replies

pinthea · Post by **pinthea** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 6:41 pm

I'd like to lend a slightly different perspective.

When we were shopping for my new scooter, my better half (being taller than I am) had an initial concern with the Buddy 170i.

Having longer legs, we found that the knees were hit by the handlebar grips when the yolk was turned fully. It was just like I had experienced when I sat on a Honda Metropolitan 50cc scooter...

That issue is not at all a problem for me with the 170i, as I am shorter and apparently my knees aren't as high off the deck, but I can see how a longer wheelbase might provide a tad more distance and perhaps provide the necessary clearance from the knees to the grips at full turn. So too would higher handlebars, I suppose.

Ultimately, however, it was a non issue since in practice, when the Buddy is in motion, it is just about impossible to turn the handle bars far enough to even come close to hitting the knees. Neither of us had issues operating the scooter safely or had any constraints due to knee clearances.

Post by **ericalm** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 4:50 pm

pinthea wrote:Ultimately, however, it was a non issue since in practice, when the Buddy is in motion, it is just about impossible to turn the handle bars far enough to even come close to hitting the knees. Neither of us had issues operating the scooter safely or had any constraints due to knee clearances.

^This. Just about the only time you'll turn the bars that far would be when walking the scooter. Turning them that far while riding, even slowly or from a stop, will result in rider and scooter on the ground!

Cpequin · Post by **Cpequin** » Sat Sep 29, 2012 12:19 am

I'm 5'2", and about a 29" inseam. I'm tip toe on my Buddy, if both feet are down, so i stop and lean so i'm toe down on one side. If the light's long or a train, i swap. Eh, I don't care. Learned on a Honda Nighthawk 650 (25 yrs ago) and it was the same, except the Buddy is sooooo much lighter

Rusty Shackleford · Post by **Rusty Shackleford** » Sat Sep 29, 2012 5:02 pm

I got my GF this low profile seat for her Buddy. It's shorter in height and narrower in the front. She's 5'3" and can flat foot it just fine now.

Stormswift · Post by **Stormswift** » Sat Sep 29, 2012 9:28 pm

I am around 5"1 and low profile seat is great for me. And it is not just flatfooting. The way this seat is I can sit on it fully instead of being perched on the edge like I was with the stock seat. Also (and I am not sure if it is the softness of the seat or shape or lesser height) but my back feels much better

jprestonian · Post by **jprestonian** » Sun Sep 30, 2012 12:08 am

pinthea wrote:Ultimately, however, it was a non issue since in practice, when the Buddy is in motion, it is just about impossible to turn the handle bars far enough to even come close to hitting the knees. Neither of us had issues operating the scooter safely or had any constraints due to knee clearances.

That's what a lot of first-time scooter buyers seemingly fail to grasp. You're going to be turning it that far while you're parking it, engine off, backing into a spot. That's about it.
.

bbg.will · Post by **bbg.will** » Sun Sep 30, 2012 3:37 pm

There seems to be a lot of different types of comments made on here that assume wheelbase and rider height have something in common..

Wheel base is the length of the scooter from mid front tire, to mid rear tire. A longer wheel base will typically produce a better ride at speed. If your buddy ever felt squirrelly at 55mph, it is due to its short wheel base and compounded by steering head geometry, but that's a whole different thing.

Wheel base has nothing to do with rider ergonomics and how a shorter person fits onto the scooter. Look at the lance scooters... Long wheel base, short seat height. Both my 5'5" white and myself 5'10" self ride her buddy, separately, from time to time, but that is because I sit further back on the seat than she does. It improves ergonomics for me, but it also changes the center of gravity a little bit. Too far back and that can significantly produce other handling issues.