170i owners - so how fast?

Goodtime · Post by **Goodtime** » Sun Jan 06, 2013 12:10 am

Any of you 170i owners have a true GPS top speed and safe cruising speed? Is the final drive gearing different from the 125 and 150 models? Or does it get to the same speed faster?
"Justgottascoot" only got 63mph out of a borrowed one in their 170i review, I would have expected an easy 70mph.

skipper20 · Post by **skipper20** » Sun Jan 06, 2013 2:14 am

Goodtime wrote:Any of you 170i owners have a true GPS top speed and safe cruising speed? Is the final drive gearing different from the 125 and 150 models? Or does it get to the same speed faster?
"Justgottascoot" only got 63mph out of a borrowed one in their 170i review, I would have expected an easy 70mph.

I'm just under 75 miles total so I'm still breaking mine in but even after break-in I don't think 70 mph will be "easy". At occasional bursts up to 55 mph GPS indicated the front tire on my 170i starts to feel just a bit squirrley so I'm going to hold back until I feel more comfortable with it. However, I will not be disaapointed if 63 mph is my max. Those 10" wheels and tires are just not made for speeds much beyond that IMHO. Hey, it's a Buddy remember? It has its limits. If you want a safe 70 mph, go with a 180cc or more engine size and no less than 12" wheels and tires. Both the Sym HD200 and Aprilia Scarabeo 200 fit this niche perfectly and I've owned both.

Bill in Seattle but wintering in AZ
'12 Buddy 170i Italia "The Olive Pit"

Drum Pro · Post by **Drum Pro** » Sun Jan 06, 2013 3:59 am

About 65mph...

JustCruisin · Post by **JustCruisin** » Sun Jan 06, 2013 4:39 am

I've used a GPS and had my 170i up to about 67MPH. I have 911 miles on it and rarely ever ride WOT. The 2 best features in my opinion... The ability to go from 35/40MPH (cruising), to 50/55MPH quickly when needed. Secondly. I do notice a big difference off the line with the 170i/ fuel injection.

az_slynch · Post by **az_slynch** » Sun Jan 06, 2013 6:13 pm

I think that a 65mph Max speed for a 170i is perfectly reasonable. My Yager calls itself a 200, but it's really just a fuel injected 175. The maximum speed I've seen on it was 73mph, but the tachometer was 1200rpm past the redline (8000rpm)and the check engine light came on. It's maximum cruise outside the red is 66mph, which is in-line with the 170i numbers. Considering that air-cooled engines are generally less powerful than liquid-cooled ones (like the Yager's), I'd say the 170i does well by itself.

I think that the final gearing on the 170i is the same as the others. The big perks of this bike are the extra power, easier cold-starting and better handling of significant elevation changes.

Oh, as a sidebar, the liquid-cooled engine in the SYM RV and HD200 offers similar power and performance. They list a 72mph top speed, which I feel comes about from the 9000rpm red line and 4-valve cylinder head.

toadold · Post by **toadold** » Sun Jan 06, 2013 9:55 pm

Where the small wheel 150 to 170 scooters have utility is that if you have to get onto a highway for a short spurt you'll be legal in a lot of states. Also it is my opinion, not backed up by anything though, that the larger displacement over 125 should offer a bit more engine life. Also one nice thing about the Buddy series of bikes is that they seem to be easier to work on as opposed to what I've seen on most of the larger displacement bikes. Again just as a personal taste, I like the external easy to get at oil filter on the late model Buddy 170i and how quick you can get at the spark plug and valves. This also translates to lower costs for dealer maintenance. I just got through using Mapquest to compare a long route that used the major highways and one that used streets. The highway route estimated at 57 minutes and the street route at an hour and 12 minutes. Given that I'm retired and I wouldn't do that route more than say once every two months a 125 or Buddy 170i would be peachy.

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Sun Jan 06, 2013 11:08 pm

skipper20 wrote:
Goodtime wrote: I'm just under 75 miles total so I'm still breaking mine in but even after break-in I don't think 70 mph will be "easy". At occasional bursts up to 55 mph GPS indicated the front tire on my 170i starts to feel just a bit squirrley so I'm going to hold back until I feel more comfortable with it. However, I will not be disaapointed if 63 mph is my max. Those 10" wheels and tires are just not made for speeds much beyond that IMHO.
\

If you change out the stock tires for nicer ones, it is nowhere near as twitchy. My Italia stock tires looked great, but after getting some S1 tires, I can only say that the stock tires are not as good.

I regularly hit a true 60, and it's just fine.

skipper20 · Post by **skipper20** » Mon Jan 07, 2013 5:05 pm

skully93 wrote:
skipper20 wrote:
Goodtime wrote: I'm just under 75 miles total so I'm still breaking mine in but even after break-in I don't think 70 mph will be "easy". At occasional bursts up to 55 mph GPS indicated the front tire on my 170i starts to feel just a bit squirrley so I'm going to hold back until I feel more comfortable with it. However, I will not be disaapointed if 63 mph is my max. Those 10" wheels and tires are just not made for speeds much beyond that IMHO.
\

If you change out the stock tires for nicer ones, it is nowhere near as twitchy. My Italia stock tires looked great, but after getting some S1 tires, I can only say that the stock tires are not as good.

I regularly hit a true 60, and it's just fine.
Please tell me more about those replacement tires. Is "S1" a brand name, model name or? Is the size the same as the stock tire? And, anything else about them would be sincerely appreciated. TIA,

Bill in Seattle but wintering in AZ
'12 170i Italia "The Olive Pit"

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Mon Jan 07, 2013 5:08 pm

Sorry, it's a Michelin tire. standard size for the Buddy. There may be other options depending on your shop, I just find them to be amazing.

skipper20 · Post by **skipper20** » Tue Jan 08, 2013 4:35 pm

skully93 wrote:Sorry, it's a Michelin tire. standard size for the Buddy. There may be other options depending on your shop, I just find them to be amazing.

Sorry to be so persistent but could you be a bit more specific? Like where exactly is the improvement? TIA,

Bill

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Tue Jan 08, 2013 7:05 pm

the overall handling and 'smoothness' of the ride is much different. Where I would not take corners very quickly before, I find myself able to scrape the side stand, not that I am encouraging it. The braking ability is also slightly better.

This is also speaking of the maxxis whitewalls that came stock on the International series. I don't have any experience with other stock tires, so they may be just fine.

Rusty Shackleford · Post by **Rusty Shackleford** » Tue Jan 08, 2013 8:23 pm

az_slynch wrote:I think that a 65mph Max speed for a 170i is perfectly reasonable. My Yager calls itself a 200, but it's really just a fuel injected 175. The maximum speed I've seen on it was 73mph, but the tachometer was 1200rpm past the redline (8000rpm)and the check engine light came on. It's maximum cruise outside the red is 66mph, which is in-line with the 170i numbers..

65mph(GPS) for the 170i sounds reasonable. A few key pieces of information I'd want on the are...

- What RPM and MPH are redline?
- What RPM and MPH are peak power?

The Buddy 125 has been an awesome scooter and I'm curious to the numeric differences between the two. We may end up with a Zephyr 170i for the fuel injection instead of a BBK on the 125. Any word on new colors for 2013? Black would be sweeeeeet.

uklemond · Post by **uklemond** » Wed Jan 23, 2013 6:50 pm

Never had GPS on the bike so i can only talk for BMPH, but on route 1 home, there is a stretch that my 170i absolutely loves. In the warmer days my needle has stroked the 75 mark, and on these cold winter nights she hits it on 65.

I have a speed radar on the same road but opposite direction, and when it flashes at me saying im doing 51, i look down and the speedo is over 55 (just) so if i take that into account, i would think 67 is my top speed as a reasonable guess. Plenty fast enough for me tbf. Will have to work out how to gps it safely and reliably though. would be good to know my official speeds

Modern Buddy

170i owners - so how fast?

170i owners - so how fast?

Re: 170i owners - so how fast?

Re: 170i owners - so how fast?

Re: 170i owners - so how fast?