Possibly same Buddy issue as others, butttt..

Ronin · Post by **Ronin** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 11:54 pm

Today I was riding home on my 2008 Buddy and I felt a bit of hesitation coming from her when throttling. I recalled the stories of others stalling out and I knew I better get off the main drag fast, as I was on an extremely busy street during rush hour.

I just got off the main drag when my Buddy stalled and died. I couldn't start her back up by electronic method, nor kick starting.

That's when I noticed gas steadily pouring out of where the air filter is..... I thought at first I could attribute it to flooding, but the amount of gas that poured out was about a half a tank.

I had filled up the day before with premium gas (mainly because the next octane level contains ethanol and the gas below that is only around 81 octane. Not trying to start a gas war here, just trying to get all the "facts" in

)

Sooo, I'm not certain what could have caused this particular malfunction. I am extremely grateful to a Tru-Lawn guy who stopped to see if I needed help and even more so to the retired fireman who so graciously loaded my scooter onto a trailer and drove me the remaining 5 miles home! He was truly a generous guy and that made me have a little more hope on the general morality of man!!

Guess next up is to call Roadside Assistance to have them take it from my house to the dealership? I dunno... what are your thoughts?

ryder1 · Post by **ryder1** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 12:18 am

You were fortunate and another good reason to thank everyone who posts so we are aware of potential problems.

Hope you tipped the retired fireman...he was very gracious.

Glad you are okay and no injuries.

Ronin · Post by **Ronin** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 1:10 am

Ryder, I couldn't agree with you more on all points that you've made. The experiences that everyone else has posted on the forums really does help others out. Even with the posts that don't necessarily solve a problem at hand, sometimes just knowing that others have experienced similar issues and therefore knowing that you aren't alone gives a boost!

Also, I'm certain that because I read the prior posts, I truly was saved from a harrowing situation. A stall on the road that I was on would have not been a great place to be.

I did make an effort to give some money to the gentleman, but he shot me down quicker than he could blow out a match! (fireman... match... yeah, bad pun).

I called the dealer I purchased the scoot from and they stated that they will come to my house tomorrow to pick it up. I will be certain to update everyone on what the cause was in the hopes that it may help another fellow scooter owner out in the future!

ryder1 · Post by **ryder1** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 1:39 am

An update would be helpful and keep us all informed.

Even if the fireman did not accept the tip, I'm sure he was pleased that you offered.

jfrost2 · Post by **jfrost2** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 1:58 am

I should check my air filter housing too, my scooter has been stalling as I ride, but then 2 seconds later it works fine again, kinda bothers me.

Post by **ericalm** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 7:53 am

Well, a flooded air filter will cause stalling, etc. The question is why it's flooded. Could be the vapor lock issue again. One way to test this is to let the filter dry out (you could even pull it, wash it out, let it dry or dry it with compressed air, and replace it) then open the gas tank, replace the gas cap, then take it for a short ride and see how it behaves.

EP_scoot · Post by **EP_scoot** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 2:46 pm

Ronin wrote:
I thought at first I could attribute it to flooding, but the amount of gas that poured out was about a half a tank.

1/2 a tank?

That seems quite a lot for a vapor lock issue. Make sure you mention that to your dealer.

Ronin · Post by **Ronin** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 1:05 am

I contacted the dealership today, but so far they haven't made any progress on determining what's going on.

Apparentely Absinthe is starting up and riding around just fine for them and they can't replicate the issue

They have left a call with Genuine to see what they have to say and they stated they'd look around a bit more.

This is leading me to go towards vapor lock, but I can't imagine that vapor lock would make Absinthe sick enough to vomit out all the gas that she was through my air filter compartment....

If they state that they can't locate anything, I'm at least going to make sure that they check the oil to ensure that gas hasn't gotten into the mix.
Then, I'll be drilling some holes into the gas cap!

Hopefully, I will be back up and riding tomorrow after work! (I really really hope so...)

jfrost2 · Post by **jfrost2** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 1:08 am

I've smelled gas before from my air filter, gas fumes do somehow get to it too, not sure why, but it does come into contact with gas/fumes, so I'm sure nothing major is wrong, but it is very odd it just spit out that much gas. I've never heard of this, the only type of "spit" out is a drip or two when you fill too much gas in, a few members have noticed gas drip out when they finish riding, but that's from the side of the bike on the right.

Ronin · Post by **Ronin** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 7:57 pm

Welp, it looks like the cause is going to be a mystery with a guesswork involved.

My dealer had three different people ride the scoot and none could replicate the issue. Genuine hasn't contacted them back in 2 days, so for now we are going with the hunch of vapor lock and then possible flooding due to numerous starting attempts....

There was a faint gas smell in the oil, so they were kind enough to dump the old and put in new, so there's that I guess.

I will be pulling up the thread that provides nice pretty "hypothetical" pictures of drilling the gas cap and leave the directions and the scoot out in my driveway. Maybe some crazy gas cap drilling transient that passes by will somehow mysteriously unlock my scoot, get the the cap, and drill the holes. I dunno!

Ronin · Post by **Ronin** » Sat Jun 14, 2008 4:04 am

Aha! Awesome update!

When I arrived at the dealership today, they had managed to get in contact with Genuine. Genuine has acknowledged the issue with the gas tanks and instructed the dealer to drill holes into the gas cap to help stop the vapor lock issues! Amazingly enough, the holes that Genuine instructed on match identical to the top and side hole previously posted!

Additionally, Genuine is sending the dealer a new part to put on just to cover their bases on the fuel issue. I can't recall what the part was... (lotta help I am there lol).

So, I would say that anyone who has the holes drilled into the gas cap should be plenty safe warranty-wise since Genuine is instructing dealers to do so!