Dead Buddy Update

[Keys]

Dealing with Genuine is getting pretty discouraging right now. At last post, my Buddy was awaiting a stator transplant at the Flying Dorffini shop in Flagstaff. The word coming down was that Genuine had a damaged Buddy in their warehouse and would strip the stator off of that and send it to Wade at the Flying Dorffini since the new ones were on a slow boat from Taiwan. A couple weeks went by and he still hadn't received it. I called my dealer, Shelby, (Scoot Over in Tucson) who told me she had just spoken to them (this was last Friday) and they said the parts had been pulled and shipped the day before...Thursday the 19th. Bear in mind here that my scooter has been awaiting parts for over a month now. Anyway, I called Wade yesterday to see if he had heard from Genuine yet and he answered to the negative. He called them and then called me back. This is what he had to say;

First, his impression was that they were getting pissed that we kept bugging them for parts. THEN, the guy he spoke to said that he knew nothing at all about any parts being pulled and shipped the previous Thursday. He also said that the shipment from Taiwan had just arrived and still needed to be inventoried and processed before anything could be shipped out. Another week or two.

THEN came the part that upsets me; he told Wade that he saw pictures that I posted where I had taken the engine apart to get at the stator and that would probably void my warranty!! What he saw were the pictures SOMEBODY ELSE posted, telling me how to get around the issue. The scooter wasn' t even in my possession! Then he began making noises to the effect that they just may require me to take the scooter all the way down to Tucson to have the work done or they wouldn't honor the warranty. And this after they had given the "go ahead" for Wade to do the work.

Seems to me that honor is in short supply over there in Chicago...I'm actually thinking about trading it for an Agility 125 once it's fixed. It's a great product, but if you don't have the support of the importer, you're screwed...

--Keys

[Scootin_in_MS]

That sucks. I feel for you though. It's a shame that such a good product gets such lousy support. If Genuine wasn't prepared to deal with any problems yet (no surplus parts in the States, etc), they shouldn't have released the Buddy in the first place. My new engine was supposed to be in Wed or Thurs, but I haven't heard from the shop yet. They were supposed to let me know when it arrived. I'm going to call tomorrow if Kent doesn't let me know something before then.

Jody

[lobsterman]

I would just counsel some patience and perseverance. Nearly every organization has customer service woes sometimes. Keep working with them until they fix it for you, and see if you are happy with the product once it's fixed.

I have recently had two customer service experiences that both sucked, at least partially. One was with the biggest software company in the world that bounced me around for two days before I finally spoke with the right person, who had the right combination of expertise, authority, and customer service attitude. The second was Modern World Ventures, where I ordered my Fog City antifog insert from. I placed the order and then heard nothing. After 4 days I emailed them asking for status, no response. After 5 days I called and was told they shipped it on the 21st and I should get it soon. I checked and they didn't charge my card until the 23rd, the day I sent the email. I don't have it yet, but I am curious to see when they really shipped it.

The thing is, I want the antifog thing, and I still use the software from that company. They're good products with less than perfect support, but I am not going to penalize myself from using the product I want because some low paid customer service rep didn't do a great job.

[Keys]

Actually, very few people ride their scooters as hard as I do. 3400 miles since the 19th of August...with a month off for stator repair! Therefore, I expect breakdowns. I expect difficulties sometimes getting the parts. What I object to is them telling me something just to shut me up when there was no intention of doing it. If they had just told me the parts were on the slow boat, I would not have expected anything else. They, however, told me something else and didn't follow through.

As Judge Judy said; "Don't pee on my shoes and tell me it's raining..."

--Keys

[Fullserve]

Actually, very few people ride their scooters as hard as I do. 3400 miles since the 19th of August...with a month off for stator repair! Therefore, I expect breakdowns. I expect difficulties sometimes getting the parts. What I object to is them telling me something just to shut me up when there was no intention of doing it. If they had just told me the parts were on the slow boat, I would not have expected anything else. They, however, told me something else and didn't follow through.

As Judge Judy said; "Don't pee on my shoes and tell me it's raining..."

--Keys

Wow, Keys -- that's a lot of riding. I can certainly see why reliability and readily available parts would be high on your priority list.

I have had an Agility 125 for about 3 weeks and really love it. Granted, if cost were no object I would have ended up with the Buddy. But with a $700 difference (at my dealer in SD), it was a no brainer and I've not looked back.

I thought I rode a lot after logging 500+ kilometers in the first 3 weeks. Guess not. I've been commuting a couple of times a week about 25 miles each way and am very pleased with the performance of the Agility. It has very good power on flats and grades up to moderate. My only complaint is on a particular hill on my commute which is probably close to 20% grade. I do tend to bog down a bit and will be looking for something to help. I don't know if variator weights would affect this (I'm a scootering novice).

Anyway, best of luck with your situation. I hope it all works out for you.

John

[Keys]

I don't know, John. I'm thinking that the variator weights would affect your acceleration more than your hill-climbing ability. You will probably need to up the power output a little to maintain the speeds on hills. The first thing to look at would be a performance pipe and the accompanying jetting. You may not see much if anything on top-end, but should see more performance in power output. People tend to think that if they increase the power output, it will increase their top speed. However, your speed is governed by a combination of the engine r.p.m. and final gearing. No matter how much power the engine puts out, it still is designed to turn only so many r.p.m.'s. So, for a top-end increase, one would want to increase power output and change the gears (if available). But if you only wish to climb better, increase the power and keep the gears the same. That oughta help you out. Check with your dealer to see if any pipes are available yet.

My dealer carries both the Genuine and Kymco lines and they don't think I'd be satisfied with an Agility. They don't think the power is enough for the kind of riding I do. However, my Buddy isn't displaying ANY power right now....

--Keys

[Fullserve]

I appreciate your input, Keys. I have no desire to increase the top end at this point, as I will never see a road with >50mph limit. My Agility is getting to an indicated 60+mph pretty quickly, 63-64 with patience on the flats and I hit 71 downhill this morning. I would expect those speeds to increase slightly with a windshiled I have on order. I’ll definitely speak to my dealer about an exhaust upgrade for the uphill power.

I know that you are a very experienced rider so I don't have to tell you to make sure you test ride a lot before buying, but I would tend to agree with your dealer. I think that any step down in power would be a disappointment (at least for me) and from all indications the Agility would be a step (or half-step) down from the Buddy. The Agility is my first scooter and should keep me happy for a year or two, but I expect I’ll be looking to upgrade at some point after that.

[Keys]

Got it back tonight!!! It was a cold (50 degree), 70 mile ride to get it home, but there it is...in my garage!! WOO HOO!! (little happy-dance)

--Keys

[Elm Creek Smith]

Congratulations, Keys. Did you have any more trouble with the parts or Genuine?

ECS

[jrsjr]

Got it back tonight!!! It was a cold (50 degree), 70 mile ride to get it home, but there it is...in my garage!! WOO HOO!! (little happy-dance)

W007!!! Glad you're back in business.

Be careful out there!

[lobsterman]

Excellent news Keys!

I hope they fixed it right for you. With a 70 mile ride home, you should be able to tell if it's OK.

[lou76]

Got it back tonight!!! It was a cold (50 degree), 70 mile ride to get it home, but there it is...in my garage!! WOO HOO!! (little happy-dance)

--Keys

awesome, keys... i was beginning to wonder if gurney monkey and you and i were ever going to end up on a scarab ride with all of us on buddy's... ride well...

[Keys]

The part showed up at the Flying Dorffini about 2 p.m. and within 45 minutes he had it installed and had already taken a test ride. Called me at three. I found a ride to drop me off by five (I have great faith in Wade). Rode it home. No problems whatsoever. In fact, the only issue was the fact that they didn't have the part and kept appearing to blow smoke in my direction...

--Keys

[ScooterMonkey]

Woohoo! congrats Keys. It'll be great to ride with both you & Isaac. Just make sure you keep your pants on.

[Keys]

My pants ain't comin' off...Halloween is over!

--Keys

[lou76]

My pants ain't comin' off...Halloween is over!

--Keys

it is a common misconception that you HAVE to be pantsless if you dress up as isaac for halloween... there are many different variations, some of which do not require any nudity...