Dealer would not change gear oil

Orange Guy · Post by **Orange Guy** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 11:57 am

Anyone else encounter this at first service? They told me they checked it but would not change it. I said that in the owner's manual, it says it should be changed at 300 km. I got the "We have 78 years of combined service in our shop and we don't do work that isn't needed."

This place just became a Genuine dealer this spring. I'm not going back as it is an hour-plus drive, but I'm concerned for all the other new Buddy owners.

So anyway, is there any truth to not changing it despite what the manual says?

jmazza · Post by **jmazza** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 12:20 pm

I had a very similar experience- a dealer who has been doing this for a very long time and I believe is very good- said they almost never change gear oil.

I too was nervous about that and just finally told them I wanted them to change it regardless of whether it needed it. I just told them I was a new owner and asked they humor me. This was on my second oil change. I had no idea they hadn't changed it on the first.

They saved the old gear oil to show me just how clean it was- it looked like new- no metal, great color, etc.

I've since asked around to some veterans (here and on other scooter boards) and while most said it's definitely best to change the gear oil according to Genuine's recommendations, many of them almost never touch the gear oil.

So, for the sake of having done what is required, maintenance wise, I'd say to go ahead and just tell them you want it changed- even if it means just paying for an oil change separately from the service- but you're probably fine.

I think that there are some really great long-time dealers who have picked up the Buddy line and they (the mech's) have their own service schedule that they've developed over years that may not exactly match the Buddy's list. I am trusting my guys for that reason, but I'm also going to ask for specific services at certain times according to the manual.

Orange Guy · Post by **Orange Guy** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 12:25 pm

Thanks for backing up what I felt.

jfrost2 · Post by **jfrost2** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 2:16 pm

Oil sludges if not changed, I can see it not being done on the first service, but them saying "almost never changed" is crazy. Sometime it does need to be changed before it starts clumping and sludging up.

djelliott · Post by **djelliott** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 2:34 pm

jfrost2 wrote:Oil sludges if not changed, I can see it not being done on the first service, but them saying "almost never changed" is crazy. Sometime it does need to be changed before it starts clumping and sludging up.

Also, it's not that expensive. There's barley a quart in there. I say change it even if it's just for piece of mind. It won't hurt anything.

DJE

pocphil · Post by **pocphil** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 2:50 pm

There are many things printed in the owners manual and ON the scooter itself that simply are not true.

Example:

In order to let your scooter run smoothly, be sure to change the engine oil at 300 km for a new scooter and each 1000 km

CRAZY!

1 - at 300 km we've seen about 0% evidence of break-in. Unless you're a pizza delivery driver in Bangladesh I think you're safe waiting until you get to around 1000Km / 600 miles for your first service.

2 - Changing the oil EVERY 1000 Km is every 600 miles! That's insane, at that rate you'd spend more on oil than you would on gas.

The moral of the story...Don't believe everything you read in your owners manual.

Changing the rear hub / final drive oil once a year is more than adequate for most riders. We occasionally test oils here by sending them out to a local lab. We pulled the final drive oil from an '85 Honda elite with 20,000 miles that had never been changed. The lab verified it was at 75% viscosity and deemed it as being "servicable". Inspecting the hub oil to ensure it hasn't leaked out makes perfect sense. Changing it after only 600 miles seems wasteful at the very least. We do it because we have to, it is part of the first service. We don't like it.

jmazza · Post by **jmazza** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 2:59 pm

Thanks for that post Phil, it makes me feel good about my dealer because they were saying the same kinds of things as far as what is really needed. I still want to have it all done mostly by the book, but also don't want to spend tons of money on service I don't need!

djelliott · Post by **djelliott** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 3:00 pm

Thank you Phil. For those who aren't from Cleveland and don't know Phil from POC scooters, trust me, he knows what he's talking about. I would (and will) let the man make any decision as far as the maintenance of my recently purchased Buddy 125 goes. Color this one solved.

DJE

KRUSTYburger · Post by **KRUSTYburger** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 3:09 pm

I changed mine at 250 miles and there were tons of metal flakes! Maybe I had a rough break-in... Either way, I change the oil every thousand and the gear oil and filter every other oil change. It's probably overkill, but it only costs a couple bucks and takes maybe 15-20 minutes depending on how long you let it drain. That, and I'm kinda OCD

.

xtetra · Post by **xtetra** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 3:13 pm

My dealer stripped the drain bolt when they changed mine at 500 miles. I don't know how it stayed in for another 1000. When I went to change the gear oil myself at the next interval it practically fell out complete with shavings. When I called to complain they never called me back, I had to have a machinist friend tap it out and put in a new bolt.

I guess its possible it came from the factory with damaged threads and they just "made do" with the quarter turn that miraculously kept the drain bolt in after the oil change. Either way, they should have made good.

They also would not check the valves, they said Genuine said it wasn't necessary despite it being recommended in the owners manual. I kind of doubt that Genuine would have told them that myself.....

I wasn't really happy, mine was the first Buddy they ever serviced, and the first scooter for that matter. Kind of a drag, they're the only Genuine dealer in my area.....from now on I'm going to have anything I need done at another shop with a scooter mechanic who has a spotless rep. for being able to fix anything.

In addition to my Buddy I have an 81' Yamaha Seca which is shaft drive. I've met several other Seca owners and the only one who ever lost a drive shaft was a guy who neglected to change its oil....literally a five minute job....

siobhan · Post by **siobhan** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 3:20 pm

My dealer stripped the drain bolt when they changed mine at 500 miles. I don't know how it stayed in for another 1000. When I went to change the gear oil myself at the next interval it practically fell out complete with shavings. When I called to complain they never called me back, I had to have a machinist friend tap it out and put in a new bolt.

Hey xtetra, do you mind PM'ing the name of the shop as I'm in the Northeast, too, and don't want to work with a shop who doesn't seem like they know what they're doing. Thanks!

KRUSTYburger · Post by **KRUSTYburger** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 3:26 pm

Dang xtetra, that's messed up... the least they could do was let you know what happened! If that oil leaked out while you were riding and you didn't notice, there would be BIG PROBLEMS!!!

Orange Guy · Post by **Orange Guy** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 6:12 pm

pocphil wrote:We do it because we have to, it is part of the first service.

That's all I'm looking for from my dealer.