Modern Buddy

Hello,

I'm new to scooters, and picked up a used Buddy 50 about a month and a half ago. It seems a lot better than the chinese scoots that everyone else around here rides, but I want to go faster. I weigh 250 lbs, and get to about 40 mphs on a long flat straitaway. Is this Leo Vince exhaust going to get me over 45 mphs and will my scooter still be more reliable?
I already searched and couldn't find the answer, so if anyone wants to point me in the right direction, that would be cool.
Also, is this something I can put on the bike myself or do I need special tools or something and do I need to change anything else? Some people said to change the jet in the carb with other pipes and I'm not sure how to do that.

http://scooterpartsco.com/index.php?mai ... ath=85_155

The Leo Vince pipe will make it louder but I doubt any faster and, yes, you'll have to rejet the carb. With a 50cc scoot and your 250 lb. weight, you're actually doing quite well at 40 mph. If your Buddy 50 doesn't already have one, a windshield will give you about a 2 mph increase in top speed and is much less costly and far easier to install than the pipe. So, start with a windshield and then take it from there. More importantly ride safe and have fun!

Bill in Seattle
'12 170i Italia
'11 220i Blur
'08 Aprilia Sport City 250ie

anton walbrook wrote:Hello,

I'm new to scooters, and picked up a used Buddy 50 about a month and a half ago. It seems a lot better than the chinese scoots that everyone else around here rides, but I want to go faster. I weigh 250 lbs, and get to about 40 mphs on a long flat straitaway. Is this Leo Vince exhaust going to get me over 45 mphs and will my scooter still be more reliable?
I already searched and couldn't find the answer, so if anyone wants to point me in the right direction, that would be cool.
Also, is this something I can put on the bike myself or do I need special tools or something and do I need to change anything else? Some people said to change the jet in the carb with other pipes and I'm not sure how to do that.

http://scooterpartsco.com/index.php?mai ... ath=85_155

Any modification related to breathing will only increase speed if what was replaced was preventing the engine from reaching its highest mechanical RPM.
Therefore, the odds of a top speed change are unlikely.
What breathing mods do is move power production to different areas of the RPM scale.....in this case, you may find a loss of power at the low part of the scale, but a increase as RPM rises to its mechanical limit.
It will reach top speed faster, but that speed may not necessarily change from stock.

So, for example, lets say the mechanical limit of the engine is 10000 RPM and that equates to 40 mph.
So, no matter what the mod, if the engine can only achieve 10000 RPM or 40 mph, well, thats all there is.

Rob

What Robbie said. You'll get to 40 faster, but you won't go faster than 40.

On my Rattler 50 with Prima exhaust it gave me a few more mph on top and it got there quicker.

You will need to adjust the carb and transmission to the pipe though.

Yes you should pick up 5 mph. I weigh 250lbs as well. On my roughhouse I installed a prima pipe. It picked up 8-9 indicated. I jetted to a 95 main, slotted the idle mix screw so I could adjust it, and desnorkeled and drilled the airbox till it was happy. Pick up some 1500 rpm clutch springs and some 5 gram rollers. You might consider a roller tuning kit. But I just drill /lighten a junk set until I'm happy. Then buy the correct weight. My guess is 5 to 5.5 grams will be optimal roller weight,

Where are you located? I'd be glad to help.

And, no, a Leo Vince pipe won't make your scooter more reliable.

Sounds like a classic case of your needs/desires being met better by a larger engine (as someone famously said - "there has never been anybody who wished their scooter could go slower").

Dooglas wrote:And, no, a Leo Vince pipe won't make your scooter more reliable.

Sounds like a classic case of your needs/desires being met better by a larger engine (as someone famously said - "there has never been anybody who wished their scooter could go slower").

A lot of people say this but its not true for every situation. My good friend has piped 50cc roughhouse and rides it daily. I've tried to convince him to upgrade but he's happy where its at. Me, I just like to wrench

Dooglas wrote:And, no, a Leo Vince pipe won't make your scooter more reliable.

Sounds like a classic case of your needs/desires being met better by a larger engine (as someone famously said - "there has never been anybody who wished their scooter could go slower").

So true. I was perfectly happy with my Buddy (until I found the Blur fit me better) 150cc for my needs. Then my company moved offices and I had to take the highway. It took a number of larger displacement bikes to get to a happy place after that. I still think about picking up another buddy for errands. Actually, no... I want to find a good deal on a 4T Stella. I'm pretty sure I'd keep it completely stock performance-wise.

The trick with performance mods and scooters is that you get something for giving something. There's always a cost. Those folks with the lab coats and calipers put plenty of think time into these little chariots of ours. What I found with performance exhausts on scooters is that they're more sluggish off the line but roll on acceleration is improved. The sound is usually repetitive and droning, though. I wish there was something slightly louder than the stock but a little less than the Prima exhausts. I think that would be perfect.

A noise level between stock and prima.

125-150cc: ncy replacement exhaust
50cc: Leo Vince sp3 There are several other similar street pipes from other manufacturers as well.

I used to pine for some extra bang out of my Buddy 50. The truth of the matter is realistically you'll most likely age your buddy faster trying to do stuff to it. I spent months pricing mods and found the best solution. A Kymco Like 200i. I remember a good BBK was around $200, $200 or so for pricey Leo Vince pipe, $70 to.$150 for a good carb, then there's rollers, contra spring, clutch spring etc. Thats what close to $600 and then labor. My shop.charges $80 per hour. Your looking at what gour to six hours just to guess. Thatsa few hundred for labor . Youre now closer to.$1000 then $500. You lose reliability and gas milage. Also ive read people's stories and usually get around 57bmp. So thats what low fifties high.fourties. just say screw it and trade that scoot in for a size up. Try 125. Or get a Kymco Like 200i after trade in i paid just over a grand and get a warrenty andgood mpg and reliability. Pluss better shocks, brakes and wheel size. Im close to your weight and the Like handles it better. Ps sorry for random periods, my phone keyboard is made for small asians not fat americans.

A guy at my local shop "ScootRichmond" in Virginia has a Leo Vince pipe on his buddy 50 with a 70 bbk and gets 55mph top speed.. I just have the bbk on mine and reach about 45mph give or take but no less than 42mph steady.. Great take off and using 5 gram Dr. Pulley sliders. You will need to just keep tweaking it until you find your happy medium.

The reason I don't want a bigger bike is that here I can ride a 50cc without a motorcycle endorsement. I've heard a Leo Vince exhaust on a Zuma and it wasn't very loud compared to other bikes out there and that's why I wanted to try the Leo Vince exhaust. And the guy who owns the zuma said it made it go a lot faster but he also put a 70cc kit on his bike. Is there anything else I can do to get a lot more speed? someone told me there is a washer in the transmission that can be taken out to make it go 10 mph faster if I cut the green wire to the cdi it will give it higher top speed to.

If your scoot goes 40mph currently it is not restricted in any way. 50 mph is attainable but you will sacrifice longevity. I have a friend that has fried 2 70cc kitted bikes in under 4000 miles each time.

anton walbrook wrote:The reason I don't want a bigger bike is that here I can ride a 50cc without a motorcycle endorsement.

The rules vary from state tot state, but odds are that's only true if the 50cc is restricted to 30mph. Lots and lots of people get away with riding derestricted 50cc's that go faster, but keep in mind that the farther above 30mph you get, the more likely you are to be caught.

I got the Leo Vince Exhaust from Scooterpartsco.com. It was a PITA putting the clutch springs in, but with a friend's help, we managed.
It is not as loud as I thought it would be, but it has the two stroke sound, and really looks cool on the Buddy.
I am able to go about 5 miles an hour faster most of the time, but I also like that it picks up and takes off a lot faster.
I asked a guy who knows a lot about scooters before I bought it because the Prima was another pipe I see a lot about and he said that the Prima is something from china that genuine makes and that if I stick to Italian brands, I will always get a better quality. He said I should get a big bore kit and variator to make it really go fast, but not to get a Prima, because that's all chinese junk that falls apart and they are not a real company that anybody takes seriously who does high performance scooters, just a name Genuine puts on stuff they sell from China. What do you recommend for a top end or should I start another thread?

I am glad you followed through with exhaust. Not sure why so many discourage it.

Definitely do a new thread on the big bore kit.

When I was looking for my Rattler, I think Pinasco made a 2 ring kit with Aluminum head, cylinder, and piston. I prefer all one material as it expands the same.

The longevity leader is typically the Iron cylinder with a two ring piston.

Have a look at the Scooterworks website.

brianwheelies wrote:
Have a look at the Scooterworks website.

Thanks Brian, I did have a look at it. Scooterworks.com has the Malossi Big Bore Kit M 317083 for $215.99 that Scooterpartsco.com sales for $149.99, so I'm going to buy it from Scooterpartsco.com. I think that between that and my Leo Vince Exhaust, I'm going to have a seriously fast little Buddy. Here are the links
http://www.scooterworks.com/malossi-cyl ... age_id=268
http://scooterpartsco.com/index.php?mai ... ts_id=1010

TVB wrote:

anton walbrook wrote:The reason I don't want a bigger bike is that here I can ride a 50cc without a motorcycle endorsement.

The rules vary from state tot state, but odds are that's only true if the 50cc is restricted to 30mph. Lots and lots of people get away with riding derestricted 50cc's that go faster, but keep in mind that the farther above 30mph you get, the more likely you are to be caught.

True that many ride derestricted without endorsement, that is a personal choice.

The problem is if you get caught or in an accident. In Florida riding a bike that requires one, like a derestricted 50cc or a 70cc without endorsement is the same as driving with no license at all.

Under Section 322.03(4), Florida Statutes, it is a criminal act for a person to operate a motorcycle without holding a driver’s license that authorizes such operation, subject to the appropriate restrictions and endorsements. “No Motorcycle Endorsement” is classified as a second degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail or six months probation. The maximum fine is $500.00, in addition to court costs, costs of prosecution, and costs of supervision (if probation is ordered).

to see any performance gains from the exhaust you need to tune everything else to work with it, adjusting sliders/rollers , modifying the air box, and setting up the carb/air fuel mix/idle speed properly.
i have a leo vince tt on my roughhouse and love it, i saw a bit of speed increase, but what really helped was with hills, no more slowing down.
you can read my post in the roughhouse section under new exhaust.