Modern Buddy

I've been away for a little while- still own three Buddy 125s. They never break or give me problems. SO BORING! (except when I am riding them, which is more fun than ever).

In any case- I just happened into a 2009 Vino 125 with a whopping 199 miles. All original, including the gasoline, I think. Guy that had it before me literally wallered a hole into the airbox so he could shoot it with starting fluid every time he ran it (!). I don't have a lot in it ($750) and it didn't take a lot to get it running pretty acceptably- carb pull, unclog jets, drain gas, new fuel filter, flush lines... you know, the standard abandoned scooter drill. As this bike has had a 10 year break-in period (ha), I'm gently pushing it around. At least it was garage-stored.

What is the general experience here with the Buddy 125 vs. the Vino 125? My first impression is that the Vino 125 feels like it has the wrong size rollers in it, stock- not nearly as peppy from 0-25 as the Buddy but slowly makes its way up to a fairly impressive top speed of 55 or so. That, and it's low and fat, which I can appreciate.

Anyone here have both bikes or have ridden both?

Ive ridden both. The vino is more relaxed and has a softer ride. Shorter seat height. The engine is really unresponsive to mods. I've done a variator,exhaust and carb/airbox mods. It made no difference. I think the 2 valve head is restrictive. In stock form they are bomb proof. Great bikes. I do not care for the oil sight glass on the trans cover at all. Any belt work/inspection involves draining the oil or precariously laying the bike over on blankets. I really hate the disassembly required to get to the carb. I can pull a buddy carb in a few minutes. The vino.......so many screws and bits need to come off.


TLDR. In stock form a solid comfy cruiser. Modded why bother.

lovemysan wrote:Ive ridden both. The vino is more relaxed and has a softer ride. Shorter seat height. The engine is really unresponsive to mods. I've done a variator,exhaust and carb/airbox mods. It made no difference. I think the 2 valve head is restrictive. In stock form they are bomb proof. Great bikes. I do not care for the oil sight glass on the trans cover at all. Any belt work/inspection involves draining the oil or precariously laying the bike over on blankets. I really hate the disassembly required to get to the carb. I can pull a buddy carb in a few minutes. The vino.......so many screws and bits need to come off.


TLDR. In stock form a solid comfy cruiser. Modded why bother.

I think it may be headed for resale, along with my disused Vespa GTS 250ie and one of the three buddies so I can buy a Royal Alloy. I wish the 200i was available.

Edit: TOTALLY agree on the carb. three screws for each side panel, 4 bolts for the rack, 3 more screws for each side cowl, two screws for the front panel, 4 bolts for the seat bucket. It literally took me less time to pull the carb and clean it than it did for me to pull the tupperware.

We have owned both. Bought the two at about the same time. We still have the Buddy 125, but the Vino was sold a number of years ago. It was a nice scooter with excellent fit and finish like most Yamahas. The Buddy would run away from it however.

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Honestly this dumb little Vino is growing on me.

The center of gravity is super-low, the seat and footbed are wider, and it's like riding a futon around. It takes its sweet time to get to 40, but it'll just keep going until 55. It's like a big bubble-butted fast Honda Metropolitan.

Indicated speed is accurate (GPS and radar kiosk verified) vs. the Buddy's wishful thinking speedo.

The Buddy is exciting and leaps off the line at a stoplight. If both bikes were geared, it's a lot like the Vino starts in 2nd gear but has a 5th gear, where the Buddy starts in 1st and tops out its revs in 4th. I'd be willing to bet the final drive gear is very different on both bikes.

The dumbest thing I have ever seen in scoot design is the Vino's gas tank placement- directly behind the seat and under the rear rack. You literally have to fill the tank through the grab handle gap. This makes cargo mounting pretty much impossible unless its a removable plate design and you have to take it off EVERY time you fill up. Super-dumb.

I would monkey with the rollers and clutch etc. But, again in the stupid design department, Yamaha has put an oil level indicator in the CVT case (what?). So, in order to remove the CVT housing, you have to drain the oil. Yeah. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.

Any case. I'm keeping it around for a while. It is humoring me and makes me smile for the time being.

I have four Buddies and two Vino 125s, and ride them all in pretty much even rotation. The Vinos have a slighly heavier feel, with more luxurious chrome, and overall better general body quality. The Buddies are light, quick off the line, and fun. The Buddy body plastics fade pretty quickly and feel cheap. Chrome on the Buddy mirrors is pretty thin and not very good. Sounds odd, but the best feature on the Buddy is the open topped glove box. I had to make my own for the Vinos, as well as making my own mounts for Yamaha factory top boxes. Yes, I do have to remove the top boxes on the Vinos to fill the gas tanks on them, but it isn't too bad.. one thumb screw inside the top box and it lifts right off. All six scooters are 100% reliable, and I've never had a mechanical issue with any of them. Technically, my Candy Apple Red/Silver Buddy is actually a 2003 PGO MyBuBu.. sort of a pre-Buddy.. Pretty much the only difference is the KPH speedometer, location of the turn signals, and name on the plastics..

As much as I like the overall ride of the Vino 125 I was given one for free, and never went to pick it up. I just told them to sell it for around $1000/no less than $750 and donate the money. I technically inherited it and have worked on it before, so I know its in perfect running condition with only a few cosmetic flaws. They are nice scooters though. I gave the guy a TST variator that I was having issues with on my Zuma 125. He got noticeable performance results from it and never had a belt snap.

buzzvert wrote:I've been away for a little while- still own three Buddy 125s. They never break or give me problems. SO BORING! (except when I am riding them, which is more fun than ever).

Anyone here have both bikes or have ridden both?

I've had both. The only thing the Vino 125 beats the Buddy 125 on is the kick stand switch. You can't start the Vino 125 with the kick stand down. Genuine is remiss by not having the same feature on their line-up.

Bill in Seattle
'84 NN50 Honda Gyro red
'86 TG50 Honda Gyro red

I'd also ad that the speedometer on the Vino is a bit more accurate than that on the Buddy. The Vino's is about 3 mph optimistic.. The Buddy's is about 7 mph optimistic. For the length of time the Buddy/PGO Ligero/PGO BuBu/PGO MyBuBu has been in production, it is surprising to me hat nobody (that I know of, please correct me if wrong) sells a front wheel speedometer gearbox with the correct ratio to fix the problem on the Buddy.

vintagegarage wrote:I'd also ad that the speedometer on the Vino is a bit more accurate than that on the Buddy. The Vino's is about 3 mph optimistic.. The Buddy's is about 7 mph optimistic. For the length of time the Buddy/PGO Ligero/PGO BuBu/PGO MyBuBu has been in production, it is surprising to me hat nobody (that I know of, please correct me if wrong) sells a front wheel speedometer gearbox with the correct ratio to fix the problem on the Buddy.

I dove head-first into this last year. My theory is that the stock setup on the Buddy is made for a 12" wheel. That said, nobody makes reduction gears for speedo cables that would achieve a true result. I'm willing to bet that PGO/Genuine just rolls with it because 90% of people WANT to think they're going 55 when they're really going about 47 and if they changed now, people would complain.

In any case I did make a tape-on slide-rule style bezel for the speedo but it's sorta inconsequential. GPS or a really tinkered-on Trail-Tech will have to do for people that want real data.

It’s a long term solution, but next time you change the front tire get the tallest one that will fit under your fender. I did that with my Lance Cali Classic and now my speedometer is within 1 mph gps. I did the same with the rear and while it lost a bit of acceleration it gained a bit of top speed.

Vino's are a good scooter but I still think a Buddy 125 is the best bang for your buck you can get. Still running my 06 kitted to 161 strong and smooth.

I have personally ridden both. The buddy is quicker, but the Vino is smoother. Vino doesn't have an oil filter, so oil gunks up faster, and there's no dipstick to check, just a sight glass on the side of the engine that gets covered in residue as soon as you have a couple hundred miles on the oil. Both are very hard to kill, but I'd favor the buddy if offered a choice between either.

Next time you change the oil put in lighter rollers - 2gm lighter. I can't recall if you drop from 13 gm rollers to 11, or from 11 to 9 - but it does liven the Vino up.

Nothing can make the Vino as quick as the Buddy, though. It is a slug with me on it, but with my wife on it, and me on the Buddy the top end is about the same. That weight difference.....she is about 80# lighter.....they go well together.

Yeah, the fit an finish on the Yamaha is better, and I like the styling better, but the gas tank size and location is a downfall.

The Vino has an oil filter, a small cylindrical unit that is internal. It is a real PITA to change out, as you have to remove some oil pipe about the head, and the banjo fitting is easy to bust.

All in all, it is a pretty nice scooter. I've had mine in the fleet for about 13 years. Been pretty reliable -but not as much as the Buddy.

dan v. wrote:Next time you change the oil put in lighter rollers - 2gm lighter. I can't recall if you drop from 13 gm rollers to 11, or from 11 to 9 - but it does liven the Vino up.

Nothing can make the Vino as quick as the Buddy, though. It is a slug with me on it, but with my wife on it, and me on the Buddy the top end is about the same. That weight difference.....she is about 80# lighter.....they go well together.

Yeah, the fit an finish on the Yamaha is better, and I like the styling better, but the gas tank size and location is a downfall.

The Vino has an oil filter, a small cylindrical unit that is internal. It is a real PITA to change out, as you have to remove some oil pipe about the head, and the banjo fitting is easy to bust.

All in all, it is a pretty nice scooter. I've had mine in the fleet for about 13 years. Been pretty reliable -but not as much as the Buddy.

Going full-on transmission upgrade with the NCY kit and 10.5g Dr. Pulley sliders... stay tuned!

Put that on the vino a year or so ago when it had about 12,000 miles.

My wife rides it, and complained that it didn't feel right. Put the NCY kit in - I could not tell much difference from stock - but you get all the stuff that will eventually need replacing. Seems to be of good quality.

I was able to talk the seller into a discount - the kit had been in stock for a while and they are not in demand - so worth a try