Modern Buddy

Hello everyone!

I must be honest and admit that I do not yet have a scooter, but I am looking seriously at the Buddy 125. However, I am wondering if it is the right model to get--there seems to be some debate around my neck of the woods about the benefits of the all-steel Stellas over the Buddy,which I presume has a lot of plastic, so I'm wondering which is better? Anyone have both to compare?

Personally, I like the look and feel of the Buddy over the Stella, which is quite a bit heavier, and not as quick. I think that the Stella appeals to the retro-hipster crowd, who are going for a particular look rather than function. The local scooter club will only accept members who ride Stellas or similar all-steel scooters, claiming that "plastic is for losers", or something to that effect.

Since I'm buying a scooter to save $$$ on gas (and to have fun riding, too), and not to "fit in" with the local hipsters, is the Buddy the way to go?

Michael

Here's a recent thread where that comparison got made by a couple of other members.

Enjoy!

It really depends on how you're going to use it, and what kind of maintenance you want to do, as they are two totally different machines. 2-stroke can be wildly tuned, but require more work to keep them functioning in top form. The twist-n-go type "plastic" scooters require less routine maintenance & fiddling, and the 4-stroke burns cleaner, they're easier to learn to ride and have better performance bone-stock, but less character. The Buddy does also have more storage than the Stella; both have add-on storage available (or soon, in the Buddy's case). The Stella has a LOT of add-on accessories. The brakes on the Buddy are great; better than the vintage machines and the lighter weight helps here too. As far as riding goes, I really enjoy riding the Buddy, it is a very balanced handling scooter; I also plan on getting a Stella, too, though.

Oh, and one other thing: the Buddy comes with a fantastic warranty (2 yr) and 1-yr of roadside assistance should you have any problems

The other thing to think of is this: LML, the company that builds Stellas in india for Genuine has been on strike/ lockout, for most of the year. If you know a dealer that has any Stellas, that may be the last of them for quite a while. I have it on good authority, that if and when Stella production resumes it will be a 50 state legal scoot, which means that it may NOT be a 2 stroke any longer. Just something to think about.

Thanks everyone for the info--I kind of figured that the Stella was more for the "I-want-a-vintage-look-in-a-new-scooter" crowd. Since I only live 5 miles from work, I'm just interested in getting 90 mpg on my daily commutes, and it looks like the Buddy is just the ticket!

I'm really psyched to get one, but unfortunately it looks like I won't be able to swing the money for many months--possibly not til next spring My wife and I have a 5 month old boy, and we've got to get a bigger vehicle before I can make my fun purchase.

Michael