Modern Buddy

When I rode my new Buddy 170i home from the dealer recently I noticed how smooth the ride was. So comfortable. Last week I looked at the sidewalls of my Maxxis whitewalls (this was a leftover 2014 Buddy) & it said the maximum pressure was 36 psi. I checked & they were 22 & 25 front & rear. OMG! So I put in 34 psi & rode away. Choppy! One road felt like a railroad track. Not smooth at all. Then I read the manual; 22 & 25 psi front & rear. DOH! Now I know. Oddly there was no noticeable effect on performance & I can usually detect a 9-12 pound difference in my car or on my motorcycle. Anyway 22 & 25 psi sounds really low for tiny tires & since I weigh more than the scooter (260) I'm going to compromise around 25 & 28 or so. In other news I removed all the stickers & reflectors & ordered reflective tape. Also buffed out the yellow part of the front disc, painted it silver & added a strip of chrome around the front fender. It's door edge guard from an auto shop. Then I applied UVA plastic protector to all the plastic parts. Parked in my garage but I ride a lot. Got silver valve stem caps to replace the blue plastic ones. Raised my headlight beam. My wife says I'm like a kid with a new toy. Can't wait until it's fully broken in! Tired of riding around half throttle 99% of the time. Lots of roads waiting to be explored!

New2Scoots wrote:Can't wait until it's fully broken in! Tired of riding around half throttle 99% of the time.

I'm one of those people who believes in breaking in a new scooter carefully, but even I don't ride around at 1/2 throttle all the time. My advice is to avoid running at or near wide open throttle for very long and vary the engine rpms when you ride rather than running for an extended period at one throttle position. (as you have probably gathered, there are others who simply ride like a wild banshee from the first moment )

Dooglas wrote:

New2Scoots wrote:Can't wait until it's fully broken in! Tired of riding around half throttle 99% of the time.

I'm one of those people who believes in breaking in a new scooter carefully, but even I don't ride around at 1/2 throttle all the time. My advice is to avoid running at or near wide open throttle for very long and vary the engine rpms when you ride rather than running for an extended period at one throttle position. (as you have probably gathered, there are others who simply ride like a wild banshee from the first moment )

That's the way to break in an engine meant for long use.


As far as the tires, I run 30 on the rear and 25 on the front.

New2Scoots wrote:In other news I removed all the stickers & reflectors & ordered reflective tape. Also buffed out the yellow part of the front disc, painted it silver & added a strip of chrome around the front fender. It's door edge guard from an auto shop. Then I applied UVA plastic protector to all the plastic parts. Parked in my garage but I ride a lot. Got silver valve stem caps to replace the blue plastic ones. Raised my headlight beam.

This thread is worthless without pics.

New2Scoots wrote:My wife says I'm like a kid with a new toy.

I think we all were/still are.

Here's a blurry iphone pic I took last weekend. Followed a country road out until I got lost & pulled up to a store to look at Googlemaps. Fun ride. On the way back a guy on a Harley pulled up & rode to my left a few miles & when I turned off he honked & gave a thumbs up.

New2Scoots wrote: Followed a country road out until I got lost & pulled up to a store to look at Googlemaps.

there in lays part of the fun of scooter ownership to me. Ride 'aimlessly' find somewhere you've never been before. I've rarely used my 'maps app' however, I suppose I'm 'lucky' there. If I was keeping in mind the general direction, (north, east, south, west) I was heading out, I just reverse that heading in. I've on occasion gone out with a full tank of gas in my Buddy, filled up somewhere during my 'little ride' and then needed to fill up again when nearing home.

New2Scoots wrote: a guy on a Harley pulled up & rode to my left a few miles & when I turned off he honked & gave a thumbs up.

Lucky you, around here if they don't just speed by, they'll put up a different finger than the thumb......

I also learned the hard way. I also weigh moor the the 170. When I first got it it had 32lbs in the tires, and I was wondering what I got my self into. Changed the tire pressure to 25&28. New machine wow! When I first got it I was more concerned about MPG. Now I go for the ride,still get80 plus to the gal. To soon old to. Late smart! Issue31