Modern Buddy

Just received the latest Scooterworks flyer, and I'm more than a little put off by it's content. If you've got a copy handy, please take a look at page 14 where they list the drive belts they carry.

Belts for Hondas? Sure!
Belts for Kymcos? Yup!
Belts for Ventos? Roger!
Belts for Aprilias? You bet!

Belts for Blurs? Sorry!

I thought that Scooterworks was essentially Genuine's "sister" company, and that seems to be borne out by the number of Buddy-specific items they show both in their catalogs and online (and rightly so, since they're a Genuine product). So what's the deal with this retail-level lack of support for Blurs? I understand that there aren't a whole lot of them out there, but geez, couldn't they throw us a bone once in a while by putting a few consumable parts (belts, tires, etc.) in the shop window?

Seems that they have more interest in supporting other manufacturer's products than some of their own. I mean, think about it. You call about a Blur part, and you get told to go through your dealer. Yet you can order a Kymco-specific item direct, and as easy as pie.

I'm sorry, but this just isn't right.

I feel your pain. It seems us Blur owners are the unwanted stepchilds of Genuine Scooter Co. What they don't seem to understand is that sports scooters will become as popular here as they have been and are in most other parts of the world. I'm so disgusted with Geniune that I'm in the process of removing all "Geniune" stickers/labels off my Blur and will be replacing them with "PGO" and "G-Max". If I need parts, I'll be ordering them through my connection in Taiwan. Unless they bring in another sports type scooter, my next scooter purchase will be with another brand...wait...there are no other sports scooters here in the dark ages...wonder if I can grey market one in here?

babblefish wrote:Unless they bring in another sports type scooter, my next scooter purchase will be with another brand...wait...there are no other sports scooters in here in the dark ages...

You should give this scooter a look (from the San Francisco CraigsList). It's a Kymco Bet & Win 250. It's approximately 101% of the scooter you wish your Blur was and the guy is only asking $2700. It's a liquid cooled 250 with 12 inch wheels so you can actually find tires for it and it has great handling. The B&W was never popular in the USA so Kymco discontinued them here (not elsewhere, though) in 06, which is the year of this example. Click the pic for a link to the CL ad.

Thanks John. I saw that a few days ago on Craig's list and came that close to checking it out. I might still do that if I can find a place to park it (I don't want to get rid of my PGO G-Max yet).

I got the same flyer too, just go look on ebay, check the brands, and size. You can find alot of "Universal gy6 kevlar belts" but make sure they are the same size as your current one or else it will be too big/small.

The blur looks really good without all that orange. My 06 now only has orange rims (till the tires are ready to be replaced) and the one orange thing on the front fender. The reast of the orange is now black and all the orange vinyl is gone. It looks a heck of a lot better now.

So far all the parts I need are not available: fuel filter (some sort of proprietary one), the belt, the air filter and the windshield.

I'll be looking at a different air filter setup very shortly here and I'll probably take a closer look at the fuel filter to see if I can adapt something this weekend. My local shop is being exceptionally accommodating to my requests and they feel my frustration as well.

I'll post an update if I find a good solution to the air filter and other solutions.

Did you ask your dealer or ask Genuine for a belt? AFAIK, they have them, they're just not wasting space in their catalog for the 100 of us that bought Blurs.

They don't list half (maybe 3/4) of the stuff they have in their retail catalog.

The Bet&Win 250 is a fantastic, fantastic scooter, well worth $2700. I happen to hate the seat, but that's the only fault I could find, and it's personal.

jfrost2:

The whole issue is that the Blur belt is NOT a standard size [812 x 20 x 28 9.5]. I contacted the manufacturer (Bando) and they informed me that it was a manufacturer-specific run and that they do not stock it themselves.
Fortunately, I'm not in a "must have" situation. I'm just planning ahead.

illnoise:

I've got an inquiry out to a dealer and am awaiting a reply (my original dealer is no longer listed on the Genuine website, so I'm screwed in that respect as he was the closest). As to wasting space in the flyer, come on, let's be reasonable. Would the addition of a single line for the Blur belts have broken the bank? Hell, how many more cents would it cost them to list it online?

BTW: How does one go about obtaining a copy of the retail catalog, and does it contain any Blur-related items?

charlie55 wrote:BTW: How does one go about obtaining a copy of the retail catalog, and does it contain any Blur-related items?

Oh, it has a few Blur items.

Mine came in a box of stuff I ordered. I'd say it 98% vintage-related items in the catalog.

charlie55 wrote:As to wasting space in the flyer, come on, let's be reasonable. Would the addition of a single line for the Blur belts have broken the bank? Hell, how many more cents would it cost them to list it online.

That's true, it is weak, but:

topic8566.html#105506

Maybe that's part of it. Maybe not, though. It's lame they're still listing the windshields, because we all know they're long gone. Then again, in their defense, those catalogs take more than a year to photograph/lay out/print/distribute.

Now that I'm a Blur owner again, I'm curious to hear if the dealer can get it for you, let us know. : )

I can understand the windshield issue when it comes to printed media and the lead times required. However, Scooterworks' website also lists it, albeit as not being in stock (backorder only). And this has been going on for how many months?

Another issue this raises is that of comparative cost. Is there a price differential for, let's say a Buddy 125's standard CVT belt when ordered directly from Scooterworks as opposed to through a dealer? If (and I'm going hypothetical here) I have to go to a dealer for everything (and pay their markup) but owners of some other Genuine products can get stuff directly and (possibly) cheaper, well, that just stinks.

Personally, I'd be thrilled if Genuine would do a one-time only "everything Blur" sale. Tires, belts, gasket sets, filters, seals, etc. It'd give us all a chance to lay in a goodly supply for the future. And, it would allow them to wash their hands of it once and for all.

BTW: I've found listings for 815 x 20 x 30 belts around the web. The 3mm length difference shouldn't be that big of a deal and the 20mm top width is spot on. The "30", I believe, is the bevel angle and I don't think that 2 degrees would make all that much difference. I'm still waiting for a dealer response, but if anyone's interested in the near match, I'll see if I can find it and post the link.

I'm not worried about accesories... I bought the Blur for what it is.
I'm not worried about performance goodies... though fun, I still bought the Blur for what it is.

But not being able to get basic consumable parts? I'm a lil worried.

Special one off belts? I'm baffled that they couldn't have designed it to use a size already in production.

Nevermind the 120/60-13 front tire that seems to be non-existent in the US haha.

The belts in the scooterworks ad are aftermarket, not PGO made or OEM standard, PGO themselves still stock regular old gmax belts.

The point of the flyer is to advertise products, right? There's not much point in advertising a part for a scooter that sold poorly and is no longer available. Meanwhile, many owners of other scooters may not know that Scooterworks carries a lot of parts for non-Genuine modern scooters.

ericalm wrote:The point of the flyer is to advertise products, right?

Right. To advertise products that are in high demand or appeal to a large audience. I really wish there was an air bellow in that catalog for '61 Allstate, but alas, the demand is not so great, so nobody bothers carrying it.

As a follow-up to that 3rd-party belt, first of all, the specs were 815x20x32, not 815x20x30. My mistake.

So, after speaking to the supplier, we both agreed that the 3mm length difference between the OEM and other belt was indeed negligible, and the 20mm top width was dead on. As I suspected, though, the 4 degree difference in belt side angle is a show-stopper, and will most likely result in a drastically reduced belt life.

I've emailed two authorized Genuine dealers inquiring as to the availability and pricing of these belts, and have yet to receive any responses. I guess that I'll hear from them eventually, with "eventually" being the operative word.

Also have a pm out to POCPhil, and I'm sure that he'll be my best bet.

Have also been toying with the idea of using an nnn x 20 x 28 belt, and adding a small idler pulley in the CVT case to take up the few mm's of slack. Seems like the big sticking point is the 812mm length, with stuff in the 835mm range being much more readily available.

You'll know when IO know.....

charlie55 wrote:I've emailed two authorized Genuine dealers inquiring as to the availability and pricing of these belts, and have yet to receive any responses. I guess that I'll hear from them eventually, with "eventually" being the operative word.

Also have a pm out to POCPhil, and I'm sure that he'll be my best bet.

You're always better off calling dealers rather than emailing. Even a PM to POC Phil… I don't know that he checks those regularly, though he probably checks his email more often than some dealers.

I can see after market products being there one day and gone the next. But I would expect that all the parts that came originally with the scooter to be avaialble for years to come. I work as a supplier to the US Auto industry. Once a car is no longer sold, we still have to keep making parts for a minimum of 10 years to supply the dealer's parts department.

Our lead time for re-orders is 6 weeks, so yeah, if your part is damaged it will not hit the dealer dock until 6 weeks from their order date. You can see that if they don't have it in stock by the time they place the order, we make the parts, ship them out and they call their customer back, 2 months can go by very quickly. But still, the parts WILL be available for 10 years.

Knock on wood, I have not had a need to order any replacement parts, but I would expect the dealer to be able to get them within 2-3 months should I need some.

EP_scoot wrote:I can see after market products being there one day and gone the next. But I would expect that all the parts that came originally with the scooter to be avaialble for years to come. I work as a supplier to the US Auto industry. Once a car is no longer sold, we still have to keep making parts for a minimum of 10 years to supply the dealer's parts department.

Our lead time for re-orders is 6 weeks, so yeah, if your part is damaged it will not hit the dealer dock until 6 weeks from their order date. You can see that if they don't have it in stock by the time they place the order, we make the parts, ship them out and they call their customer back, 2 months can go by very quickly. But still, the parts WILL be available for 10 years.

Knock on wood, I have not had a need to order any replacement parts, but I would expect the dealer to be able to get them within 2-3 months should I need some.

Problem is, you're talking about US manufacturers. US law may not apply to foreign made vehicles such as our scooters.