May, 2010
My poor wife….. Beverly is long-suffering and infinitely patient. She really just wants her Buddy scooter left alone. She really just wants to ride and have fun. She certainly didn’t sign on to be some kind of Guinea Pig, but it seems that there is always SOMETHING being done to her Buddy scooter. She sighed with resignation at the reflective checkerboard graphics, but this time I think she’s actually GLAD I used her Buddy as a test scooter.
Gary Ohlhorst of Legend Creek LLC in Florida was kind enough to send a GEN-U-BIN Storage System Tray for review. This product was designed in the USA and is manufactured in the USA. It’s made for the Genuine Buddy scooter, one of the fine products from Genuine Scooter Company.
The Genuine Buddy is a very popular scooter for a lot of good reasons: it’s reliable, cute, excellent fit & finish, quick, and many accessories are available. One of the things that a lot of people like to add is a drink holder. The stock buddy does have a decent open tray on the leg-shield just below the steering head. I have personally drilled holes in this and mounted drink holders for friends. The tray itself is nice, but anything placed in it is at risk of flying out at inopportune moments. I can attest that this is the case and still have the broken garage door opener to prove it. Gary’s GEN-U-BIN solves both the drink holder AND unintentional flying object concerns.
The GEN-U-BIN arrived as three pieces with very complete installation instructions. If you can’t install this from these instructions, consider turning in your driver’s license – you probably shouldn’t be on the road. There are step-by-step written instructions along with step-by-step pictures. Pay attention to what the instructions say about the luggage hook. The one integrated with the GEN-U-BIN is NOT designed to hold as much weight as the stock hook. I left the stock hook in place because we do tend to hang a couple of grocery bags from the hook. It took all of three minutes to install the GEN-U-BIN. Yeah, the super-detailed instructions are kind of overkill, but I’d rather have too much information than not enough.
After making the go/no-go hook decision, the tray assembly is put in place, aligned, and tightened (but not too much). Next one snaps in the drink holder frame and the flip-top compartment. That’s it. The three minutes included some time to take a couple of pictures. There is provision to install a second cup holder on the starboard side via a slot designed to receive a Bell brand holder (readily available at auto part stores, drug stores and the like).
Now comes the real test – a travel mug of scalding-hot coffee goes in the cup holder and my garage door opener goes in the flip-top compartment. I ride over speed bumps, railroad tracks, and pot-hole filled Minnesota roads. Nothing comes loose, nothing flies out, no third-degree burns in my lap from the coffee.
At $35.95 this is a wonderful addition to your Buddy scooter. At the time of this writing, the GEN-U-BIN is available in black or white plastic. For more information or to purchase a GEN-U-BIN, please click on the logo below.
