@ blue : Since the damage is only minimal as far as I understand, and you've been riding this way for ages already, I would keep the bendix. Just clean everything and check again in a week or so to see how fast ( / if ) the wear progresses.. As long as you can't see the fibers of the belt through the rubber on top, it will be okay anyway
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For me, an electric starter is mandatory on a scooter...
In my youth I owned a few Yamaha bikes which only had a kickstarter - but on those bikes it was on the right side and not obstructed by tupperware, so you could kick it while sitting on the bike - and even then it wasn't funny if it didn't start at the first kick