How to store my Buddy 125 long-term?

Jazzyful · Post by **Jazzyful** » Fri May 11, 2012 9:19 pm

I'm moving to NYC and don't want to pay for parking for my scooter, but I also love it so much that I can't bear to sell it, so I'm going to leave it in my partner's parents' basement until further notice. It will definitely be there for a year, potentially up to 5 years.

Does anyone have a good resource describing what I need to do to store it properly? I plan on riding it again as soon as I can afford to pay for parking.

PS--any tips on moving it? I was planning on putting it in the UHaul.

Hwarang · Post by **Hwarang** » Fri May 11, 2012 9:24 pm

I'm not sure about storing, but I just moved my Buddy from MPLS to Chicago. All I did was take the mirrors off (stowed them in the trunk compartment) and whatnot. The movers wrapped it up in those huuuge moving blankies and put it on last, strapping it to the "back" of the pile of stuff in the truck.

Came through fine.

pdxrita · Post by **pdxrita** » Fri May 11, 2012 10:02 pm

Leaving a scooter sitting for a year is enough to cause a lot of problems, but they can be overcome. For that length of time, you'd want to stabilize the fuel and tender the battery and then maybe it would be okay. But for 5 years? I'd think nothing short of ridding it of all fluids and leaving it absolutely dry and pristine inside and out would be of any use. I don't think that's possible to accomplish. I'd also worry that their basement might have a fair amount of moisture that could wreak all sorts of unforseen havoc with your scooter. My advice is to take it with you or sell it and then buy a new one when you're ready to resume riding.

Syd · Post by **Syd** » Fri May 11, 2012 10:13 pm

^What Rita said. Drain the tank and run it dry. Drain the oil and gear lube. Get it up off the ground, so the tires don't dry rot (so much). Pull the battery and plan on replacing it when you return. Plug the exhaust and intake with something, and look for a 500 gal freezer bag so you can seal it up as much as possible to keep bugs and rodents from nesting/destroying it.

Then cross your fingers the cellar doesn't flood in a hurricane.

Dooglas · Post by **Dooglas** » Fri May 11, 2012 11:21 pm

For long periods of storage it is also usual to spray a small amount of light oil inside the cylinder to prevent corrosion - as well as removing the battery, changing the oil(s), and completely draining the gas. If this goes on for several years, it will be very hard on tires and other rubber parts. Likely they will need to be replaced under those circumstances.

50CC Cape Cod · Post by **50CC Cape Cod** » Fri May 11, 2012 11:43 pm

Prior to draing the fuel system may want to run some fuel stabilizer or sea-foam through the system so everything gets treated to prevent any
gas that may be left from turning to varnish or gum deposits. Maybe overkill but may be worth it.

Jazzyful · Post by **Jazzyful** » Sat May 12, 2012 12:04 am

Syd wrote:Get it up off the ground, so the tires don't dry rot (so much).

Any suggestions how to do this?

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Sat May 12, 2012 1:54 am

if it's more than a year to 1.5, I'd say just buy new tires. if you look at it as the 'over time' cost it's negligible.

Beamster · Post by **Beamster** » Sat May 12, 2012 2:59 am

Change the oil, put a bit of oil in the sparkplug hole and turn it over to lubricate, get the gas oil (it will never last treated or not, put it up on the centerstand to prevent flatspots on the tires. Forget the dryrot comment; that is a function of age and environmental exposure, not sitting on the floor.

OR, sell it before it depreciated 5 years and then buy a slightly used one down the road with the money you got from the sale.
As much as we like ours, it will never be collectable so it's just money down the drain if it sits unused for years.o

Raiderfn311 · Post by **Raiderfn311** » Sat May 12, 2012 1:52 pm

Jazzyful wrote:
Syd wrote:Get it up off the ground, so the tires don't dry rot (so much).
Any suggestions how to do this?

Levitation?

Dooglas · Post by **Dooglas** » Sat May 12, 2012 4:04 pm

Jazzyful wrote:Any suggestions how to do this?

As Beamster commented, rubber will deteriorate thru time no matter what you do. The usual advice about taking weight off of tires on a vehicle in storage is to avoid a flat spot on the tires. If you are going to replace them anyway it doesn't matter, of course. Otherwise it would be good to check the air and roll the bike forward or back a few inches every few months.

Post by **ericalm** » Sat May 12, 2012 5:23 pm

We have a FAQ for this:
viewtopic.php?p=138514#138514

Jazzyful · Post by **Jazzyful** » Sat May 12, 2012 7:49 pm

ericalm wrote:We have a FAQ for this:
viewtopic.php?p=138514#138514

Yeah, I've been looking at the winterizing tips. I just figured there might be more to know for storing it even longer than just for a season.

And I hear what you guys are saying about just selling it, but it's my first scooter, and I love it dearly. Plus, I don't think Tallahassee's a great market for higher quality scooters—most people here drive Peace Sports VIPs or other cpcs. I mean, is it really that much better of an option? Would my Buddy be a total piece of crap in 5 years?

Also, I'm still not sure exactly how many years it would be in storage--I'd definitely resurrect it if it turns out I can afford to pay for the parking spot in NYC. 5 years is just how long I'll be in NYC.

Dooglas · Post by **Dooglas** » Sat May 12, 2012 8:06 pm

Jazzyful wrote:Also, I'm still not sure exactly how many years it would be in storage--I'd definitely resurrect it if it turns out I can afford to pay for the parking spot in NYC. 5 years is just how long I'll be in NYC.

I don't think I'd survive 5 years without a scooter

. Why not start looking for that parking place?

Beamster · Post by **Beamster** » Sun May 13, 2012 2:32 am

Jazzyful wrote:Would my Buddy be a total piece of crap in 5 years?

As long as you store it inside and take a few precautions it will be fine.

I have 36 year old, 17 year old, 9 year old motorcycles, a 23 year old car plus the 6 year old Buddy in the garage that look like new.

The 17 year old just got it's first new tires due to sidewall cracking, so don't jump the gun on the tires. Just wait and see what happens and deal with it when it comes.

My comment about selling and buying back in later was about the loss of resale value, not about deterioration. I have allot of experience keeping vehicles too long past their economic lifespan. They are all still fine vehicles, it's just that they only have value to me, with the possible exception of the oldest Bonneville that has finally started to appreciate.

Two upsides to having non-current vehicles is that (up to a certain point) the insurance can get cheaper and it pisses off the tax assessor when the property tax goes down and down.
Both of these things reverse after a while though when repairs are deemed to be more expensive by the insurer and when the tax collector starts calling the vehicle collectible.

Beamster · Post by **Beamster** » Sun May 13, 2012 2:43 am

About moving it, UHAUL rents bike, utility trailers pretty cheaply.
And then again you might find someone with a pickup truck.
There are often listings in our newspaper about people making the trip and looking to make a few bucks.
Or there are many bike shipping companies and some charge less for a smaller bike.

But you'd really park it, not in a locked garage, in NYC?
Better look into how much comprehensive insurance would cost for that situation.

Howardr · Post by **Howardr** » Sun May 13, 2012 5:54 am

Sell it and set aside funds for a new when when the time is right. That way someone else can ride that scooter instead of forcing it to set lonely and unused.

Howard

chillas61210 · Post by **chillas61210** » Sun May 13, 2012 12:31 pm

I would seriously consider either taking it with you or selling it...it could potentially cost you alot to get it running again. I don't even like to leave the scoots we have sit for a month without taking a ride can't imagine going 5 years...

velobuff · Post by **velobuff** » Sun May 13, 2012 1:09 pm

Sell it.

After 5 years tires develop enough micro cracks to make them dangerous and risk a catastrophic failure when you least expect it.

50CC Cape Cod · Post by **50CC Cape Cod** » Sun May 13, 2012 11:48 pm

Just got 2 scoots out of hibernation after 6 year storage inside. Was not a planned storage. End of story both look like new but one took a little while to clean out the fuel system and the other did have tire cracks so needed
a new set. If was planned would have done some real prep. Also try to keep the mice from setting up home they can do a job on things.

Beamster · Post by **Beamster** » Wed May 16, 2012 2:20 am

50CC Cape Cod wrote: Also try to keep the mice from setting up home they can do a job on things.

The way we've found to deal with mice is do not cover vehicles and get a few compact florescent replacement light bulbs for the storage area. Mice are nocturnal creatures and seek darkness, so if you keep the light on you shouldn't have a problem.

Again, do not use a cover and make a nice dark area for them. You might even leave the seat open for the same reason.
Dirt washes off but mouse urine etching is permanent.

It's worked for us for many years.

50CC Cape Cod · Post by **50CC Cape Cod** » Wed May 16, 2012 7:48 pm

I found that out the hard way. They liked to set up house in the floor board, battery compartment, air filter, crankcase, and tubing to the crankcase amazing how they got in all these places. A real spring cleaning
was in order.