Winter Care

daydreamingada · Post by **daydreamingada** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 8:25 am

I don't ride my scooter in the winter enough. Does anyone know how to disconnect the battery? Or is there anything I should do to keep my buddy in good condition for the coming summer?

I think the battery is dying because I only start it once a week.

tam · Post by **tam** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 1:36 pm

you can take the battery out pretty easily. Take off the rubber floorboard, then use a philips head screwdriver to unscrew the plastic cover. Disconnect both wires and pull the battery. Then take it inside, and hook it up to a Battery Tender, which will keep it charged over the winter. It's about $40, which is cheaper than a new battery, so it's a great investment. You might also want to consider putting in some fuel stabalizer, which you can pick up at a pepboys or similar store

lobsterman · Post by **lobsterman** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 1:53 pm

Or you could just ride it every day, regardless of cold and qualify for the coveted "nothing stops me" in the poll:
topic713.html

rickyd410 · Post by **rickyd410** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 2:34 pm

What voltage battery tender.

Thanks.

tam wrote:you can take the battery out pretty easily. Take off the rubber floorboard, then use a philips head screwdriver to unscrew the plastic cover. Disconnect both wires and pull the battery. Then take it inside, and hook it up to a Battery Tender, which will keep it charged over the winter. It's about $40, which is cheaper than a new battery, so it's a great investment. You might also want to consider putting in some fuel stabalizer, which you can pick up at a pepboys or similar store

ellen · Post by **ellen** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 3:30 pm

Since I have a garage, I never bother bringing the battery in the house. Always attach a Battery Tender Jr to the battery while its still in the scooter. It comes with ring terminals which I have permanently mounted on the terminals. So on a warm January day, I can always use the quick disconnect and go for a ride.

You might want to check out the front page of Scooterdiva.com. There's an article on winterizing.
http://www.scooterdiva.com/

lotte · Post by **lotte** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 8:54 pm

I've heard from Phil from Pride of Cleveland that he doesn't like stabilizers because it gums up the carburetor. He said his first choice is to just kick start the scooter and give it a good throttle for a couple of minutes once a month. His second choice would be to hook it up to a float charger.

What I want to know is, are you supposed to fill up your gas all the way up, or use up all the gas when storing it for the winter?

Also, I'm an apartment dweller without a garage, so my Buddy is sitting out on my patio under a scooter cover. Is there something special I should do to it?

vitaminC · Post by **vitaminC** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 9:30 pm

lotte wrote:I've heard from Phil from Pride of Cleveland that he doesn't like stabilizers because it gums up the carburetor. He said his first choice is to just kick start the scooter and give it a good throttle for a couple of minutes once a month. His second choice would be to hook it up to a float charger.

The whole point of fuel stabilizer is to prevent it from gumming up the works

As its name implies, it works to prevent the various organic compounds in gas from undergoing reactions that will eventually turn your gas into goo. Keep in mind that the Buddy probably has pretty small jets, so it won't take much to impede their performance.

Oh, and a full tank of gas is the way to go. Air + water + gas + long time = bad.

And a battery tender is going to do a better job than the ocassional kick-start. What if you forget? How long does the bike need to idle to charge up the battery? From the experience of others on this board, it seems the Buddy charging system is not strong enough to charge up a really weak battery even when riding, so it certainly won't do it at idle!

That being said, you could probably do nothing and still be okay, though you may get some rough running come Spring.

polianarchy · Post by **polianarchy** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 4:17 pm

vitaminC wrote:And a battery tender is going to do a better job than the ocassional kick-start. What if you forget? How long does the bike need to idle to charge up the battery? From the experience of others on this board, it seems the Buddy charging system is not strong enough to charge up a really weak battery even when riding, so it certainly won't do it at idle!

A wee bump on this thread because I have a question.

What is the minimum length of time that a Buddy might be sitting unused where it would need a battery tender? Wow, that came out really poorly.

Okeh, here's the situation: I plan on riding throughout the winter, but not when there's snow and ice on the streets. So that means potentially there will be several blocks of time where I wouldn't be riding at all.

If I know I won't be riding for a week, should I plug in the battery tender? Two weeks? Three? Etc?

vitaminC · Post by **vitaminC** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 4:35 pm

polianarchy wrote: If I know I won't be riding for a week, should I plug in the battery tender? Two weeks? Three? Etc?

Yes, yes, and yes, etc.

It's not that it necessarily needs to be on the tender the entire time, but if it's been sitting for a while, you'll be happier if you "freshen" the battery up before hitting the road. I suppose, however, that trying to kickstart it when it's cold out could help you get warmed up for your chilly ride!

Leving the battery tender connected and on will not hurt anything, as it will not overcharge the battery.

polianarchy · Post by **polianarchy** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 7:29 pm

Thanks very much, VitC!

gt1000 · Post by **gt1000** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 8:02 pm

Okeh, here's the situation: I plan on riding throughout the winter, but not when there's snow and ice on the streets. So that means potentially there will be several blocks of time where I wouldn't be riding at all.

In a fair and predictable world, you shouldn't have any worries regarding special winter treatment for your Buddy.

Here's my situation. I ride year 'round. I live in a downtown high-rise with underground parking. There's no electrical outlet within 30 feet of my parking space. I rely primarily on the electric start for my scooters. In 4 years of this type of ownership, I've had my battery go dead exactly one time. I've never had a problem with bad gas or condensation.

Denver, and the southwest in general, is different than the rest of the country. It's arid here, so condensation isn't much of a factor. Even during the worst winter months, I manage to run through a full tank of gas at least once a month. If you can adhere to a schedule like that, I'd avoid the stabilizer. If it's convenient for you to plug into a tender, do so. If not, I wouldn't worry a whole lot about it. Just be sure to run your scoot at speed for a while to help charge the system. If the battery goes dead, kick start and ride to your dealer (or some service place) to have your battery fully charged (a trickle charger will not charge a really dead battery). If you find that you're working hard to find the time to ride you're probably better off winterizing and shutting down for the cold months. If it's easy or fun to get out once a week for a half hour run (and I mean run, not just keeping your Buddy idling while you're inside sipping hot chocolate), keep riding. I don't ride through the winter to prove anything or because I'm some sort of masochist. It's my preferred form of transportation and I love riding, even if it's freezing. So I ride. But, if you or anyone else wants to shut down for the winter, that's your business, and you're probably much smarter than me.

Obviously, this won't work everywhere. If you live in Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Canada, etc. you can go months where it's impossible to ride safely. So, unless you have an indoor track, you must winterize.

polianarchy · Post by **polianarchy** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 2:54 pm

gt1000, sound advice. Thanks!

Philly is super-humid, and in the winter, often clammy. Ew. I don't feel like it's gets all that cold here, at least, not like The Great White North. I plan on riding as much as possible, because I am filled with fear & loathing for our transit "system," SEPTA. However, I'm not about to ride in ice. So I won't.

I'm pretty lucky. My landlady is allowing me to keep Pinky Tuscadero in the garage for $20 a month, and I'm betting there's an outlet in there for me to plug a battery tender JR. I don't foresee my needing to use fuel stabilizer unless I'm stowing her away for a month or more (

am I right?).

And my dealer is literally two blocks away from my house. Huzzah! AND I PUT DOWN MY DEPOSIT LAST NIGHT DOUBLE HUZZAH!!!

ZOMGZ I just wanted to share that with y'all. I am so FREAKEN excited!!!

They said my new 125cc Pink Buddy with a Prima windscreen and chrome front rack (the rear rack is on perpetual backorder) should arrive in two weeks. !!!SQUEE!!!

gt1000 · Post by **gt1000** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 4:11 pm

I was born in Philly and returned for graduate school. I know the humidity, SEPTA and many of the potholes in downtown streets. Downtown Philly strikes me as pretty decent scooter territory with narrow streets and relatively slow speeds. Don't push yourself. Get to know your scooter and your comfort zone before trying to deal with real rush hour traffic.

Congrats on your new scooter. Ride safe and smart. Oh, and good luck making it through the next two weeks!

lobsterman · Post by **lobsterman** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 4:19 pm

polianarchy,

Excellent! I know it is tough waiting that time between the downpayment and the delivery. I think you'll be glad you decided to go with the 125.

Be careful on that Pink Buddy. They're not as fast as the orange ones but still...

Elm Creek Smith · Post by **Elm Creek Smith** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 1:25 am

I've heard that some folks had to order their Buddies ahead of time and wait for them. I bought my black Budd right off the showroom floor and drove it home that night.

ECS

polianarchy · Post by **polianarchy** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 8:28 pm

Elm Creek Smith wrote:I've heard that some folks had to order their Buddies ahead of time and wait for them. I bought my black Budd right off the showroom floor and drove it home that night.

ECS

The only Buddy ready was the 50cc, which I had only *JUST* decided against. ...le sigh!...

It's okeh, I've already waited something like 20 years for a scooter.

Remember the Spree?