Winter storage without prep...

xTomBx · Post by **xTomBx** » Fri Feb 17, 2012 3:09 pm

I’ve been a bad new scooter owner…
My wife and I bought scooters last year (Italia 150 for here, Stella 4t for me).
I had a brain fart and did not winterize them at ALL (we live in Michigan). Since I am a man and have more testosterone than brains, I still have been riding mine at least once a month.
SHE, being the more “delicate sex”, hasn’t ridden hers since probably October. One of the last times I got mine out I said “Hey, I should probably start hers up and take it for a spin”
Short story; I can’t get the thing to start, I think it was just too cold. I had enough sense to stop trying before TOTALLY , killing the battery, so then I tried kick starting it. Nothing.
Any advice to this neglectful owner to awaken his wifey’s scoot from its winter slumber?

pattio · Post by **pattio** » Fri Feb 17, 2012 3:41 pm

There's really only two problems that arise from one winter's worth of storage- dead battery, and congealed fuel. Dead battery is easily dealt with with a charger, or, at worst, a new battery. Bad fuel might require a thorough carb cleaning, or, generally, some Seafoam.

Dooglas · Post by **Dooglas** » Fri Feb 17, 2012 3:58 pm

Go out and buy a battery tender (a real motorcycle battery tender). Top off the charge on each battery per instructions with the tender. Go out and buy some Seafoam. Put some in the tank of each bike. Start and run each bike for a few minutes - or go for a short ride. Just go get it done!

AWinn6889 · Post by **AWinn6889** » Fri Feb 17, 2012 6:16 pm

Dooglas wrote:Go out and buy a battery tender (a real motorcycle battery tender). Top off the charge on each battery per instructions with the tender. Go out and buy some Seafoam. Put some in the tank of each bike. Start and run each bike for a few minutes - or go for a short ride. Just go get it done!

If you haven't upgraded the fuse for the accessory plug (if that's where you're going to plug it in anyway), get the battery tender jr.
I got the big battery tender on sale, not thinking, and blew the fuse. It's easy to replace and upgrade, but it's still something to keep in mind.

HowHH · Post by **HowHH** » Fri Feb 17, 2012 6:31 pm

Assuming the gas hasn't deteriorated too much, it's possible that the battery had enough juice to turn over the motor but not enough to start. The suggestion for Seafoam and a recharge is the way to go initially.

Since I'm running heated gloves, I plug in to my Battery Tender daily to keep topped up.

This has been a strange winter, however. At every fill-up I add some Marine Stabil, expecting that it'll be time to hibernate. But, here it is February in upstate NY and although there have been a few days of no riding in due to slippery stuff, I haven't yet missed an entire week of commuting to work on the scooter! (I can't compete with siobahn though. She doesn't let a silly thing like snow or slush stop her)>

TVB · Post by **TVB** » Fri Feb 17, 2012 8:34 pm

HowHH wrote:This has been a strange winter, however. At every fill-up I add some Marine Stabil, expecting that it'll be time to hibernate. But, here it is February in upstate NY and although there have been a few days of no riding in due to slippery stuff, I haven't yet missed an entire week of commuting to work on the scooter!

We've had a little more snow than that here in West Michigan (thanks to the Lake just upwind of here), but otherwise it's been the same story here. I burned a bit of Sta-bil back in December and January, each time thinking that it was the last fill-up for a while. I've stopped adding it, especially now that we're only a few weeks away from when I started riding again (irregularly) last spring.

50CC Cape Cod · Post by **50CC Cape Cod** » Sat Feb 18, 2012 12:13 am

Been there done that. In process off getting two scooters back out of storage. Know for next storage season.
I have used Sta-bil on vintage cars which are not used frequently since I learned that Ethanol in the gas is a real big problem. I use it for regular on going maintenance and a different ratio for winter storage.
I was told by a local scooter shop to use Sta-bil with gas fill ups and use Sea-foam for the fuel system & carb clean out as long as the engine is running I guess yearly. You do not use both at the same time.

50CC Cape Cod · Post by **50CC Cape Cod** » Sat Feb 18, 2012 12:25 am

Just noticed that Sta-bil was mentioned a few times on different scooters. Since it comes in several types which one is recommended for a 2 stroke engine? I was planning on using the regular formula. The scooter shop did not specify, just to use it on going with gas fill ups.

TVB · Post by **TVB** » Sat Feb 18, 2012 2:33 am

50CC Cape Cod wrote:Just noticed that Sta-bil was mentioned a few times on different scooters. Since it comes in several types which one is recommended for a 2 stroke engine? I was planning on using the regular formula. The scooter shop did not specify, just to use it on going with gas fill ups.

Just plain "STA-BIL" is what it says on mine, which worked fine on my 2T 50cc through previous winters.