How long before "winterizing" your scooter?

jiggityquakefro · Post by **jiggityquakefro** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 10:42 pm

Hello all,

I am new to the forum and just bought a 2009 buddy 12 with about 8000 miles on it. I will be gone for 4 weeks in July and then again for 4 weeks in November. Is it worth me doing anything to prepare it to sit for 4 weeks? What would you suggest for "winterizing" it for just 4 weeks (and in the summer heat)? It will be outside but covered. Also my wife will be home but she doesn't ride so the most I could get her to do is start it and let it idle every couple days.

Any advice would be appreciated. I was so happy to finally get a buddy and a sad to be away from it so soon.

PS- Sorry if this is not the correct spot for a question like this. This is my first posting.

siobhan · Post by **siobhan** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 11:38 pm

I was just away for three weeks and did nothing to prep the bike.

I suggest either putting the battery on a trickle charger or having your wife start it up and let it run for about 3-5 minutes at least once a week. I put my battery on a charger when I got home for a day and it coughed a little at start.

If it gets cold in November, I definitely recommend the charger.

k1dude · Post by **k1dude** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 11:41 pm

If I was leaving for 4 weeks, I'd put some Seafoam in the tank and make sure to take it out for a spin before storage to make sure the Seafoam gets into the fuel line/filter/carb. I'd also hook it up to a battery tender. But you'll have to make sure the tender doesn't get wet.

tortoise · Post by **tortoise** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 11:48 pm

If the battery has a pry-off top cover strip, verify that internal cell plates are covered with distilled water. If extension cord power is not practical, remove battery and connect to a float charger.

Might get away with adding STA-BIL to the gas for a month or two, but since the carb fuel bowl is vented to atmosphere, gas will evaporate over time and dried deposits may obstruct fuel passageways.

easy · Post by **easy** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 2:16 am

sea foam, gas with no ethanol if you can get it. I would take 15 minute ride to get the treated gas into the carb a month setting will not kill a good battery but I would use kickstarter after sitting so long with the key off 1st to get the oil moving

Witch · Post by **Witch** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 2:18 am

If everything is working properly to begin with, I personally wouldn't bother doing anything to it for 4 weeks. It certainly won't hurt, but for most modern scoots, you really don't need to do much unless you're going to let it sit for 2 months or more.

TVB · Post by **TVB** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 2:33 am

Four weeks with the scooter sitting idle is just a little sad, but otherwise unremarkable. Sta-Bil, Batter Tender Jr, etc. will help, but are probably unnecessary.

pdxrita · Post by **pdxrita** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 2:35 am

Witch wrote:If everything is working properly to begin with, I personally wouldn't bother doing anything to it for 4 weeks. It certainly won't hurt, but for most modern scoots, you really don't need to do much unless you're going to let it sit for 2 months or more.

Agree with this - 4 weeks should be fine. If you happen to already have a battery tender, and it's convenient to put it on, then maybe do that. I don't see any need to stabilize the fuel for your upcoming trip. For your November trip, I'd say you need to honestly assess whether you'll even be riding it at all when you get back. If not, then go ahead and winterize it before you leave, otherwise you might put it off too long, or just plain forget to do it. If you're certain that you'll keep riding, the the same advice applies.

Beamster · Post by **Beamster** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 2:38 am

You'll come back to a dead battery in 4 weeks (especially with the cheap batteries that they come with) if you don't have a trickle charger. Take a look at the BatteryTender.

Seafoam is a good idea whether it's 2 weeks or 12 months. It will tend to clean the carb while it sits, and is only 10 bucks a can, of which you'll only use an ounce or two.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 3:31 am

I agree with some of the others. A battery tender is so easy to use, if your scoot is going to out of action for a couple of weeks, I'd recommend going that route. It's also likely to extend your battery life.

As for the Sea Foam, I don't use it until I December/January. Once I know the scoot or MC's are likely down for the winter. 4 - 6 weeks is definitely no problem. And I'll admit, there have been times when I've forgotten to use a stabilizer and still I've never had an issue.

Rob

Witch · Post by **Witch** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 5:05 am

Beamster wrote:You'll come back to a dead battery in 4 weeks (especially with the cheap batteries that they come with) if you don't have a trickle charger.

If that's the case, I'd say the battery is either really crappy, or on it's way out already. I've never had to charge a battery after letting a scoot sit even 6 weeks.

illnoise · Post by **illnoise** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 12:31 pm

I'd second the Battery Tender, your battery shouldn't die in a few weeks, but if you keep it properly charged and take good care of it, it'll last longer.

I kinda think Seafoam is snake oil (it has merits, but it's not as magic as people like to think), but I know I'm in the minority on that one. In any case, fuel stabilization seems like a secondary function of SeaFoam, so if you were looking to spend a few bucks for something to add to your tank for winterization, I'd choose Sta-bil.

The very best thing you could do would be to run all the fuel out of the carb (if it's not EFI), but that's difficult on a modern bike w/o a fuel tap. Maybe try to run all the gas out of the tank?

If you are leaving gas in it, you should probably fill it up, it's best to minimize the surface area where fuel contacts air. I'd bet that'd do more good than any additive.

Beamster · Post by **Beamster** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 2:30 am

Witch wrote:
Beamster wrote:You'll come back to a dead battery in 4 weeks (especially with the cheap batteries that they come with) if you don't have a trickle charger.
If that's the case, I'd say the battery is either really crappy, or on it's way out already. I've never had to charge a battery after letting a scoot sit even 6 weeks.

You've been lucky or are not on your original battery from the manufacturer.
Our dealer's replacement batteries carry all of a 3 month warantee. That basically says it all.

Beamster · Post by **Beamster** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 2:38 am

illnoise wrote: I kinda think Seafoam is snake oil (it has merits, but it's not as magic as people like to think), but I know I'm in the minority on that one. In any case, fuel stabilization seems like a secondary function of SeaFoam, so if you were looking to spend a few bucks for something to add to your tank for winterization, I'd choose Sta-bil.

Red Stabil isn't useful with ethanol laced gasoline.

With 4 bikes presently in the garage, Seafoam has been a miracle worker curing the Spring blues after storage four times now. It may not be of concern to one carb riders, but I really don't want to be manually cleaning racks of three and four carbs on some of ours. Seafoam has always cleared stumbling and cold bloodedness without teardowns here. Tha's worth 10 bucks a can.

k1dude · Post by **k1dude** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 3:42 am

It literally takes a minute to hook up a tender and put 1 oz of Seafoam in your tank. Is it really worth not taking a minute for a 4 week sit? Sure you will probably be OK letting it sit without doing anything. But why take the risk over 1 minute?