Winterizing Your Scooter
Posted By roger on October 28, 2009
Why Winterize?
Some scooter riders out there ride their scoots year round, most don’t.
Either the weather prohibits winter riding or the thought of biting wind doesn’t appeal to you (and I can’t blame you at all). If you’re not going to be riding in the winter season, it is highly recommended to winterize your scoot.
But what is winterizing? Winterizing is the means to protect your scoot from having to sit idle for several months and a bigger means of protecting your checkbook in the spring by reducing maintenance costs.
There are different schools of thought when considering winterizing your scooter, some folks go with the barest of protections and can get by while others go to the extreme.
I’ll layout the plan I’ve put together to winterize my scoot. This list is based on conversations with mechanics and information found searching the internet. Of course, you can take my list and run with it or skip parts entirely.
It’s up to you and of course, your locale.
The first thing on the list is cleaning the scooter thoroughly. Get all the bugs and road grime off the scoot. Doing this now before you put the scoot up for the winter helps prevent any corrosion to the paint that bug juices, bird excrement and road grime can cause. You will also want to put a good coat of wax on the scooter to put a protective coat on the paint. By doing this before you put the scooter up for the winter, you will not have to do it in the spring and thus be on the road sooner!
The next thing I plan to do is add a gasoline additive, such as Sta-Bil, to a full tank of gas. Follow the manufacturer’s directions when applying any fuel additives. Let the engine run for about 30 minutes or so in order for the additive to run through the system. You want to make sure it has enough time to run through and clean the carb and fuel lines. Take it out for a quick spin if you like while you’re letting it run. It will be your last ride for awhile. You might as well enjoy it!
After you have let the scoot run for about 30 minutes or so, shut it down and top off the tank.
The next item to consider is the battery. Depending on your locale and whether you will be storing your scoot inside a garage or outside, you will need to decide whether to remove the battery or not. Personally I will opt to remove the battery. It only takes a few minutes to pull my battery and put it back in, but that’s my scoot. Your scooter will more than likely be different and only you can make that choice. If you are storing your scoot in a garage, I recommend purchasing a battery tender. A battery tender connects to your battery and provides a trickle charge to keep the battery fully charged while it is sitting idle for long periods of time.
If you are taking your battery inside for the winter I would make the same suggestion, but everything I’ve read indicates that it doesn’t matter as much since the battery will stay warm and cozy inside.
The next thing I plan on doing is making sure my tires are filled to the maximum air pressure recommended by the manufacturer. This will help eliminate flat spots come spring. In fact you can take this one step further and once the scoot is on the center stand, you can slide a block of wood under the frame to lift the front tire off the ground, while keeping the rear tire off the ground as well, thus making 100% sure you won’t have flat spots in your tires in the spring time.
Now is a good time to make sure you give the scoot a quick once over and make sure it’s clean and then cover it up. There are several places to acquire a good scooter cover. Locally, Tulsa Scooters has several sizes available as does, I’m sure, Vespa of Tulsa. If you can’t locate a scooter cover, Wal-Mart carries motorcycle covers that should fit your scoot. If nothing else and you are keeping the scoot inside, some folks I know just use a king size sheet. All you’re really looking for is a way to keep the dust off during those lonely winter days and nights that your scooter is going to sit there… All alone.
If any of this seems to be too much bother, take heart. Green Country Scooter Club has teamed up with Tulsa Scooters and they are offering a $10.00 off coupon for winterizing your scoot. Just print out the attached coupon and present it to they folks at Tulsa Scooters when you drop your scooter off for winterizing.
As for me… I’ll be riding all winter. Keep an eye out when you’re in your cage, be aware that there are many scooter and motorcycle riders that ride all year and may very well be sharing the road with you.
Until next time,
Ride Safe…
Roger
