This is already spring, and I want to recap winterizing the scoot, if only for the next year. I started by searching the net, and came across a few good pages, mostly from motorcycle people. The advice ranges from simple the washing the bike to esoteric spooning of oil into the cylinders through spark plug ports. Here is a couple of these:
www.clarity.net/~adam/winter-storage-content.html
www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/StorageList.html
The problem for me was that I could not store the bike indoors without draining the fuel tank. This would sure mean that the tank will rust, and I would spend my summer learning how to clean my carbs. So I took my chances and decided to store it outside. Well, with my luck, this turned out one of harshest winters in years. It wasn't coldest one, but it did get quite cold and cycling, and it snowed, and it was humid. Pretty much the worst you could do to a piece of metal sitting outside. So we'll see how it faired.
Below are my preparations, mostly done in a hurry as the cold hit suddenly last year and I actually had to wait a little for it to get warmer:
Add the fuel stabilizer. Fuel stabilizer is a sort of a "thinner" for your gas. It protects your engine and mostly carburetors from the goo that will form as the gas dries. Stabilizers come in tiny bottles worth around $5, with enough potion to serve you a lifetime (see it's a stabilizer, it can be stored for a long time :). There are dosages for storage and (smaller) for running. So some time before the storage, I went to the gas station and fist added the "operational" dose, then filled the tank. This way the stuff can mix and have enough time to get down the injection system. Well, right as I was ready to finally store the scoot, I went for another top-up and discovered that my station stopped serving alcohol-free gas. So the final arrangement was usual gas with ethanol filled to the rim plus fuel stabilizer.
Wash and wax the scoot. This was the second time I took the scoot to the car wash. Surprisingly, it could handle all the spraying, and started immediately. I waxed the plastic panels with Turtle wax, and the seat with car leather conditioner. One normally does not condition the seat as it gets slippery, but it is certainly worth protecting the seat for the winter time.
Heat it up and change oil. Top the oil. Took it for a good half-an-hour drive on the highways to get rid of any moisture in the exhaust and breakdown stuff from the oil in the engine. Must have been the only scooter on the road. Then I let it to cool down a little, and changed the oil. Instead of the putting the normal amount, I topped the oil level till it almost spilled out. These will be the storage conditions. I didn't drive it from this point, and hoped I will remember this in the spring. It would be a really bad idea to drive it with oil this high as it may not be able to handle the pressure.
Take out the battery. Battery has to stay charged, and it has to stay at reasonable temperatures. So I took it out, hooked it to my Tender Junior charger and once in a while plugged it in for a day or so during the winter. The battery did not seem to discharge much anyways.
Plug the air intake. The air filter is below the seat, under the plastic cover in front of the storage bucket. I lifted the box (Phillips screws), took out the filter and then fitted a sheet of plastic (in fact a torn Ziploc bag) on top of the hole. This seals engine's air intake. Put back the filter to keep the plastic in place, but back the cover.
Wrap the exhaust. In order to prevent moisture from accumulating in the exhaust, I've put another Ziploc over the exhaust endport and tightened it with cable ties.
Grease the shocks. The rubber gaskets in the shock absorbers may dry and become brittle. So I smeared as much engine oil as I could around the area. (Shocks themselves are filled with oil and have appropriate rubber; one should never use oil on regular rubber as it will dry it in no time).
Silicon on small rubber parts. I have plenty of small rubber parts that got the "dry rot", i.e. dried up and cracked a little. This may be due to shitty rubber or long storage for these parts before they were actually put on the scoot. The worst of these are little cracks on my tire valves. So I've put a little silicon spray on these pieces.
Grease on tire axle. A little heavy-duty grease smeared on and around the bolts that keep the tire axles in place. Can't hurt to keep some moisture away.
Wrap it up. I parked it on a tart, then wrapped the tart on the sides with a rope. On top of this comes the normal scooter cover, making a sort of sandwich. Everything tied with ropes to prevent it opening in the wind. Chained to a pole, tarp wrapped around the chain with cable ties.
Well this is all I can remember. I can also remember hoping I will ever be able to drive this babe again. Which I am about find out.
www.clarity.net/~adam/winter-storage-content.html
www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/StorageList.html
The problem for me was that I could not store the bike indoors without draining the fuel tank. This would sure mean that the tank will rust, and I would spend my summer learning how to clean my carbs. So I took my chances and decided to store it outside. Well, with my luck, this turned out one of harshest winters in years. It wasn't coldest one, but it did get quite cold and cycling, and it snowed, and it was humid. Pretty much the worst you could do to a piece of metal sitting outside. So we'll see how it faired.
Below are my preparations, mostly done in a hurry as the cold hit suddenly last year and I actually had to wait a little for it to get warmer:
Add the fuel stabilizer. Fuel stabilizer is a sort of a "thinner" for your gas. It protects your engine and mostly carburetors from the goo that will form as the gas dries. Stabilizers come in tiny bottles worth around $5, with enough potion to serve you a lifetime (see it's a stabilizer, it can be stored for a long time :). There are dosages for storage and (smaller) for running. So some time before the storage, I went to the gas station and fist added the "operational" dose, then filled the tank. This way the stuff can mix and have enough time to get down the injection system. Well, right as I was ready to finally store the scoot, I went for another top-up and discovered that my station stopped serving alcohol-free gas. So the final arrangement was usual gas with ethanol filled to the rim plus fuel stabilizer.
Wash and wax the scoot. This was the second time I took the scoot to the car wash. Surprisingly, it could handle all the spraying, and started immediately. I waxed the plastic panels with Turtle wax, and the seat with car leather conditioner. One normally does not condition the seat as it gets slippery, but it is certainly worth protecting the seat for the winter time.
Heat it up and change oil. Top the oil. Took it for a good half-an-hour drive on the highways to get rid of any moisture in the exhaust and breakdown stuff from the oil in the engine. Must have been the only scooter on the road. Then I let it to cool down a little, and changed the oil. Instead of the putting the normal amount, I topped the oil level till it almost spilled out. These will be the storage conditions. I didn't drive it from this point, and hoped I will remember this in the spring. It would be a really bad idea to drive it with oil this high as it may not be able to handle the pressure.
Take out the battery. Battery has to stay charged, and it has to stay at reasonable temperatures. So I took it out, hooked it to my Tender Junior charger and once in a while plugged it in for a day or so during the winter. The battery did not seem to discharge much anyways.
Plug the air intake. The air filter is below the seat, under the plastic cover in front of the storage bucket. I lifted the box (Phillips screws), took out the filter and then fitted a sheet of plastic (in fact a torn Ziploc bag) on top of the hole. This seals engine's air intake. Put back the filter to keep the plastic in place, but back the cover.
Wrap the exhaust. In order to prevent moisture from accumulating in the exhaust, I've put another Ziploc over the exhaust endport and tightened it with cable ties.
Grease the shocks. The rubber gaskets in the shock absorbers may dry and become brittle. So I smeared as much engine oil as I could around the area. (Shocks themselves are filled with oil and have appropriate rubber; one should never use oil on regular rubber as it will dry it in no time).
Silicon on small rubber parts. I have plenty of small rubber parts that got the "dry rot", i.e. dried up and cracked a little. This may be due to shitty rubber or long storage for these parts before they were actually put on the scoot. The worst of these are little cracks on my tire valves. So I've put a little silicon spray on these pieces.
Grease on tire axle. A little heavy-duty grease smeared on and around the bolts that keep the tire axles in place. Can't hurt to keep some moisture away.
Wrap it up. I parked it on a tart, then wrapped the tart on the sides with a rope. On top of this comes the normal scooter cover, making a sort of sandwich. Everything tied with ropes to prevent it opening in the wind. Chained to a pole, tarp wrapped around the chain with cable ties.
Well this is all I can remember. I can also remember hoping I will ever be able to drive this babe again. Which I am about find out.
No comments:
Post a Comment