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Post by AtariGuy on Mar 2, 2020 13:40:30 GMT -5
Who here lives in a cold climate area and has a preseason inspection and service routine?
This coming weekend will be my dustoff period. Here in MN, the first weekend i get to 50 degrees, it's time for preseason! I usually start with the legals, affix new tabs, put the new insurance cards underseat, etc. Get the batteries set up and tested, check the tires, wheel bearings, axles, steering head bearings, brake lines, throttle cables, lights, clean carbs, oil changes, new gas, etc. Make notes of what's starting to show signs of needing maintenance. My end of season checks suggest I get some tires for both scooties and those are on order already. Will still use these thin wobble tires for a quick tool around the neighborhood to check engine tune, clear exhaust pipe, etc. but otherwise make sure everything runs as it should.
Yeh, mine's detailed. But with as much as my wife and i commute on scooties, they need to be sharp.
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Post by geoffh on Mar 2, 2020 15:42:47 GMT -5
The weather here in the U.K. is not quite as severe as MN,means I can ride all winter :)I only had to use the car for 3 days as a storm with high winds blew through.your detailed checks are to be commended and for any new scoot users a great guide for end of hibernation,I would guess your checks on both scoots can be done in a day,a good target for newbies,roll on spring.
Geoff
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Post by fuzzyruttin on Mar 2, 2020 18:18:39 GMT -5
Install battery, ride to station, fuel up. Did I miss something?  |
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Post by 90GTVert on Mar 3, 2020 8:42:19 GMT -5
Luckily it doesn't get bad enough here in MD that I can't ride in the winter. This year has been mild, but even the cold winters with some snow storms will provide enough bearable weather that I don't winterize anything. My main issue with stuff sitting tends to be with having too many scoots. Like right now, the TaoTao has been sitting there for years and never prepped to sit because I didn't really plan on it. The fuel system and battery will certainly need attention/cleaning/replacement, plus fluid changes, and general checks for the rest of it whenever I decide to ride it again.
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Post by jstich on Mar 7, 2020 11:05:58 GMT -5
I'm right next to you Atari. It's nice going outside without a sense of dread because of the cold. I love stabil so the only thing I gotta do is put the battery in and that's about it,I'm off.Of course I check all the important bits before driving off. I'm mildly jealous of you guys from UK and you brent. It gets nasty cold here. Maybe I'm a big wimp or it gets super cold here. Probably both.  |
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Post by AtariGuy on Mar 8, 2020 4:19:57 GMT -5
I'm right next to you Atari. It's nice going outside without a sense of dread because of the cold. I love stabil so the only thing I gotta do is put the battery in and that's about it,I'm off.Of course I check all the important bits before driving off. I'm mildly jealous of you guys from UK and you brent. It gets nasty cold here. Maybe I'm a big wimp or it gets super cold here. Probably both. Nah you arent a wimp. It definitely gets cold around here. There are occasional winters that i can bundle up like a madman and attempt some mid-winter rides, but this season was definitely not one of them. Wife and i are planning to move down by Knoxville in 2022 for milder winters and beautiful scenery. I may have an alterior motive *cough-tailofthedragon-cough* to tennessee but she dont need to know til we go. lol |
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Post by bluegoatwoods on Mar 9, 2020 15:57:27 GMT -5
Our winters here are about halfway between you lucky folk in the UK and you poor souls in Minnesota and such. If you picture the point halfway between Chicago and St Louis...that's us. I've often noticed that my weather is the average between what's happening in Chicago and what's happening in St Louis. It actually does follow that formula almost every single day. So.....fairly rough winters.
I used to ride a bicycle almost all year. I'd even manage quite a few rides in January. Less in February. Still.....those months were certain to give at least some weather where riding just wasn't possible. But I'd ride almost year-round.
But about the time my mid-50s hit me I did find that just dressing up and down for the weather outside and inside became pretty exhausting. So I've been kind of a winter wimp since then.
I don't winterize my scooters. Instead I either ride them a bit locally from time to time or I at least start them up and idle them a bit. Same thing with my daughter's motorcycle and with my generator. Same thing with my lawnmowers, too.
But I didn't get around to them this winter. I hope they start for me.
As this winter was kicking in I was filling my truck at the local gas station. Looking at the pump while filling, I noticed that their premium fuel was ethanol free. I could hardly believe I hadn't noticed that before. And I knew where I was buying fuel for small engines in the future. In fact, I went straight out and bought a brand new five gallon gas can, filled it up and mixed in some Sta-Bil. For small engines through the winter. But I had just filled them all up with regular fuel and it turns out that I didn't run them enough this winter to need re-fills.
But I've been riding the scooters for the last three weeks or so and they're all just about needing a gallon. So that winter fuel will start getting used soon.
Hat's off to you, AtariGuy, for having the discipline to give your bikes such a thorough going over. I'm always so impatient to ride that I cut corners and put off stuff until "later".
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Post by tomindelaware on Mar 11, 2020 16:30:09 GMT -5
My main issue with stuff sitting tends to be with having too many scoots. We all feel your pain J/K. Anyway, spring is almost here! I changed the oil, put new gas in. did checks of battery, lights. And off I went for a few miles locally . Yup! I got the fever! And wow, the only way I can find to get ethanol free gas is to go to Home Depot at $20 a gal. |
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