Getting close to winter.

scott /

Sep 30, 2000 09:44AM

well i live in northwest Ohio. i noticed lately that it is getting colder. Now it's about october and it's about time to get my mopeds in winter storage. i realy don't know what to do for winter storage. i keep the peds in a barn i don't know if this is a good idea or not??(i put a cover over the peds too like a big plastic bag deal) also what do you do about gas?? leave the tank full or empty, i don't think it good to leave it empty because the gasets will dry out. well anyone else has any ideas what to do because i'm lost on what to do with the three of them. one will run with work,one won't,and the other one will run. does it make a differance if they run or not??? need to get them stored up sometime! gettin colder every night!

any idea or suggestion will be helpful!

thanks!!

scott

RE: Getting close to winter.

DOUG D /

Sep 30, 2000 11:21AM

Your right, don`t want the gaskets to dry up or the tank to rust. If you add some GAS STABILIZER to it you should be good to go, run it to get it in carb and in spring, you don`t need to but I would drain and fill with fresh gas mix, also running a little carb cleaner like "SEA FOAM" in spring would be good too. DOUG D in VA.

RE: Getting close to winter.

Ivo /

Sep 30, 2000 12:53PM

And put some oil in the cylinder through the sparkplughole and disconnect the battery (if you have one).

Covering up your ped with plastic will cause accelerated rust, but without the plastic it may rust too, so spray a lot of 10W40 all over the bike before you cover it up. You'll need to do some cleaning next spring but your ped wont be rusted.

If you're putting away a ped for a longer period of time (a couple of years) then you should fill up the gastank, carburettor and cylinder with oil.

Drain the floatbowl.

Fred /

Sep 30, 2000 10:53PM

Almost all mopeds and motorcycles come with floatbowl drains...... and this is what they are for....... drain the floatbowls by loosening the floatbowl drain screw and let the fuel flow till it stops..... this keeps your jets from getting clogged with stuff left from evaporating fuel.... put Stabil in the gas like the others said....

Oh.... you can ride your ped in Ohio till December easy.... some days are too cold... so don't ride... 2 days later it will be 55 degrees F... that is rideable.

RE: Getting close to winter.

Jim C. /

Oct 01, 2000 12:26AM

You should fill the tank with a fresh batch of pre-mix to take up all the air space you can.

Drain the carb even if it means removing the float bowl and dumping it out. As long as the carb is open spray it out with carb spray and same with the bowl. After the carb spray evaporates, spray the insisde with some WD-40 and reassemble the carb. Be sure your air filter is clean and lubed as required

Take out the spark plug and clean it, then squirt some oil into the cylinder and piston and turn the engine over by hand a few times to be sure the oil spreads on the piston and cylinder. Reinstall the spark plug finger tight.

If it has a battery remove it and lean the battery cable ends and spray them with WD. put the battery some where to protect it from freezing, but not in a hot environment like next to a furnace. You'll have to check it's condition monthly and charge as necessary.

Air up the tires and clean the chrome and wipe WD on it.

Next spring drain and flush the the gas tank before filling it with a fresh batch of pre-mix.

Remove the spark plug and spray off the oil on it with carb spray and reinstall properly.

Reinstall the battery if it has one and use your usual starting ritual.

Once the blue smoke clears you'll have a good running 'ped again!!

Jim

I don't have to do any of that in winter here in California, but it's not a bad drill to follow anywhere when putting up an engine for an extended period of time. Six months or more I'd figure.

RE: Getting close to winter.

Reeperette /

Oct 02, 2000 08:26AM

FYI - A moped will run at -30 degrees farenheight, just so you know.

Snowmobile suits make it possible to ride no matter how cold it gets, if you happen to be the courageous type..

Been there, done that.

Ree.

Semi-Correction

Reeperette /

Oct 03, 2000 01:04AM

Got some heads-up from another 'ped owner on that one.

Apparently some mopeds that use a battery might have difficulty at anything below -10F, because of the slower chemistry.

Kickstarted and non-battery 'peds run fine.

Ree.

RE: Getting close to winter.

Tom /

Oct 09, 2000 08:56AM

The best way to store a moped is use fogging oil that they use for outboard motors.

First add the fuel stabilizer. Then start moped, with moped running squirt the fogging oil into carb until it stalls. Remove spark plug and then squirt some fogging oil into cylinder. put spark plug back in. Fogging oil can be picked up at any marine store. There is also directions on the can on how to use.

Tom

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