There is a lot of information (good and bad) about what to do in order to prepare your scooter for winter/long-term storage. To help make things simpler,
Scooterworks has collected the best tips in one place. These are tried and true methods to get your scooter through the cold winter months, and - while some of the instructions are
vintage-Vespa-centric, they contain plenty of tips that are good practice for all scooterists.
BATTERY STORAGE
If you do JUST ONE THING on this list, this should be it: store a battery over the winter by removing it from your scooter and bringing it inside, into a warm place. It's also important to charge the battery once every 2-3 weeks (a battery tender is perfect for this job) in order to keep it "alive". This is because scooters use lead-acid batteries that have liquid in them, and while their freezing temperature very low, the battery can slowly lose charge over time, which raises the freezing temperature. Once the battry acid freezes once, the battery is useless, and you'll have to get a new battery.
 12v Battery Tender - example |
If the scooter is being used regularly throughout the winter, then the battery shouldn't be an issue, but if you put your scooter away in November and forget about it until April, you'll probably have to buy a new battery in the spring.
FUEL TANK
Gasoline and oil can break down and turn to varnish when sitting too long, which can cause carburetors, fuel valves, and other parts to "gum up" if you try to push old gas through the fuel system. Old fuel won't burn as well as fresh gas, either, and scooters with steel gas tanks can begin to rust from the inside condensation coming off the fuel while it's in storage. For these and many other reasons, it becomes important to take precautions with your fuel. The most popular two "proactive remedies" are included, below.
OPTION 1
fill the fuel tank to the brim with fresh gasoline, and add a bit of Star*Tron or other fuel stabilizer. This prevents gas from breaking down over the winter and keeps the sides of the gas tank from being exposed to air and moisture.
OPTION 2
drain the fuel tank completely, then spray the sides of the tank with an oil-based lubricant (like WD-40 or Motion Pro) to coat them and protect against damage from moisture.
If you didn't take steps to clean out the fuel tank, or if you missed a bit of fuel and gummed up the carb, anyway, use Iphone's carb cleaner spray to clean it out.
CARBURETOR AND MOTOR
As with the fuel left over in the gas tank, any fuel and oil in the engine and carb can break down over the winter. If you've decided to store your bike with a full tank over the winter (option 1, above), ride the bike (or let it run) for a few minutes before putting it away for the winter. This short run with treated fuel will help minimize the risk of the fuel going bad over the winter.
If you have a manual fuel valve, turn the valve to the "off" position and run the scooter until it "dies". Then, open the choke and start the bike again, running it until it won't run anymore. These steps will drain nearly all the gasoline out of the float bowl, as well.
GEARBOX / ENGINE OIL
This is primarily relevant to manual-transmission Vespa and Genuine Stella models, but applies to more "modern" scooters as well. Dirt and deposits will separate out of old oil as it's sitting and eventually settle at the bottom of the scooter's gearbox. If you leave a "due" oil change to wait until spring, all the deposits left in the gearbox will contaminate the new transmission oil as soon as it's poured in. To prevent that, it's a good idea to change your bike's oil and perform any necessary tune-ups before the bike goes into long-term storage.
The above applies to crankcase oil also.
CYLINDER AND EXHAUST
Cover the tailpipe's exhaust exit, which will keep moisture from creeping up the pipe and into the cylinder. A wadded shop cloth or simple "plastic bag and a rubber band" will do the trick.
For the cylinder, simply remove the spark plug and pour a cap-full of motor oil into the cylinder (the motor oil will lube and protect both ends of the crankshaft and cylinder) then, kick the motor over once or twice to spread the oil around the crank and cylinder before replacing the spark plug (while the plug's out, check the carb jetting).
OTHER PARTS
If you're keeping scooters outside during the winter, keep it under a scooter cover and as well protected as possible from the elements. If you can, get it in a shed or a friend’s garage. Some scooter shops offer winter storage for a reasonable fee. If you'll be storing the scooter long-term (more than just over the winter), it's a good idea to put it up on blocs and deflate the tires to keep the tires from rotting.
 Scooterworks Winterization Kit (Buddy/Rattler/Roughhouse 50, shown) |
Scooterworks offers a number of "
winterization kits" for different scooter models to help make these preparations easier. If you have any scooter-specific winter storage questions, though, feel free to contact Scooterworks'
Technical Support staff, or call 1.888.96.VESPA.