It seems there are only a handful of scooters sitting in the garage, but I thought I'd write on the subject of getting the scooter running after a long winter.
Remember, it's not good to leave gasoline sitting for a long time. The air changes the chemical composition, and it starts to become turpentine, which is not good for your engine at all.
Knowing this, I still got busy last year, and left about a quarter tank in my scooter before winter hit.
I took a ride down to our local auto parts store on Delmar (about four blocks away)
They're very helpful, and I explained that I left some gas in the tank over the winter. The guy there suggested this product called Sea Foam, which is a 100% pure petroleum product that cleans out everything in the fuel. It's a little pricey ($8 a bottle) but he says it will do the trick. It only takes a few ounces to clean up your engine, so if anyone needs any, I still have a bottle just sitting there.
If you've left gasoline in your scooter for more than a year or two, you might want to think about syphoning the gas out, taking it to a local garage to recycle, and starting anew. Ask an expert before you do.
The next step I needed 
to do was charge my battery. Under your seat you should have received a battery charger. This is a black box that has a cord on one end and a round plug-in jack on the other end. As you can see in the picture, what you need to do to charge your battery is to plug one end of your charger into the wall and the other into the little receptacle under your seat. Let it charge for a few hours.
to do was charge my battery. Under your seat you should have received a battery charger. This is a black box that has a cord on one end and a round plug-in jack on the other end. As you can see in the picture, what you need to do to charge your battery is to plug one end of your charger into the wall and the other into the little receptacle under your seat. Let it charge for a few hours.
Another option is your kick start. I don't know if this is a traditional kick start or if it just charges your battery. This is located on the left side of your scooter by your kickstand. Neil and I tried on his bike, and were a little confused by it. If you want to try it, stand on your bike with the kickstand off, and press down really hard with your foot. It's difficult to do, and the kickstand seems to get in the way. Tell me if this works for you.
After all of this, the scooter still didn't turn over on the first few tries. It took a lot of encouraging (at least 6-10 tries with the starter) but each time got better and finally it started. Once your battery is charged, taking it for a ride every now and then will keep the battery happy.
I filled it up with some fresh gas - I prefer 92 octane because it give it a little more pep - and I was on my way. Don't forget to keep up with the maintenance of your scooter. If you need some tips, you can look at the old blog post from last year *link*
One last thing you might check is the float in your gas tank. This controls the needle on your gas gauge. Sometimes it sticks, and you think you have more gas in your tank than you actually do. I forgot to look, and ran out of gas a few miles from home. Walking a scooter home (there were no gas stations along the way) was not a fun experience. There is a way to fix it, but it requires taking the tank off, so the easy way is to unscrew the cap and see how much gas you have left.
Wear your helmet, watch out for cars, potholes, gravel, etc. Take it easy on your ride and have fun on your bike this summer!
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