I can't start up my bws (zuma) again. (cold weather/winter storage problem)

[kyo2020]

due to the fact that i live in a townhouse where there is no in-door parking
i am forced to leave my 2002 yamaha bws (zuma) outside over the winter.

i had problem starting up my scooter last winter already since i did not did any preparations at all. (ended up bringing my scooter to Yamaha n paid around $300cdn to have it all taken care of...)

this time, I did some research and learned to do a few things before letting my scooter sit outside the cold for a month or so during the winter...

-i put the correct amount of stabilizer into my gas tank and i drove around it for at least 30min.
-i pulled out the battery and charged it up at home for storage.


just today I put back my fully charged battery and tried to start up my scooter. no luck. (it sounded like it tried to start when I press my start button, the 'starting' sound last only a second or so)

what's wrong?!

i really don't want to tow my scooter to yamaha and pay hundreds again..

[mikal]

Get a cover for it. That might help keep a little moisture away from it.
Kickstart it. Don't use the E-start when its been sitting for a while, you're just putting
unneccesary stress on the battery.
Try to find the airbox, and create a semi-plug for the air intake to artificially choke it. The
E-starts and autochokes suck in cold weather.
If you can get a trickle charger run to it, that would be a good idea.
Don't pay your dealer anymore money either.

[kyo2020]

Ok.. I really want to get my scooter up and running again since the weather are getting really good these days.

I am hoping an local member on this forum can give me a hand on this.

I am located in Burnaby (Vancouver) BC, Canada.
Last summer, somebody did offered to help. I believe his nickname here was 'g-slide'
I tried pm-ing you again. but your mailbox was full. It would be great if you are still around my area and are able to come take a look.

i am willing to pay a reasonable amount for the help. Thanks!

[Carlson]

Sorry I can't offer any help with your problem, but I can tell you what my Grandson did about his. He was attending Northwestern Univ in Illinois. He was working evenings and weekends and lived off campus. He had about a 1 mile trip to school and 2 mile trip to where he worked. So he had an old Honda 2 stroke scooter that he used. But the winters in that part of Illinois can be real nasty. He lived off campus and had the same problem as you, he had to leave the scooter out in the elements, chained up, covered for many days. So, for his last 2 years at College, what he did was buy an old Van, he removed the back seat, he made a ramp out of some heavy plywood, and he kept his scoot in the back of the Van. Not only during bad weather, but at night as well. Probably a better deal than an un-heated garage. Plus when he came home for holidays or spring break, he had his scoot to ride around town, with him. He said the only draw back was some gas/oil odor, he kept one of those de-ordorizers in the van or drove with the windows down. :)

[kdx80boy]

I had similar problems a few weeks ago. What I found is the auto choke is very sensitive. In order to use it, you have to turn the key to on, fully twist the throttle once and release it. Then try to start without touching the throttle at all. That worked for me at least.

[hybridrazz]

Also keep the spark plug in mind, a weak spark in cold weather probably wont start the engine, but also the choke, you can convert to a manual choke but it would require upgrades.