*We interrupt your normal daily moped blog-cast with this urgent weather message!*

Good afternoon folks! This is your local mopeder-ologist over at Break the Cycle Moto, Steen.  I’ve managed to hack into the mainframe of MOPED RICH to break the bad news to our extended moped fam!

There’s an 83% chance that winter shows up every year, and guess what ladies and gents…2020 is one of those years…The weather is forecasted to be crap with a chance of dark and is scheduled to continue until late March into April.

Don’t fret! With this “handy How to Winterize your Moped for Storage,” I’m about to share with you, you can save yourself literally hours of headaches and maybe have some fun in the process!!

Let’s cover the basics.. We all know moped tanks like to rust. Even if yours already has rust, let’s not make it worse!

WINTERIZE YOUR MOPED – 1. Full tank of premium gasoline

Having a full tank of gas prevents condensation from forming. You’ve seen what happens when a heatwave rolls through during the spring. Cold equipment that has sat stagnant all winter, begins to look like a nice tall glass of ice water during mid-summer. Sheets of moisture begin to blanket every piece of metal that happens to be cooler than the surrounding air. Droplets form and scurry downward gathering others along the way. *splat* on the ground!

Now imagine you left your tank half full…. This same weird phenomenon is happening inside of your gas tank! Droplets of water gathering and falling into your gas!  Not to mention, the bare metal is exposed to water AND oxygen, just some of the key ingredients for rust! *gag*

While we’re on the topic of gas, this brings us to our next item of interest.

WINTERIZE YOUR MOPED – 2. Fuel Stabilizer

Fuel stabilizers….this stuff brushes shoulders with “oil talk”. Someone’s uncle on some forum says that it didn’t do anything in his chevy 350, and we’ve got ourselves a perpetual rumor machine.

Let’s dabble in the facts, shall we?

One of the main concerns for the storage of gasoline/ethanol is that when fuel is stored for extended periods of time, it will begin to “phase separate”.  Phase separation occurs when enough water contaminates the gasoline, it will actually cause the ethanol to attach itself to the water molecules, leaving two distinct layers in the storage tank, a gasoline-only layer at the top and an ethanol/water “cocktail” along the bottom, check out the grody picture below..

According to PetroClean This phase separation of the gasoline/ethanol mix will actually lower the octane number of the fuel and may cause knocking (pre-detonation) in an engine, while sometimes the engine will not even think about running on the ethanol/water layer.

In short, a Fuel stabilizer prevents oxidation and chemical breakdown of fuel. The fuel stabilizer will absorb water before your fuel has a chance to do the same!  Be sure to run your bike 5-10 minutes after adding the stabilizer to be sure it’s throughout the entire fuel system.

If you ask me, it sounds like cheap insurance!

Now…

BEST FUEL STABILIZER – WINTERIZING TWO-STROKE ENGINES

I don’t know about you, but I’m a nut over Maxima products. They always exceeded my expectations, so they are my #1 one on my list of (Two), because too many choices suck.

You can find it here – Maxima 88901 Fuel Stabilizer  

Second, on my list is Star-Tron. When this stuff started showing up at the cash register of every moto related business, I had to give it a try. It has not disappointed! I have personally put some in some phased gas/ethanol mix and watched as the mixture became re-congealed.  Impressive. Best yet my lawnmower starts every spring because of this stuff!

You can find it  here – Startron Enzyme Fuel Stabilizer

HOW TO WINTERIZE YOUR TWO-STROKE MOPED – TIRES

Let’s talk a little bit about shoes…You must have heard your Dad or some relative complaining at some point. “I can’t stand on concrete with these shoes, it kills my back!” Imagine how your moped feels sitting in one spot all season!

Dry rot is every moped owners worst nightmare, (worse than winter). Let’s take a look at what causes dry rot.

• Extremely low temperatures
• High temperatures
• Long periods of disuse
• Ozone generated by electrical equipment
• Underinflation

During winter storage moped tires like to lose some air. You know molecules becoming denser in the cold yada yada, under-inflation is one of the leading causes. I’m sure you’ve seen a vintage bike who’s tires have completely given up. Looking like an elephant’s foot molding itself to the cold bare ground. Baring visible signs of stress through cracks, all from extended standing. You can prevent that by keeping your tires inflated and rolling the bike around with some weight on it. It seems a bit excessive for some but a little care goes a long way!

WINTERIZE YOUR TWO-STROKE  MOPED – 3. Keep your tires filled.

While you’re there, feel free to sit on your bike and make moped noises while rolling back and forth. No really! It’s good for it!

Extreme cold is another culprit of dry rot, take care where you decided to store your moped. To be honest both of my personal bikes are in my warm office with me as I write this blog! If you’re cold they’re cold too!

This last part is for the handful of Vespa moped owners (and closet scooter riders 😉 )

WINTERIZE YOUR MOTORCYCLE – 4. Store your battery inside!

Lead-acid batteries that are not fully charged prior to winter storage, can actually freeze and completely ruin the battery. If they are fully charged they have less likely of a chance to freeze.

Your best option is to remove the battery completely and put it on a trickle/float charger. Thus preventing your battery from falling below a “safe” voltage.

From my multiple years of owning motorcycles, I’ve tried AMG, LiPo, Gel and more. But I keep coming back to lead-acid. I have forgotten to remove the batteries numerous times, and lead-acid will start the bike every spring for 4-5 years.

My favorite trickle charger to maintain my battery is the Battery Tender Junior! It’s so small, I just keep it in my panniers so I never lose it! It’s a great buy and can be found here!

Battery Tender Junior

EXTRA TIP

These quick simple preventative things not costing more than 40 dollars can save you literally hundreds of dollars worth of repairs come spring. Choose wisely!

Now for the very very last one. This one is if you decide to do none of these items. It’s a simple print out that you can hang on the wall and it will help ease the pain of a non-running moped. 🙂

Break The Cycle Moto

Hey, Moped Rich fan! My name is Steen, I’m a blogger over at Break The Cycle Moto. I want to take this time to give a MASSIVE thanks to MOPED RICH for allowing me to come to their wonderfully curated website and smear my “mostly” constructive moto rant on their walls! THANK YOU!!! <3 <3 <3

If you found this article entertaining or informative, come on over and join our growing moped fam at BTC! I post VERY often and keep the punches rolling to stimulate the moped community into talking more about a subject. I like to have a little bit of fun with it, and I hope you do too! Don’t forget Moped Rich and Break the Cycle Moto are both “small people”! If you enjoy the content, be sure to show your love by clicking ads you find interesting, signing up for our e-mail list, and most importantly, sharing articles and postings that you enjoyed!

P.S. Check out Meat Loaf Moped Rally 2020 <3.

Thank you guys! See you soon!