I have a 2005 s40.If you start your bike a couple times a week ,and let it run for 5 minutes in the winter ( sometimes it's o to 20 degrees in CT),in the garage,will that be sufficient,to keep the battery charged,or should you winterize the bike ,and remove the battery,or whats the simplest way to get through the winter?

--Put a connector on the battery for a trickle charger.  That would be an automatic charger in the .75 to 1.33 amp range.  The connector is simply two wires, one to each battery terminal, ending in a special plug to mate with the charger cable.  Check the electrolyte level in the battery at least once a year (probably in the spring) and bring up to the max level with distilled or deionized water.  Note that charging will raise the level, so if it needs a charge, just fill to the minimum, charge, then top off if needed.

--Change the engine oil before putting the cycle to bed for the winter.

--Either put stabilizer in the gas and run a bit to get it into the carburetor, or drain the tank and run the carb dry (my preference).

--Air up the tires.

Winter? Do you live in the southern hemisphere? Maybe for the southern tip of Argentina it's winter now, I suppose.

Periodic 5 minute idle runs aren't guaranteed to keep that battery fully charged.  My advice is to get a smart charger and keep the battery plugged in.

Getting at the battery isn't too hard, remove the seat, remove the left and right side covers, toolbag, and toolbag bracket cover, and remove battery.  Refill with distilled H2O and put it on a Battery Tender Jr for the winter.  25-40 bucks for one of those is a good investment on something you can use for many winters to guarantee a fresh clean start when spring arrives and you can use the bike full-time.

The freezing temperature of a battery depends on the battery's charge level.  Of course that information is from a battery charger marketing/product information sheet, so take it with a grain of salt.

I won't get into the other winterizing steps, that information is posted elsewhere and is easy to find, and everyone has their own winterizing philosophy and methods.

-Pabst

where are you ?
here at zone 6 i do what you state and never had a prob. w/ my 06..
save your $ and have a reason to go comune w/ your scoot during the cold months..

if you go to harbor feight's website, the sell a float charger for about 5 bucks... if you check a few times and wait, you can find it on sale for 2 about once a month...

bill67 wrote on 05/29/09 at 09:26:32:


Batteries discharge less the colder it is so below freezing won't hurt them. I agree the worst way of winterizing is starting the bike once in a while for 5 minutes. Come spring there's half discharged battery, empty tank, float bowls full of stale gas and crankcase full of moisture.

I wouldn't Start the bike for only 5 minutes a couple times a week like that. (i suspect a PO did that to mine and caused condensation in the muffler making it to rust thru after 3 years, With only 2700 miles on it.

The way i did mine last winter (bike sat outside covered all winter) is, Oil change then put stabil and sea foam into a full tank of gas and ran it around the block to get the mix into the carb. Shut it down and hooked up a battery tender to the battery.
My bike sat for 2 months or so and fired right up for a ride when we had a nice day. Then i put her back in sleep mode.. Basically, I kept the carb from gumming up and kept the battery maintained at a full charge.
Tenders start at $20.00