First ride of the year!

[mjhoward]

Well, last week it got into the 50's so I was really wanting to hop back on the scoot after a few months of sitting in the garage. Unfortunately the alarm I had installed had completely drained the battery so I had to let it sit overnight on the charger. The next day was much cooler and sprinkling but I didnt care. I fired her up and she started with no problems. I had to let it sit and idle for a few minutes though because whenever I twisted the throttle a little bit, it would sound bogged down and start to idle real low. After just a couple of minutes she was purring like a kitten and off I went! I only rode for a couple of miles around the neighborhood but now I'm more anxious than ever for the Spring!

[hotshoe]

Yeh, it's always good to get a ride in after a little down time . I haven't been interested in doing so for the last few weeks either what with all the rain and temps in the 30's & 40's. Yesterday I did go for a 45 mile ride however even tho starting out it was about 39 deg and I don't know what the wind temp would have been at 75mph for most of the time Coming home was quite nice tho when it warmed up into the 50's. Of course here in Az we don't put our bikes up for the winter, but I can't get enthused about riding with all that cold weather gear on..just too restricting & cumbersome.

[PVPiaggio]

Here's something you might consider buying, a very nice battery tender:

http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-Ju ... sim_auto_5

A friend of mine in TX has this model for his Harley and is very happy with it. I bought it on his recommendation and it is hooked up to my Piaggio BV500. I like it very much and it keeps the battery at full charge. While I can and do ride in the winter, I don't ride as often as I'd like as it has been rather cold in the mornings when I usually go to town to work out.

[scooterjunkie]

I have had the Battery Tender for some years now and yes they do a good job as do other brands of trickle chargers. The Battery Tender does have better indicators of how the battery is being charged & when it is fully charged. I also have a Shumacher trickle charger which has been a good one also but has no indicators of charging progress. It does, however, automatically shut down to a minimum wattage when the battery is fully charged. I keep that one on the mower/trimmer's battery.

[jmkjr72]

i had olive out yesterday it was a balmy 20 deg
z is still naked and will need a new battery(the tender got knocked off and the battery froze and wont charge back up but this would have been the third season in it) on top of pipe temp guage and throttle cable the lc bbk is going to make this thing scream

[mjhoward]

I've actually got a battery tender BUT the manufacturer of the alarm I put on the scoot recommends disconnecting the battery anytime I want to charge it :( This is a bit of a PITA lol.