I've had my scooter almost 3 years. Not much riding recently due to changes in schedule and responsibilities. Recently, I've been on it about once a month, with longer pauses in the winter, and recently extreme heat.
My scooter has been a little bit of a hard start due to limited use - I thought it was likely some fouling in the carburetor from sitting so long and limited use, combined with me flooding the carb trying to get it started. I pulled it out of the garage a few days ago and couldn't get it started. I ran the battery down in the process. Then tried to kick start it, and couldn't get that to work. So back in the garage and attached a battery charger. I was very happy to find an SAE battery connector installed, complete with a dust cap. I bought the bike new, and didn't expect to find one from the factory or dealer, but happy it was there.
Pulled it out yesterday, and started right up, no problem. The "hard start" I experienced before was just due to a low charge on the battery.
Lessons learned:
1. Hard starts are more likely due to a weak battery. Keep it charged, starts right up.
2. The SAE battery connector is a handy feature.