Advice for Really Cold Riding

[JKLz17]

Hey all,
I'm new to the forum, been riding my Super 8 for around 3.5 years now. My scoot's my only way around town now that I'm in college, so this winter, I haven't had the luxury of my parents carting me around in their car. It's gotten cold here in Ohio (talking between 10-20 F) , and I've been running into some issues.

First, I just recently took a two week vacation over seas, during which my dad said he would periodically start up the scooter. I topped off my gas tank and left the battery in so he could start it up. During that two week stretch, it got really cold, and my dad couldn't get the scooter started. When I got back, I was able to start the scooter by kicking it, then left it to warm up while I shoveled the driveway (it was probably around 10-12 degrees). Afterwards, I realized that my scooter at some point had shut off (the engine had shut off, dash light and brake light were still working, and I assume if I had tried, the horn and blinkers would have worked too). Even after I charged the battery with a tender, it failed to start, until finally we jump started it. My scooter had always been hard to start in that kind of weather, but this never happened to me before. After this event, my scooter starts up, although inconsistently, every time I have somewhere to get to.

In this cold weather, even after letting it sit and warm up for a few minutes, the scooter's RPM will drop substantially during deceleration. It has even stalled on me a few times. There also seems to be the happy zone when I let it warm up. If I leave it for too long, the scooter stalls if I give it any throttle, even if it's on it's center stand. The same happens if I don't wait long enough.

I was wondering if anyone on this forum has these problems as well, and has any advice on things I could do help alleviate these problems. The difficult starting procedure I can deal with. I've only explained it in case it pertained to the problem that I'm having. More importantly, stalling on the road is quite scary, especially because there's no easy way to get it started back up (because you need to brake and start. Usually the bike will start right back up if it does stall). Just wondering if perhaps something is acting the way it should, or if there is a fix I could do to keep me safer on the roads.

Thanks a lot!
JKLz17

[BettinANDlosing]

Hello there! A few questions, did you get the bike new or used? Has it sat for more than 2 weeks in the 3.5 yr you have owned it? I would say the carb sounds partially clogged, most likely the idle circuit. Also it helps with these carbonated scooters it helps in the winter to enrich the fuel mixture screw 1/4 turn for the cold weather (counter clockwise). Average battery life is 2-3 yr so it sounds like you could use a new battery also. Make sure you are adjusting the valves a couple times a year depending on how much you ride. These are just what it COULD be.

[JKLz17]

Thanks for the quick reply! In response to your questions, I got the bike new, and no, I do not believe that it has sat for more than 2 weeks. Thanks for your suggestions. I wasn't aware that the valves had to be adjusted several times a year, was just following the maintenance manual. When you say 1/4 turn on the screw, am I right in assuming you are talking about the screw attached to the throttle body (moves when you open the throttle)? Sorry, my knowledge of engines is severely limited.

[manimal]

adjust the valves a couple times a year, really?! That seems excessive. I find it hard to believe that valves would fall out of spec that frequently, even for a reputable Chinese spec'd motor.

Now having 14xx miles on my S8, my last service I had the valves checked and adjusted. Regretfully, I should have asked for a data sheet (before and after, if adjusted). I was told by the service tech, the valves were in spec.

[Stig / Major Tom]

As a fellow Ohioan who is commuting on a scooter....I'm concerned about this young person's plight.
Say, B&L, would some carb cleaner (seafoam) help, along with an installation of the correct Iridium spark plug?
Perhaps carb fiddling and valve adjustment might be asking too much of this rider?
Not sure how difficult a plug install is for this scooter...but the Iridium NGK gave me a very healthy idle and strong running on deceleration. $8 at any car parts store, overnight.
Add a battery if these 2 don't help....and then hang on until he can get the valves looked at in a few weeks, come spring?
Thinking out loud here....
Stig

[BettinANDlosing]

adjust the valves a couple times a year, really?! That seems excessive. I find it hard to believe that valves would fall out of spec that frequently, even for a reputable Chinese spec'd motor.

Now having 14xx miles on my S8, my last service I had the valves checked and adjusted. Regretfully, I should have asked for a data sheet (before and after, if adjusted). I was told by the service tech, the valves were in spec.

Depends how you ride, i put 10,000 on my 250 last year, and am obsessed with maintaining it. SPI i did my valves prolly 6-7 times last year lol. I make a habit of 1000-2000km adjustments.
I hear a lot of good about seafoam, personally i think it's a baindaid. There's no substitute to taking the carb out and giving it a good fondle, seafoam will not fully unclog jets. It doesn't even touch the air circuits in the carb. I have a suspicion is his mixture screws, I've seen them come set 0 turns out straight from Kymco.

[wkreps]

How often should one clean the carb under normal circumstances just to keep it tip top? Once a year? Once every couple years?

[BettinANDlosing]

How often should one clean the carb under normal circumstances just to keep it tip top? Once a year? Once every couple years?

If you ride your scoot every day and use non-ethanol fuel, you shouldn't have to clean it ever. If your bike sits for a few weeks and it has ethanol fuel, I would clean it before each spring. I'm constantly taking the carbs out of my bikes to play around with jetting, and any time I have the float bowl off give a few squirts of carb cleaner in the trouble prone spots (idle jet, idle jet circuit, choke circuit). Seafoam may be a good preventative measure, but will NOT fix a clogged carb. That's all I meant to say, not bashing on seafoam, obviously a good product seeing how many use it. I just prefer to open the carb up, and know for a 100% fact every passageway is clean! Ethanol is the main culprit, bikes that sit for 1+ year I will open up and they will sometimes have the float bowl totally filled up with ethanol/water mixture that turns into a thick white gel. Nasty stuff..... Thanks Govmnt.!!! It's funny because if you look in any of our bikes owners manuals, they will specifically say "don't use ethanol fuel", well 90% of stations are e10 hahahaha. Same with old cars, ethanol will DESTROY things in pre 90s cars.

[wkreps]

Guess I'll take mine off and clean it. I bought a 2013 model in March 2014 and have had just a few times where it seemed to not want to start and a couple more that it started fine but died after a minute of warmup time. I sense another video coming. Winter IS the best time to do this.

[Nireen]

OK a dummy question?  What is ethanol mean?  I always put SUPER CLEAN GAS in my scoot.  Is that a good thing? Kathryn.

[bucray]

move south

[Stig / Major Tom]

OK a dummy question?  What is ethanol mean?  I always put SUPER CLEAN GAS in my scoot.  Is that a good thing? Kathryn.

Hi Kathryn,
Ethanol is an additive which is in the gasoline in a whole lot of areas in the USA.
My owner's manual says not to use it in my Kymco scooter - but that is somewhat silly since there are no ethanol-free gas stations anywhere around here.
I have ridden my two scooters over 11,000 miles using ethanol laced gasoline with no problems.
They could not sell scooters unless they could safely run just fine on ethanol/gasoline.
Some engines do not like to sit unused for extended periods of time.

Bottom line: if your scooter runs good on your "Super Clean Gas" - you have nothing to worry about. If in doubt give your scooter shop a call.

and......there are no dumb questions on scooter forums. If we were very smart - we wouldn't be riding plastic scooters in traffic!!!
Stig

[DMblues01]

As far as cold starts go, I have to warm my 2012 Super8 150 for a good 10 minutes if the temps are below 40 degrees F.
Carburated engines are always cold natured in the winter. Had the same issues with a couple of old cars I used to own.
When the engine's cold, it probably won't allow any throttle input at all without stalling out.
Once it's fully warmed up, my Supe runs perfect in cold weather. And I've ridden in single digit temps this winter.
I will agree with Bettin on cleaning the carb. It could get some buildup in the jets after a bit.
I had mine cleaned last fall, when it was at the dealer, and I run an ounce of Seafoam every 3rd or 4th tank as preventative.
Dealer said the carb had virtually no buildup when they cleaned it. Seafoam is great for preventative, but as stated, it WON'T clean a dirty carb.

-Duke