Starting a bike after a long time?

Alkers

Friend of mine has a 50cc moped, it's 2 years old, hasn't been started in about 15months. He wants to get it back on the road now?
Anything he should do before trying to start it?
Drain the petrol and replace it I assume?
Thanks

ShowUsYourXbox

Fresh two stroke, i don't think the petrol would made a big deal. Won't run great, but it should work.

If he's having trouble getting it started, get a can of Easy Start from an auto parts. Open up the carb and spray some in when its turning over.

madrab

petrol goes off around 6 months so i would replace that & get the battery fully charged, new spark plug (or really clean the old one)

also make sure to check the tyres to see if they have rotted/cracked after sitting up for a while

psicic

Just out of pure interest, post back here if you end up not having to jump it or recharge the battery before starting it.

My Dragstar had a break of three months and I needed to jump it to start it (but that's mostly due to the extra mods on the bike, I suppose), however I've had the pleasure of withnessing an XJR start after laying up for six months without a problem (though we had to block the air intake....but that's another story....)

saobh_ie

I'm nearly certain you'll need to jump it.

Jump leads to a car thats switched off or a bike thats running (and has been for five minutes).

Oryx

Be careful jump starting your bike from a car. The ampage on a scooter battery (4-5amp) is much lower and there is a risk of damaging the electrics on it. Get the battery charged instead.

Also check the brakes arent seized from lying up.

Elfish

KatieK wrote:

Be careful jump starting your bike from a car. The ampage on a scooter battery (4-5amp) is much lower and there is a risk of damaging the electrics on it. Get the battery charged instead.

Also check the brakes arent seized from lying up.

You are fine to jump a moped off a car. Modern mopeds are nearly all 12v. Just don't have car engine running.

Also, probably only need to drain bowl of carb rather than full tank.

All the best!

Wossack

Id say you'd be ok too with the car battery, as long as the car is not running - if you have it running, your 'lectrics will melt faster then the fuse will blow (current draw during startup is about 150-250amps )

I would have thought the carb would have drained itself by now (evaporated and left some nasties behind)

Id replace all consumables after such a long lay up - brakes, oil, petrol, coolant and check your tires as mentioned above - cracked tires are lethal :S

NiSmO

This post has been deleted.

macnab

I agree with NISmO but drain the carb as well. Also its a good idea to drain the fuel before a long lay-up and rinse out the tank before a start up. During the cold months condensation will build up inside the fuel tank due to differential temperatures. This will be worse if there is fuel in the tank, and worse again if the bike is outdoors.

Alkers

Got it up running today, took about 5min of kickstarting - starts first time with a kick now. We left it run for about an hour but the battery seems to be dead, it won't start electrically. How long would the bike need to be ran for to fully charge the battery?

macnab

An hours riding might do it. but if the battery is old or has been let run too flat then it might not charge at all.

yayamark

Simona1986 wrote:

Got it up running today, took about 5min of kickstarting - starts first time with a kick now. We left it run for about an hour but the battery seems to be dead, it won't start electrically. How long would the bike need to be ran for to fully charge the battery?

had a similar problem during the week battery dead. in the process of been changed

check the brake pads aswell and take it handy for the first 200 miles:eek:

Elfish

Simona1986 wrote:

Got it up running today, took about 5min of kickstarting - starts first time with a kick now. We left it run for about an hour but the battery seems to be dead, it won't start electrically. How long would the bike need to be ran for to fully charge the battery?

Hard to estimate how long it would take the engine to charge, anyway speed it up by leaving off electrics, eg llights etc.

Why not buy a cheapo charger - on offer in lidl last week for tenner. This will do the job if your battery is not too far gone.

The Doktor

The battery wont charge much at all by just leaving the bike running. You need to take it for a spin..
Just get a charger:D

Elfish

The Doktor wrote:

The battery wont charge much at all by just leaving the bike running. You need to take it for a spin..

Spot on Doktor, I'd misread it as saying went for a spin for an hour. Maybe she left it running with the throttle cable tied to fully open, sensible girl that she is