Mopeds

Starting a Scooter

The scooter parking lot at UCLA
(University of California, Los Angeles)
See Back to school on a scooter
Even in scooter-unfriendly Southern California,
scooters appeal at least to the academics.

It does not take many days of disuse for a scooter to become hard-to-start. The batteries have very limited capacity (see motorscooter batteries), and particularly if an alarm system (see scooter alarm systems) is being used, a charge does not last long. Though scooters are generally equipped with kick-starters, they are not always easy to use, particularly with a hard-to-start engine. Scooter starting can be a challenge.

The quotidian checklist

• Be sure you are depressing the brake. You should know whether this is required on your scooter.
• Of course, the kill switch must be off. You knew that already, but it is one of the most common problems.
• Some ignition switches can be flakey and not make proper contact. Make sure th switch is fully in the on postition.

Getting serious

• Try the kick-starter. Never give any throttle to begin with -- it is very hard unflood a scooter with a kickstarter. After a few times, try just a little throttle.
• Check the fuse. Usually in the battery compartment, there should be a spare present and the state of the fuse should be clearly visible. Replace if there is any question.

Getting more serious

• If the electric starter will not turn the engine over, a jump is possible, but jump starting a scooter from a car is a touchy process. Never have the car running -- a full charging car would overwhelm the scooter electrical system. Touch the lead only briefly to the terminals, just enough to give it a good turn-over. Too much can destroy the batter, voltage regulator and other sensitive electrical components. parts.
• If the machine remains obdurate, there is a good chance that there is simply no spark. Check the line to the spark plug and, as a last resort, the plug itself.

It is always a good idea to use a 2 amp trickle charger whenever a scooter is left unused for any period of time. Some scooters simply don't charge themselves well enough and require help.