Like Chipmunks, skampering . . .

to prepare for winter. (One down, Two to go) Yes, my Suzuki SV650k4 is now resting comfortably for the winter. Stabilized and battery tendered. Now it was time to prepare another scooter for hibernation. While it was cool on Saturday, the sun decided to make another appearance so my plan was to DIG out our Yamaha Vino which has been in the back of our garage since its last use sometime around June or July, can't remember. We purchased insurance for it for the summer but only managed to use it once and now we are putting it away for the season



My plan was to use it for the day and get fuel stabilizer into the fuel system before I got home. It took a few "kicks" to get it running but not bad for not being used for over 3 months.



Before I started off, my usual practice is to add fuel stabilizer to the tank right away, then before I get home I will stop off at a gas station to TOP OFF and again add the appropriate amount to the tank. All my bikes are stored with a full tank to minimize condensation but I don't believe that it is critical on my scoots as the fuel tanks are usually plastic, not metal as on my Suzuki.

After I prepped everything up I was ready to leave. I hopped on my scoot and proceeded down the street but something didn't seem right. The rear tire was fishtailing a bit, so I went around the block and came back. I should have checked the tire pressures before I left, but as I had a new rear tire and rim installed a few months back, I presumed that the air pressure would have held but I was wrong. A quick check of my tire pressure gauge revealed that the rear was down a few PSI and the front was also down a smidgeon. Lucky thing I have my own air compressor



Of course I am a little space challenged so it was a minor inconvenience getting all my tools out but I managed to get all my bits together and get the job done. The rear tire was down to 20 psi and according to the label it should have been 25 psi, so I filled it to 26. The front was only down a LB.

It didn't seem right to only ride the Vino around the neighbourhood so I took it down to the scoot shop to socialize for a while



I think my Vino looks very happy being parked among those other italian beauties. It sort of blends in, don't you think ?



We stayed there for about an hour or so, then I left to do some errands on the way home. While I am used to having more power with my Maxi-Scoot, it is humbling sometimes to ride something of a smaller scale. It is more of a challenge travelling on the "faster" routes (cagers usually travel faster than the speed limit) so you have to be more diligent in selecting your routes, after all, you don't want to be "dead right" . As long as the traffic is congested you are fine for everything moves at a slower pace. I went to an auto parts store where parking is at a premium and I didn't feel guilty at all parking in the bike rack. Actually there was another scoot (electric) there as well and I parked beside it. The Vino is a small machine so it blended in nicely. There was no way that I could have parked my maxi-scoot there on the sidewalk, so there are advantages to having a smaller scoot around.



Yes, we made it home safe and sound. I think that todays mileage nearly equalled the total mileage ridden on the Vino for the whole year and that'll be it for the season. (count: now 2 down and 1 to go)