Scooter in Moncton

Thursday, December 07, 2006

The season is over. I was out of town on December 1st, and when I returned a couple of days later, there was 15-20cm of snow on the ground, road salt spread everywhere, and the mercury dipped to -15°C. All three of those spell an end, I'm afraid.

So I topped off the oil and gas, and added some fuel stabilizer to the gas tank as directed by the local Yamaha dealer. Unstabilized fuel will tend to develop a sort of varnish in the fuel line, and that's unhealthy for the engine, in the long run. So $5 to take care of it? Seems worth it. I intend, also, to remove the battery and bring it inside to prevent it from freezing. Freezing a lead-acid battery will destroy it's ability to hold a charge. Here's something else not everyone knows: Letting a car battery or other sealed lead-acid battery sit on a concrete floor will also sap its ability to hold a charge. I've never heard a satisfactory answer to the question of why, but it happens. I've lost two batteries myself to the phenomenon.

Anyway, in the 6 months that I owned it, now, I rode it. From June 9 up to and including November 30, it was possible this season to ride it. Having kept fuel records for my Nissan X-trail, I know how much it costs per km for me when I drive that when it comes to fuel costs. I also kept a log of the fuel costs in the scooter, and a journey log for the scooter, too. The idea was to see how much money I saved in gas by scooting instead of trucking. Turns out I saved just shy of $116 in gas that would have otherwise been burnt if I drove the truck on the errands, work commutes, appointments, etc. Not bad. It paid for insurance for the year and a bit extra, and was fun and convenient in the process. I'm satisfied with it.

1 Comments:

  • hey! i live in moncton and im 14....do you know what age you have to be to be able to drive one?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:58 AM  

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