Understanding Batteries

Batteries in scooters have a high attrition rate! This can however be minimised through an understanding of what it does and how it lives.

I will write about small capacity Scooter batteries (50cc) as they are most prone to failure. The average 50cc scooter runs a very small 4-5amp hr battery in comparison the average small car which runs a 20-30 amp hr battery. The average 50cc scooter when running only creates a usable charge adequate for any sort of re-charge from 50-100% throttle opening. By comparison even a small car with headlights on will create an effective re-charge at idle or above. What this means on the road is you would almost have to ride your 50cc from Cairns to Townsville non-stop at 100% throttle opening to effectively re-charge a flat battery.

The size difference from car to scooter batteries

In an effort to provide owners as much power as possible the Alternator in a 50cc is built as lightly as possible to minimise mechanical drag. A car by comparison charges at a much higher amperage rate (they take into consideration the maximum running load a car may have to provide - stereo, air con, high beam, indicators, and horn all operating at once). This is why a good indication of impending battery failure in a scooter is the horn and indicators doing funny things while at idle – aside from the fact you had to kick start it!

If a scooter is ridden regularly and is in good health ie; starts within 1-2 seconds of cranking the charge rate even on a short run is enough to replenish this depletion.

The battery will generally last at least 18 months to 2 years if it is a good quality maintenance free type, or level checked regularly if maintenance type.

Even sitting on a shelf a fully charged 4-5 amp hr scooter battery will self deplete within 3-4 weeks. Compound this with the inherent current draw of a scooter wiring harness (particularly if it is a Chinese scooter with the good for nothing “it will look good in the brochure” add on bell and whistle security system) and this can be as low as 1-2 weeks. Compound this again with a massive cold cranking effort due to the carburettor drying out and 10-15 seconds worth of engine vacuum alone required to prime the fuel system, the battery will just give up.

Every manufacturer will state in their owners manual that any scooter left for more than 5-7 days should be kick started at this time for this reason, it is also something sales people should stress on the delivery of any new or used scooter but rarely ever is.

If a scooter is used only intermittently (our Navy customers know of this, due to extended sailing times) the best advice is to fit the $65.00-$80.00 smart charger, it is cheaper than a replacement battery and emulates the charging cycle of a routinely ridden scooter. It works as follows; a small set of leads are attached to the battery via the clamp bolts, the lead is then run out through an access to a nondescript location (under body work away from hot or rotational mechanical components), this loose end has a one way male/female plug which has a matching plug which goes by a longer lead to a power pack that plugs in to your 240v house socket. The leads are usually long enough to reach a convenient outlet in the garage. What this unit does when switched and left on is monitor the battery level constantly and charge it as required when the level drops enough (5-10%) it will then turn itself off and stay dormant until again the level drops. These units will generally double the batteries life and it can be fitted to your next scooter and so on.

The Battery Fighter Junior - tried and tested by our Navy customers

A battery will fail primarily due to a powdery substance (Sulphate) which is a chemical by-product of electrolyses (battery discharging/charging). Sulphate collects in the bottom of each battery cell (6 of these in a 12 volt battery) and if left in this state or if the battery was rapidly discharged (see scooters sitting for extended periods) it can then create a dead short between the insulated lead plates inside, this is referred to as “dropping a cell” this is generally an unrecoverable state for a battery and is cause for replacement/disposal, if a battery has discharged over a long period from sitting it may be savable by re-charging using a low amperage deep charge (usually overnight or 12 hours) but every discharge will on average cause an efficiency loss of 5-15% every time.

At ScootaCo we will wet down and charge your battery just prior to delivery, so just like Maccas you are getting the freshest possible battery (that’s maybe not the best analogy), not one that has been sitting on the shelf for six months and by that stage possibly not much better than the one it replaces. We do need at least 30 minutes to allow this so please ring ahead or come back and pick it up after this time, all our batteries are dated the day they are wet down so they can be chronologically monitored.

The ScootaCo promise: Fresh batteries!...

Service and Repairs: The Difference

At ScootaCo we do our best to provide our clients with the most economical transport solutions possible; by this we mean the best quality scooters, the least possible down time, fuel economy with this form of transport is a given. This does not suggest our scooters or our hourly rate for labour are the “cheapest” they are however going to return the best possible dollar per mileage ratio by virtue of quality.

ScootaCo technicians regularly attend training courses on our product and are all enthusiasts in this type of product. What this means to our clients is they have people working on your scooter who are genuinely interested in what you ride and how you ride it and what this means to them when they are servicing or repairing your machine.

When you book your machine in with us all staff are trained to ask questions. These will usually start with “how many kilometres?” or “how long since the last service?” which will then lead us into more specific questions regarding what will be required on that particular service.

The ScootaCo Workshop; end of day - everyone has gone home.

A quick couple of tangents - all scooters have a recommended kilometre or time based service schedule. A big kilometre rider will require routine servicing on a regular basis due obviously to the high kilometre usage. We have one owner with a 125cc machine which is clocking 15000 kms or more every 6 months: this is “big kilometres”. The flip side of this is the city commuter/rider who lives 2-3 kms from home to work and clocks less than 2500kms per year. They will still require regular servicing due to the short stop start riding and general deterioration of fluids and rubber etc.

To define “Service”; this is routine attention to items that are either wear and tear or require regular adjustment. If your bike is making funny noises has poor performance or a myriad of other symptoms this is then regarded as “Repair”. This is not to say that a “serviceable” component is not contributing to this type of anomaly, however if the bike is receiving “regular scheduled service” this is generally not the case.

Services are usually able to be in and out within a morning or afternoon (worst case scenario in early AM-out PM). We also do offer our rental Zip50 at $25 for that period which is cheaper than a Taxi return and allows you freedom to get out at lunch if need be. Most routine services are also able to be estimated to within $20 dollars prior to commencement of work. Your owner’s manual will give the schedule for your particular scooter. General rule of thumb is however 50-200cc machines every 2,500kms or 8-12 months - whichever comes first.

This is a repair. Photo owned by PJ Chmiel.

Repair work is a different as due to the unpredictable nature of mechanical repairs and parts supply can be very hard to determine what is required until identification and/or diagnosis of the fault can be performed. Like most service type entities we charge by the hour to perform this with most diagnosis taking at least 30 mins at $90.00 per hour + sundries. This is usually a minimum of $50.00 then of course the hourly rate to repair that fault once identified. Again we pride ourselves on being accurate in this regard and can generally get to within $50 of the initial estimate on repair completion.

We do make every effort to contact our customers should we find hidden repairs once work has commenced and subsequently ask for confirmation to proceed beyond that point. We can also provide recommendations for further repairs based on a Priority versus Budget basis at any time a bike is in our workshop.

Like a Doctor’s surgery we work on getting machines in and out at the promised times so we do ask people to call and re-book if they are unable to make the agreed appointment time. We are generally able to shuffle smaller jobs around on any given day so running a little late does not necessarily mean we will not get the bike in and out on that same day.