Stranded.

[nightrider]

12:50 AM after 8 hours of work. Cold and rainy. Bike turns over with clacking sound but won't start.

Apparently no one in LA has jumper cables, cabs won't jump you, AAA won't jump start a motorcycle, and tow trucks won't either. If you go battery-dead in LA you might as well be a disease ridden wild animal from the hills.

2 hours later I ask the night kitchen cleaning guy and he mumbles something... I ask him again... he has some. now I am home.

I am wondering why I have to keep taking my battery out and recharging it. I charged it no longer than 3 months ago.

1: this is normal
2: my flickery neutral light is a short and causing drain, maybe esp. after rained on
3: I do a lot of short trips
4: alternator
5: change battery (not even 2 yrs old I think)

[Kasumi]

It sounds like a perfectly natural thing due to the conditions your riding under. Im pretty sure your neutral light won't be draining enough power to be your problem , however it doesn't help the problem.

Its extremely common for motorcycle batteries to lose charge if you only ever do lots of short trips. Ive said it time and again. It takes alot to start an engine in terms of drain on the battery so naturally it takes a fair while to recover that charge and if your not running your bike for long enough at a high enough rpm then your not getting enough extra power (after you factor out running the lights and engine etc...) to recharge the battery. So each run your battery is getting steadily less charged as your not recovering what your using.

Its not uncommon to notice hard starting either as the battery doesn't have enough uumph when the the battery is on low charge.

Obviously these problems get worse with age as things get less efficient, wiring and alternator and bulbs and stuff but short of buying a new electrical system (which won't really greatly improve problems) you just have to do what most do.

Buy a trickle charger, wire it directly to the battery using the quick clip arrangment that usually come with them, You leave a little wire hanging out on the outside of the bike and you plug your charger in to it when you get back from a ride. Leave the bike trickle charging all the time your not riding. A trickle charger will exercise the battery so you don't need to worry about "destroying the memory" of the battery these chargers are designed to be left on all the time. This will fix all your problems.

[nightrider]

 






lots of multiple starts lately as it is colder.

[nastynate6695]

no hills to bump start the thing..and now friends to call to assist?  doesnt sound like you are enjoying your ride time.

[GeeP]

An average daily moto-commute should be at least 300 miles!   

Check the electrolyte level in your battery.  If that's OK, I agree with Kasumi.  If the trips are under 5-10 miles you're not fully recharging the battery after each start.  A trickle charger is cheap insurance, especially in the winter when you experience harder starting and tend to wear heated gear.

[ohgood]

+1 on the trickle charger. Good call.

1) Pull your connectors and put some vaseline on them, or whatever dielectric stuff you like.
2) Put a headlight interrupt relay inline to kill the headlight during starter operation. (this works wonders)
3) Switch what you can to LED's. Proper flasher setup means less current draw when using them.
4) Keep the revs up. Not insanely high, just up. IIRC anything over 5,000 rpm is decent charging.
5) Keep your bike tuned so it fires on the first hit of the starter. Winding that thing really kills batteries.
6) Is your idle at 1200 rpm ?
7) Clean your battery terminals.
Insure ALL your high amperage leads are in good condition.
9) How's your electrics doing on the bars ? Keep them cleaned up and lubricated to prevent corrosion.
10) I can't think of any more. Replace your battery once a year if you like. I'm going on 2 years with a $30 walmart battery. And I had fuel starvation today

Good luck. Practice bump starting

[beRto]

I agree that your riding conditions are not ideal from a battery charging perspective. As has already been stated, a battery tender when parked at home will definitely help.

If you are still concerned about the alternator, Kerry has posted a how-to that will help you test it http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=38480.0 (follow the alternator section: steps 1 - 20, which won't take more than 1 hour). You will only need a multimeter, which are quite accurate and not expensive.

Current drain can be tested by the following procedure outlined in the Haynes manual:


click here for the high-resolution version.

[ecpreston]

I don't have anything to add on your charging issues, but did you even try roll-starting it? I've found it quite easy to do on these bikes on a flat surface by myself. Sit on bike, shift to nuetral, kick it along as fast as you can, clutch, pop into first and let it out. Away you go! 

[sledge]

If the neutral light is flickering with the engine running it wont cause any drain, but if it stays on with the ignition off it will. Sounds like it could be a duff Reg/Rect to me, if one of the diodes in there has blown and shorted out it wont fully charge the battery and it will allow a high resistance short to earth, upshot being the battery will slowly drain with the engine stopped as a result.
Get an ammeter or low wattage bulb in the positive line from the battery, either will indicate a drain to earth with the ignition turned off. Or just disconnect the R/R while the bike is stood and see if it still drains. First thing to do is rule the battery out, get it load tested and make sure its holding charge.

[Ronin]

Saw an idiot on Youtube last night hook a tow strap to a Nice Yamaha sportbike and had a jeep pull him while he poped the clutch....Your right it didn't end well.The bike stalled and with him in gear the jeep dragged the bike about 20ft!! Was a nice paint job! Dumb Ass

[nightrider]

Berto and Sledge thanks for the detailed instructions I'll pick up an ammeter and follow them within the week. Will post results.

[TragicImage]

Join Socal-Sportbikes.com and soon you'll have plenty of people to ride with, hang out with, and even a few people who will drive 30 minutes to help you push start your bike.


Its an LA/San Diego area riding group with few morons.... a real gem.

or!

SportbikeR.net  (Not SportbikeS.net)