Insane idea for the Day, a.k.a. I Hate Batteries!

[jwgeorge]

OK, I just had a run-in with my second dead battery in the past week. I've had enough! 15 years ago I would have push-started the bike, but I am too old to be doing it now. So my question is: Can a hybrid engine case/transmission/etc be made to incorporate the kick starter from a GS450 or other Suzuki twin to a newer GS500E? I would kill for a kickstart lever on my GS! Any ideas???

[werase643]

you could probably swap a 400/425/450 into the gs and then put the 500 top end on it and electrics
I don't think there is a boss for the gear set to go on the 500

[tt_four]

Will a newer bike run with a dead battery? If it does and you try to push start it, will it eventually start and stay running? I know there are bikes that don't even have batteries, but I wasn't sure if it's one of those things where once you have one in the system, you need to have it.

[jeremy_nash]

I have push-started my bike without a battery in it at all, so theoretically it should work as long as you can spin the motor over fast enough to energize the stator

[pandy]

Wouldn't getting a new battery and installing the always-there hook-up wire for a trickle charger be easier? (Or perhaps that just my girly ez way of doing thangs  ). 

[gregvhen]

I have push-started my bike without a battery in it at all, so theoretically it should work as long as you can spin the motor over fast enough to energize the stator

you can ruin the stator if you run your bike without a battery though.

[the mole]

I used to have a GS450 (1982!), I don't recall it having a kick start. I usually have a flat battery problem when I switch off with the kill switch and forget to turn the key off (headlights are wired on full time in Australia). Otherwise I'm still on the original battery from '06.

[tt_four]

Wouldn't getting a new battery and installing the always-there hook-up wire for a trickle charger be easier? (Or perhaps that just my girly ez way of doing thangs  ). 

I've heard about people doing that. Is there any reason it's not a good idea to hook a battery up to a charger while it's still hooked up to the bike's electrical system? When spring first got here and I was just getting in a ride now and again and trying to get it running right I would pull the battery and put it on the charger if I wasn't going to ride the bike in more than a day or two, but it would've been nicer to just pull off the seat and hook the battery up while it was still in the bike.

[gregvhen]

yea, i always just pull the seat and hook up the charger, the reason i dont just have the "always-there" connection bolted on is cause i always disconnect the ground (bike's groun, not charger ground) from the battery just in case.  Sometimes (for some people) with some chargers, and in some cases......some how, electrical can get ruined by charging with the negitive hooked up.

[romulux]

I have an SAE connector that hooks directly to the battery tender jr.  It sticks out right by the seat on the right side.  I just pull into the garage and plug in.

[pandy]

I have an SAE connector that hooks directly to the battery tender jr.  It sticks out right by the seat on the right side.  I just pull into the garage and plug in.

Yup! This is what I have on my SVs under the back seat. Plug and play! I've never had any problem with my electrical with not disconnecting the negative. I just pull the rear seat off and plug in if I haven't ridden in a few days. I'm never going to let my battery die again.