Ladies On Two Wheels

So..

I suspect I have a bad battery -


I'd say its failing the load test, wouldn't you?
*sigh*
Left side is after I had it off the tender, but after attempting to turn the key on a couple times.

Right side is what it's doing when the key is in the "on" position.
Another friend suggested I try to push start the bike...but I'm a bit apprehensive on this just because 1) I'm afraid I'd drop it... 2) if it doesn't work I have to push the bike back up the hill to my house 3) even if I mange to get the thing started, I'm not convinced it's going to remain happy for long if that's what the battery is doing...

Anyone here ever push start their bike? Do you run along side it or do you get on it and try to get momentum going down a hill? Since I can't flat foot my bike I also don't think I could get sufficient speed up by sitting on it and trying to urge it down the hill while I'm *on* the bike...if i'm reading/watching right, it looks like you get the bike up to speed with the clutch in, then let the clutch out to engage the wheel, and in theory you're supposed to give it gas at this point and perhaps press the ignition switch...

My bike is fuel injected with an electronic starter - so given that the dash doesn't light up and the fuel pump doesn't prime leads me to believe that push starting is not an option in this case.

Can't help with the push start as I'm too short, but have you tried jumping it with a car?

Let's see what others say.

Yup, that's almost definitely a failing (failed?) battery.

The general procedure I've heard for push starting is to put the bike in second gear, get up to 5~10 MPH or so (whether it's by going down a hill, pushing the bike, running while on it, etc.), then let out the clutch while giving it a little throttle. Alas, I've never actually seen it done (or had to do it myself), so I've no idea how well it works. From what I've heard though, the big basic hazard of push starting is that if the bike doesn't start when you release the clutch, it's going to come to a rapid stop, and that is a big risk for dropping the bike.

Jump starting is the safer approach (though remember not to start the car as you would when you're jumping another car, because that could very well fry the bike's electrical system), but with fuel injection it's hard to say how well the bike will tolerate running with no battery. When my Ninja had a loose battery terminal (300s have electronic fuel injection), the engine did all sorts of strange things during the brief periods of power loss, though if I recall correctly, despite the instrument panel going dark it did still run.

I should probably look into the jump starting from another vehicle procedure because I'm really not comfortable with the idea of trying to push start.

In any case, I have a new battery on the way under warranty hopefully it will be here tomorrow so I can try to get some time on the bike over Thanksgiving weekend - before all the crazies get on the road to do their shopping!

I've never jumped a bike from a car, but read you have to make sure the car is NOT running. They say it's gives the motorcycle battery too much voltage if it is running.

If it's not holding a charge after the battery tender has been on, there must be something wrong with the battery. If you do jump start it, I might be afraid that if you stalled it, or had to turn it off somewhere, you might be in the same boat?

Hope your new one shows up soon!

Do not start the car/truck. Leave it off.

I'd list my steps, but just reading a few articles I have been doing it backwards in every sense of the word so let's go with someone else's instructions.

Cycle World lists the steps as such:

Connect the positive (+) terminal on the dead battery to the live battery using the red cable ends.

Next, connect the black cable end to the negative (-) terminal on the good battery. Finally, connect the remaining black cable end either to the chassis, the engine, or the negative terminal on top of the dead battery.

Start the dead bike. As soon as the engine starts, remove the negative cable first, then the positive cable. And never let any two cable ends touch each other, especially not a positive and a negative lead.

Woodlandsprite - Have you been using a 'smart' battery tender/charger?

CountryCruzr wrote:Woodlandsprite - Have you been using a 'smart' battery tender/charger?

Yes
I use a deltran battery tender Plus on each of the bikes in the house. er garage.
you know what I mean

NevadaWolf wrote:...And never let any two cable ends touch each other, especially not a positive and a negative lead.

What could possibly go wrong?

Had it happen at least three times. I have a BMW... so it would NOT jump start with the electronics. Big bummer when you are 3 hours from home on a mountain. I did eventually figure out that it was related to my regulator/rectifier and the stator. Once I had them replaced, it turned out I didn't need a new battery after all. But now here I am with a new lithium battery and tender for mucho dinero before I figured that hard lesson out.