[SantaCruzRider]

Beautiful morning, all suited up for nice 45 miles commute to work. Stopped at local gas station for go juice and was greeted by the dreaded non-start. First couple tries almost got it, but then it went into the deathspiral of diminishing response. Dagnamitt!!!

Luckily, wife shot over for a quick jump so I could ride home and switch to the car. Looks like I’ll be popping in a new battery this weekend.

No help needed, just venting to folks I’m sure can appreciate. I don’t mind buying a new battery, but I’m staring forelornly out the window and bummed that I won’t be riding home on such a great Friday.

[WeaponZero]

I would rather have taken the bus than had the riding experience coming home I had today. I got stuck on a bridge for an hour in 80+ degree sunny weather which is not cool in a perf leather jacket because when youre moving, yeah, its like an air conditioner. But sitting still? I felt like I was in a damn rotisserie! I lost about 5 lbs of weight just by sweating!

[CBBaron]

Had the same problem recently on a ride. Was stopping taking pictures several times when after one stop it did nothing but click. Found out it is very easy to bump start my Ninja 250 with just a slight slope. Completed the ride then paid the ridiculous price at the local auto store for a new battery. It seems crazy to pay $80 fr such a small battery you have to add the acid to yourself.

Craig

[madjak30]

A little poke in the eye about your Suzuki jab…

The truck gods got me yesterday, I usually give my Ford driving buddies a hard time…you know Fix Or Repair Daily…I parked my truck Wednesday after playing in the mud, and when I went out to my truck on Thursday morning, the shifter was a little stuck so I wiggled it and it seemed to loosen…pulled a little harder and –SNAP– shifter cable broke…oops…made for a bit of a long day, but I got home…still sucked!

[TrialsRider]

Battery technology is so far in the tank, I really wonder how we are to ever to entertain battery powered vehicles.
Replacement batteries were so expensive on my K100RS, over a decade ago I resorted to buying lawn tractor batteries as replacements, (same dimensions) at around 30% to 50% the cost of an OEM battery, I now consider myself lucky when they crap out while still under warranty. …very sad

[Jeff in Kentucky]

I needed a new motorcycle battery this spring. I could have bought the $100 Yuasa battery from the motorcycle parts store, but chose the $60 battery from Walmart instead- it is a little more work to add the liquid acid yourself and put it on a charger for a few hours, but the last battery was also a Walmart battery and lasted 6 years, which is considered pretty good for cars or motorcycles.

I added stainless steel lockwashers to the battery terminals- a lot of times they get loose and kill the battery sooner. When I start the engine, I ride the bike at least 10 miles, including some at 60 mph, to completely charge the battery, evaporate the water out of the engine oil, and to feed my addiction.

[Rab]

Yup, as you’ve said before, textile is more versatile.

If you’d have been wearing somethng like my Olympia Motosports Airglide jacket, you could just have pulled over and taken out the waterproof/windproof liner and worn the armoured mesh and cordura shell only (if you had some luggage space to stash the liners).

I like the idea of the weight loss thing though

Here in CA, we can legally lane-split, so it’s less of a problem until we get into the 100+ degrees days of Summer, when nothing barring a wet tee-shirt underneath, will keep you cool.

[Rab]

A roadside assistance contract via your insurance company or free with AMA membership, etc. is an absolute must IMO.

Another thing I’ve learned based on my experiences, always carry a cell-phone and inexpensive (Lithium) AA battery-powered charger.

This technology looks like it could be useful too:

http://www.findmespot.com

[Rab]

At least in cars, it used to be the case that batteries died gradually and you could tell that they were getting weaker by the way they turned the engine over when starting. Nowadays, they just seem to drop dead without warning.

I know that hindsight is 20/20, but I learned from similar experiences with cars, that it pays to add the battery to your scheduled maintenance plan.

Seems like replacing the battery after around 2.5 years is a sensible thing to do (he says with the benefit of hind-sight). Also, when the battery’s new, paint the date on it so that every time you lift your seat, you can check how old it is.

Don’t know how old the battery is on your “new to you” motorcycle? Then replace it and paint on the date you replaced it.

Might seem a little over the top, but I’ve been stranded in the middle of no-where on a motorcycle on a couple of occasions and it ain’t much fun.

I’m surprised that you guys are talking about filling batteries with acid though, surely it’s far better to go with a sealed, maintenance free battery isn’t it?

[Jeff in Kentucky]

The Walmart battery is a sealed maintenance free battery- acid glass mat. When new, you add the liquid acid and put on the permanent caps, never to be removed again. The battery comes with a time table for initial charging, depending on the amps for your charger.

[IBA270]

Battery Tender (the brand) is really a good investment to keep your batteries up to snuff. When you put it up, hook it up. I just replaced my wifes battery (original 2004) and changed the battery on my 2004 BMW RT (55K, and five years old).

Adding the electrolite is no biggie at all. I like Yuasa’s, but I had to add the electrolite to that too…it took maybe five minutes.

The sealed batteries are a fine chose, but I don’t see any real advantage to them except they can be mounted in any configuration.

[Rab]

Thanks for the explanation.

Batteries I’ve bought in recent years came to me already sealed and charged so I assumed they were gel cells. Could be that they too were AGM and that the dealer had done the acid filling for me I guess.

[Rab]

I’m still trying to get a handle on battery life.

I know I had a “3 year warranty” battery fail on me in less than 3 years and I’ve heard from others with similar stories, yet you (and others) have spoken about a 5 year life-span.

I commute 5 days a week on my motorcycle with the odd week-end ride too, so that’s probably a factor in my reduced longevity.

Re. advantages/disadvantages, sealed gel cells might be safer in an accident I guess.

[SantaCruzRider]

Got a new battery yesterday and now all is well. I bumped the capacity up to factory spec as the PO had installed one size smaller (seems to be somewhat accepted on the boards for this bike, but why try to save $10 and go a bit lower power?).

Bike fires on the first hint of ignition, which it didn’t all of last year. I think I probably got every last second of use out of that old battery. And I took the advice and put the date on the new one. Thanks

[jguarfn28]

A month ago i was in a rush to get into work after parking and the GS 500 has a indent just past the steering lock that is a parking lights setting. You can take out your keys and it blazed as long as it could… It was dead when I came out. The 500 is a cold starter but somehow I got it bumped up to run and got home. My problem now is surging. It had the carb overhauled less than 2000 miles ago so I don’t think that is the problem.

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