Need a little help or direction:

Ok, being new to all this still....I started out more trying to learn to ride and didnt pay much attention to the Bike checks and maintenance stuff,etc.....mainly because I had just paid alot for someone to check my bike over beforehand,change the oil,etc.

Well,today,thinking that I should already have known how to check things!I decided to learn.
I was going to check the oil,which the manual says to start it,let it idle a few minutes beforehand and I probably drained my battery from repeatedly trying to start it when it wouldnt start....so I got my manual out and started looking over things....

(First of all I did do a search on this site and tried to find info and couldnt,but if anyone can direct me to these answers/previous posts on,I would appreciate it.)

But,I tried to check my battery window and saw nothing but a battery sticker!I dont know what kind of battery I have even,but I "thought" previous owner said he had just bought it...but...anyway,I wouldnt have expected to see only a sticker thru the window! All it says is something about battery acid or something.

Then I tried to check the oil in the meantime and with a 2x4 piece,that someone said to use,I put the kickstand on it to lift the bike and it was barely showing oil....maybe wasnt upright enough,maybe because I hadnt started it yet....dont know.

Also, I wondered about oil....should you always put the same kind/type of oil in it....to add to or can you use a different kind. I think the mechanic used synthetic oil when changing it.

Any direction would be much appreciated......and I am going to buy/order the Clymers Manual this week in hopes that I can find more stuff on my own  

But until then......Thanks for any help!

Thanks!

Forgot to mention,it was my fault on letting the battery run down....I think,not sure....but I was not going to ride the bike,so I tried to start it ,with the kickstand down just to let it idle(forgot not to do this)...it turned over but wouldnt start,(actually I didnt think though that it would even turn over if kickstand was down !?)

When I realized what I did,I tried to start it the right way....but just turned over a few times and then nothing.

Plus it had not been started in a few/4-5 days.

Also, when you check the battery window,should you see a sticker there on the battery blocking the view?I thought the window just showed the water level.

Dumber question: Do you have to take the battery out to add water.....I'm hoping the answer is "No" Looks hard to get to.

But ...yes,it is fun to learn about your motorcycle and be able to do things yourself.

I ordered the clymers Manual....can't wait til I get it, the service manual is only very little help!

Hi FreeSprit,
I hope this is not the case with yours, but when I bought my bike the previous owner had purchased the wrong battery for it, so they stuck in in backward so the + and- would reach the cables, which put the sticker in front of the window, and jammed the overflow valve against the case on the inside. The bike occasionally would not start either, or was hard to start.
Haven't had that problem since I bought the right battery.
Taking the battery out is no big deal!
First take off seat, and then just take toolbox cover off (shiny rectangular box thing on the right side) remove the few screws that hold on the toolbox (2 on bottom 1 on top), and you can see the battery.
Here comes the tricky part, remove the clamp on the left side (when you are sitting on the bike left) first!! I made the mistake off thinking the negative was on the other side and boy you should have seen it spark!!
The screw on the left battery clamp is easier to get to if you remove that big fat hose that blocks your way when you try to stick the Philips screwdriver in from the top. The hose is just clamped on. But is is possible without removing it.
Once you got the left clamp off, you can go and remove the right (a lot easier!!) What I did the second time around was screwing the screw back in, because the tiny square nuts that hold the screw can slide out when you pull the battery out. I lost mine inside the bike, turns out it was in one of the groves of the belt! OY!
The manual explains it pretty good, even though I had a bit of a hard time figuring out some of the pics. Good luck!

Someone here recommended a syringe for adding the distilled water to the battery. It IS the best answer. It allows for real control & wont just cover the hole & run everywhere without going in. How Does water Do that anyway? No, No, I really dont want a physics lesson,, sorry I asked.
If that battery is toast, get a gel pack type. Big Crank, about $50.00.

For more info about this AND photos, check out the thread NOT a battery question? which covers a lot of your questions.

I think it'd probably be easier than anything else.

Free Spirit,
  Take the tool box cover off, get a flashlight and look.  I would think that it would need to come out.  there's not too much room in there.

I can't say from experience thought, because mine came with a new batteryand it's one size larger  (a model "...15..") and it just barely fits. A little scary how close the terminal gets when pushing in.  Thank goodness it it's a sealed type.   And it works......

T Mack 1 - FSO wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:08:


Thanks T-mack1