SuzukiSavage.com - Battery Diagnostic

marioivargas

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Los Angeles
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Battery Diagnostic
12/02/13 at 15:19:17

Hello,

So it's the version of winter in LA and I still ride the motorcycle.

Unfortunately it has trouble starting in the cold mornings if I don't ride it around for a couple of days but it will start fine in the afternoons.

I only ride it 3 to 4 times a week to go to work which is a 12 mile roundtrip in gridlock traffic. We split lanes as much as we can out here.

Any suggestions? Should I get it tested first and then get a tender charger setup for it anyways?

I have to park it pretty far from any outlets. Should I set it up with a jump starter instead?

Thanks!

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Serowbot YaBB Moderator ModSquad Online OK.... so what's the speed of dark? Posts: 28638 Tucson Az Gender:	Re: Battery Diagnostic Reply #1 - 12/02/13 at 16:58:35 What's yer' oil?... 20-W50?... a 10W-40 might work better... Take a little ride on off days... A dark bike cover might hold in some warmth... ... or,.. a new battery if it's old... ...
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verslagen1 YaBB Moderator ModSquad Offline Where there's a will, I want to be in it. Posts: 28884 L.A. California Gender:	Re: Battery Diagnostic Reply #2 - 12/02/13 at 17:17:05 12 mile round trip may not be enough to maintain the battery. You might need a battery charger
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justin_o_guy2

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What happened?

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East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.

Re: Battery Diagnostic
Reply #3 - 12/03/13 at 09:19:09

verslagen1 wrote on 12/02/13 at 17:17:05:

12 mile round trip may not be enough to maintain the battery.
You might need a battery charger

Riding 6 miles & shutting it off? Naaah,, snot gonna keep the battery hot.
Spend the time to put a pigtail on the battery & get a float charger to keep it up. The battery clamp style connection is lousy. I go to Radio Shack & get connectors, solder up the pins & lop off the clips that keep them together, so its just "Slip together, pull apart" instead of having to squeeze the release so I can unhook the charger,
Getting in & wiring in a sanitary spot is fiddly,, creating a tidy hookup isnt a 5 minute job, but being able to just slip a connector together instead of trying to get battery clamps hooked up makes the hassle worth it,

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Paladin.

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Sunny Southern California
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Re: Battery Diagnostic
Reply #4 - 12/03/13 at 10:26:13

marioivargas wrote on 12/02/13 at 15:19:17:

... trouble starting in the cold mornings ... 12 mile roundtrip ....

My Savage rode just under 4 miles to work, never had a problem *after* I replaced my battery, twice.
If the battery is an old tech flooded battery and is over 2 years old you might consider getting an AGM battery off the Internet.

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mpescatori

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Romanum Thumperium
Cavalco, yeaaah !!!

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Rome, Italy
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Re: Battery Diagnostic
Reply #5 - 12/04/13 at 05:40:31

Hi Paladin, nice hearing from you

I have noticed the standard Savage battery is the same as my BMW battery, YTX-14BS (I wonder what the BS stards for... Roll Eyes

...

)

Well, it shouldn't come as a surprise given both have to crank 650ccs at a time...

The current battery on the Savage is an old flloded lead battery, 2 or 3 years old, doing just fine.
The current battery on the Beemer is a modern AGM battery fitted last january, and at 11 monthis old it needs a nanny charger... Tongue

same code, too...
...but as I live on the 6th floor there is no way I can drop an extension cord and feed the trickle charger ! Grin

So it's just "wizz wizz iwzz frrrt frrt broom!" every morning.

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Maurizio Pescatori, Esq.
Gentleman Rider

Mikuni BST40, K&N filter, Stage2 cam, Verslagen tensioner, Sportster muff, 120 proof moonshine, Pirelli MT 66 tourers... and a chain conversion too !

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DavidOfMA

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Beverly, MA
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Re: Battery Diagnostic
Reply #6 - 12/04/13 at 06:49:28

verslagen1 wrote on 12/02/13 at 17:17:05:

12 mile round trip may not be enough to maintain the battery.
You might need a battery charger

I can verify that the Savage/S40 charging system is pretty weak. I was also riding about 12 miles round trip last winter, with an occasional hour-long ride when it was above 30F and the roads were clear, and although I never had any trouble starting the bike, when it got below 10F for a few days, the battery plates warped and killed the battery, which was only about 9 months old. Now have an AGM battery and am going to trickle charge it every month or so throughout the winter.

If you can't get it close to an electrical outlet, and you're not taking long rides on the weekends, maybe you can periodically "freshen" the battery by hooking it to your car battery for an hour or so, with the car turned off, every couple of weeks? Probably need to check the amperage between car battery and motorcycle battery to get an idea of how quickly it will charge that way, so you don't overcharge.

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- David

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verslagen1 YaBB Moderator ModSquad Offline Where there's a will, I want to be in it. Posts: 28884 L.A. California Gender:	Re: Battery Diagnostic Reply #7 - 12/04/13 at 07:25:40 Challenge: Cars drop dead over a 5mile commute. Mercedes for one. So name the bike that'll take a 10mile commute and live?
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justin_o_guy2

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East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.

Re: Battery Diagnostic
Reply #8 - 12/04/13 at 08:20:02

Paladin. wrote on 12/03/13 at 10:26:13:

marioivargas wrote on 12/02/13 at 15:19:17:

... trouble starting in the cold mornings ... 12 mile roundtrip ....

My Savage rode just under 4 miles to work, never had a problem *after* I replaced my battery, twice.
If the battery is an old tech flooded battery and is over 2 years old you might consider getting an AGM battery off the Internet.

never had a problem
*after* I replaced my battery, twice

Thats hilarious, man,,

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The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion.- Edmund Burke.

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oldNslow

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SuzukiSavage.com
Rocks!

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Rochester, NY
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Re: Battery Diagnostic
Reply #9 - 12/04/13 at 08:30:42

verslagen1 wrote on 12/04/13 at 07:25:40:

Challenge:
Cars drop dead over a 5mile commute.
Mercedes for one.
So name the bike that'll take a 10mile commute and live?

Can't answer about the bike - no idea.

But my commute for almost 30 years was LESS than 5 miles, and sometimes my cars never went anyplace but back and forth to work for weeks at a time. My wife always had the "good" so that's the one we used most of the time for other things. In all that time I never had a battery problem. I'm glad I could never afford a Mecedes Cheesy

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gizzo Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiCabbage. It's Savage. Posts: 1318 Australia	Re: Battery Diagnostic Reply #10 - 12/04/13 at 17:08:01 verslagen1 wrote on 12/04/13 at 07:25:40: Challenge: Cars drop dead over a 5mile commute. Mercedes for one. So name the bike that'll take a 10mile commute and live? Honda CT90 Suzuki DR250
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DavidOfMA

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Beverly, MA
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Re: Battery Diagnostic
Reply #11 - 12/04/13 at 19:11:41

verslagen1 wrote on 12/04/13 at 07:25:40:

Challenge:
Cars drop dead over a 5mile commute.
Mercedes for one.
So name the bike that'll take a 10mile commute and live?

I think this kind of issue with cars is very rare. My Nissan Sentra never had a problem in Boston weather with a 6-mile commute each way, even when the temp was in the single digits. Car charging systems seem far more robust than the one in the Savage.

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- David

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Face Full Member Offline Tubes Rule !!! Posts: 150 SL,UT Gender:	Re: Battery Diagnostic Reply #12 - 12/04/13 at 19:36:04 verslagen1 wrote on 12/04/13 at 07:25:40: Challenge: So name the bike that'll take a 10mile commute and live? Anything with kick start and points ignition. As far as modern bikes......uh.......Schwinn ?
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youzguyz

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Re: Battery Diagnostic
Reply #13 - 12/05/13 at 05:28:02

verslagen1 wrote on 12/04/13 at 07:25:40:

Challenge:
Cars drop dead over a 5mile commute.
Mercedes for one.
So name the bike that'll take a 10mile commute and live?

Savage. I have 2 bikes. One is the "commuter" (Mad Hamish). I have a 5 mile run to work, no highway. I put a battery in when I bought the bike and it had about 3,000 miles on it. Now it has 34,000 miles. The same battery is in there. It has never been on a charger/tender. Bike starts fine every time.
The battery I put in it? Big Crank.

Thumper has a Big Crank battery too, and I think it is getting time to replace it.. I have only put a new battery in once, and now I have 110,000 miles on the bike.
May have to see if I wrote down when I replaced it my maintenance records. I know it was way back when.

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2002 - Silver (Thumper)
2000 - Green (Mad Hamish)
Most motorcycle problems are caused by the nut between the seat and the handlebars. Make sure yours isn't too tight or too loose.

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