Jumping Battery

[STmark1300]

I added a 10 guage direct connector to the battery with no fuse. Then I began thinking it may fry my electronics. Is this safe for jumping a dead battery. The trickle charge connector is still there

 

[CYYJ]

In principle, it is unwise to have any connection made to the battery without a fuse to protect it.

With respect to providing external power to start the motorcycle ("jumping"), a 10 gauge wire is not going to suffice. You will need a wire equivalent in size to the cable that is attached to the positive battery post. That's the wire that Honda uses to carry power from the battery to the starter motor. I don't know offhand what size it is, but I suspect it is probably up in the "oughts", such as double-ought (00), or similar.

It is possible to purchase booster cables that are specific to motorcycles. They are slightly smaller gauge than regular automotive booster cables, have smaller clamps, and usually come in a fabric case so you can store them in the saddlebag. Here's an example: Yausa Booster Cables

Michael

 

[Larry Fine]

I prefer a portable jumper to cables. They're smaller, lighter, faster, serve other uses, and you don't need a second vehicle.

 

[ST Gui]

Is this safe for jumping a dead battery.

Jumping — maybe if your bike is in a good state of tune. The high current draw would be only for a few seconds especially if that 10ga wire is short.

Boosting — yes. Letting the donor source charge your battery for a few to several minutes can reduce the demand over the 10ga wire.

Jump starters are great for all the reasons Larry named. Something suited for motorcycles mainly will take up less space than almost any set of actual jumper cables and be more convenient that unwinding a bunch of cables and needing a donor.

I've thought about installing a POS + charging hard point

under the seat so that no Tup need be removed. A NEG – point could be anywhere on the frame though a second hard point would be convenient. The lead connectors on the jump starters are meant for car batteries and can be a little fiddly to connect on motorcycle battery posts.

I don't know if or where there might be a spot under a 1300's seat, and I may never have a dead battery again. I've got a booster for my car as well and it worked splendidly.

 

[CYYJ]

I prefer a portable jumper to cables. They're smaller, lighter, faster, serve other uses, and you don't need a second vehicle.

Hi Larry:

In theory, a portable power source sounds like a better choice than jumper cables because, as you pointed out, you don't need a second vehicle.

But how heavy is a portable power source? How much cubic space does it take up compared to a set of motorcycle jumper cables? And how often do you have to recharge it to keep it fully charged? Does it eventually time-expire (meaning, not accept a full charge anymore)?

I'm not criticizing your preference - I have never seen a portable power source for a moto, hence I don't know the answers to the above questions.

Michael

 

[STmark1300]

Portables look easy enough. Though I may look into a hard charging point. I have not had many dead batteries, but they come at inconvient times. https://www.amazon.com/Arteck-External-Automotive-Motorcycle-Flashlight/dp/B07SBMKMRR

 

[Larry Fine]

But how heavy is a portable power source? How much cubic space does it take up compared to a set of motorcycle jumper cables? And how often do you have to recharge it to keep it fully charged? Does it eventually time-expire (meaning, not accept a full charge anymore)?

I got this one from Costco a few years ago for $10 less than the one below. It still hods a charge, and I started a Grand Cherokee for a lady one evening. The case size is 3.03 x 1.06 x 6.61 inches.

Amazon.com: Type S AC56789-AM | 400A Peak |10000mAh Winplus Jump Starter Portable Car Jump Starter | UL Listed | 12V Lithium Battery Booster Power Pack with Type-C USB-C Port & Built-in LED Light: Automotive

Buy Type S AC56789-AM | 400A Peak |10000mAh Winplus Jump Starter Portable Car Jump Starter | UL Listed | 12V Lithium Battery Booster Power Pack with Type-C USB-C Port & Built-in LED Light: Jump Starters - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

 

[SMSW]

I've written about this before. After my battery died, and I used a borrowed jump start pack at an STOC event, I made up two cables about 18" long. These were #6 welding wire - very finely stranded copper cable and heavily insulated. It cost me about $1/foot. I crimped a heavy duty eye on one end of each, and a butt splice tube (essentially a piece of copper tubing 1 1/2" long) to the other end. One was painted red. I insulated the butt splice tube with a piece of vinyl tubing and taped it w/ electrical tape for added protection. Both were then attached to the battery and led to the area under the seat. These were my 'easy access' jumper cables. Since they were not fused, I paid careful attention to routing and padded any questionable areas.

If I have to jump the bike, I pull the pillion seat, untape the positive lead, pull off the plastic tubing and clip on the + jumper cable. I did not insulate the neg lead. I never used this, but its cheap peace of mind and no more digging out an allen wrench to unscrew the battery cover.

But how heavy is a portable power source?

I'm sure you have seen these, Michael. The Lithium ion batteries are quite small, and a lot of guys are carrying them now. Larry posted a pic of his...

 

[Andrew Shadow]

Yes it is safe as long as you connect the boost vehicle to it properly and the boost vehicle is also a 12 volt negative ground electrical system.
The ST doesn't know the difference between an internal or external source of power.

In my opinion, your 10 gauge wire is fine. If you were starting this project it is obvious that 8 gauge would be better, but so would 6 gauge. I wouldn't go to the trouble of changing it now that it is done. Most motorcycle specific booster cables are only 8 gauge. While there is a difference in capacity between 8 and 10, neither one of them have enough capacity to meet what the starter motor draws anyway, so you will not meet the full amperage draw of the starter motor with the 8 gauge either.

If you are trying to boost the ST1300 when its on-board battery is completely dead, there might be some concern. Under these conditions, the boosting wire has to provide all of the starting current that is needed. More often than not, the boost is being used to supplement the on-board battery because it is to weak to start the engine but it is not completely drained. Under these conditions, the majority of the power is still being supplied by the on-board battery, a 10 gauge wire will work fine to provide the supplemental current needed. If the on-board battery is completely dead, you may need to charge it a little before you will be able to boost it. The difference between 10 and 8 gauge is you may need to charge it a little bit longer.

I have boosted motorcycles with 14 gauge wire from Radio Shack as that was the only store around and the biggest wire that they had. I let the battery charge for a while from the boost vehicle before I attempted to start it and it was enough to start the bike.

 

[Shuey]

Indian Express showed me one of these Battery Boosters several years ago and I've carried one ever since then. I've never needed to jump start my bike with it, but . . . I have used it to start 2 Ford 150s and a Harley. Great fun seeing the looks of amazement when the little box starts their vehicles! I've have used it to charge my cell phone and Sena on several occasions. The Li batteries seem to hold their charge practically forever! Mine went unused for over 8 months and when I checked it, it showed a full charge. I suspect the charge did deteriorate but lost an amount so small the 5 led power level still showed full power. Awesome.

Mine was made by Energen and looking online recently, all sources show their products as being "Out of Stock". I suspect the company was bought out and this product line discontinued.

Appreciate the references to similar products as I'm looking for another one to keep in my car.

Shuey

 

[mortenk]

If your battery has enough juice to light up the dash, but not enough to crank the starter (corresponding to 100% of battery issues I have had in 30+ years), you can simply put the bike in gear (1st or 2nd), roll forward (a small hill or a helper makes this easier), and let out the clutch. Springs to life and it takes literally just a few seconds. A few years ago I rode like this for a week while waiting for my new battery.

 

[rogo]

50amp connector wired direct to battery with 6ga
Able to jump/charge and plug in fused power supply.

 

[ChriSTian_64]

Isn't it a bit too much (installing a jumping/boosting cables & connectors), when, if you need to boost your ST, all you have to do is remove the seat, two screws and the side panel, to have full access to the battery ?

Unless it is more complicated on the ST1300?

I can understand it for a quick access connector for the batterry tender, but... you shouldn't need to boost your batterry too often, unless it's time to replace it.

 

[Flexit]

I'm with the power pack train of thought. I have one similar to the one below and take it with me whichever vehicle I use. Keeps it's charge amazingly well. Is very small and takes up way less room than a set of jump leads. Has happily started up a diesel car from flat and is also useful for charging mobile phones etc when away from a power source.

Energizer Power is under construction

www.energizerpower.com

 

[rogo]

Isn't it a bit too much, when, if you need to boost your ST, all you have to do is remove the seat, two screws and the side panel, to have full access to the battery ?

Unless it is more complicated on the ST1300?

You need to remove the seats, and a side panel.
It is much easier to hook up a trickle charger now. I embellished a bit having scored nice cables from decommissioned equipment.

 

[STmark1300]

Taking out the seat and 3 screws is not to much unless the back seat is loaded too!

 

[wjbertrand]

Isn't it a bit too much (installing a jumping/boosting cables & connectors), when, if you need to boost your ST, all you have to do is remove the seat, two screws and the side panel, to have full access to the battery ?

Unless it is more complicated on the ST1300?

I can understand it for a quick access connector for the batterry tender, but... you shouldn't need to boost your batterry too often, unless it's time to replace it.

The trouble with the ST1300 is you need to have two keys. Once you have the bike jump started you're not going to want to turn off the engine and remove the key so you can re-fit the saddle bag and seat.

 

[ChriSTian_64]

The trouble with the ST1300 is you need to have two keys. Once you have the bike jump started you're not going to want to turn off the engine and remove the key so you can re-fit the saddle bag and seat.

ah-ha... good point. That's why I have two key.

With the ST1100, you can put the parts back in place (side panel, left pannier and seat) without needing the key.

 

[STmark1300]

The trouble with the ST1300 is you need to have two keys. Once you have the bike jump started you're not going to want to turn off the engine and remove the key so you can re-fit the saddle bag and seat.

Another reason for easy jumping posts.

 

[Flexit]

With the ST1100, you can put the parts back in place (side panel, left pannier and seat) without needing the key.

You can? I need a key to unlock and relock the pannier into place. Unless I'm missing a trick.