Dead Battery And Tool Kit

[Geoff]

After 7 months of glorious bliss riding this machine I made the dreadful mistake of leaving the key on for a half hour while shopping (dont ask). Upon exiting the store I noticed the headlights still on, and said a little prayer that it would start. HAH..it said.."leave me alone for 30 minutes out here in the hot sun"..so I turned the key and of course NOTHING..not having the owners manual I decided that I had no idea where the battery was located...no problem..call the local Honda Dealer and ask them..NOT..they told me its under the front left cowl ..so I look there and all I see is engine naturally, and of course no battery..I then pull the seats and of course I find it right where it was all along..under the right rear plastic piece. Ahhh remembering that my ST came with a tool kit that was complete I found the little allen wrench in there to remove the three screws that held it on. Thank you mother honda for the toolkit, I understand most of the 06's didnt have one..anyway the little tow truck from Progressive showed up and jumped me..all is well right? not quite..remember you need the key to put back on the seat and right saddle bag..so it runs for about ten minutes and we install everything and away we go. I think I will now attach the key to my wrist like I did to my kid's snow gloves up north..to say the least I really felt dumb leaving the key but now I feel a little smarter about the machine..the purpose of all this is that you should have a little allen wrench with you that fits that plasic..I believe honda supplies it and only it with the new ones, and a piece of foam. I also found out that those little jumper battery doodads really work. I think Prestone makes one..should we carry one just in case? Thanks for reading have a great day. I have to go clean off a million fingerprints...Geoff

 

[motomac]

Geoff, all you had to do was put it in first gear and squeeze the clutch in and run along side it for a few steps and let out the clutch with the key on, and it would have started up. After it starts, if you are athletic you can jump on and ride like the cowboys did in the movies or do like I did and squeeze the clutch in, put it neutral, put the side stand down, and mount normally. It happened to me at DesertSToc. Charged it back up by the time we went from the gas stop??? to Bisbee. Maybe 30-40 miles.

 

[mayner]

Almost the exact same thing happened to me last week. I was lucky and had my wife take me to Honda, purchased a new battery and then she took me back to the bike and in about 20 minutes she fired right up. I most likely would have tried to jump the thing if it had happened in the car. Being the bike and the fact the battery was close to 10 months old, well, I just didn't trust it.

It was rather shocking to find that a new battery cost 134 bucks! Wow. I had no idea. :money1: :banghead:

 

[Geoff]

Hi Motomac....well believe me i thought of JUMP starting as you mentioned but at 165 lbs soaking wet and being in a tight spot in a parking lot I was really afraid of dropping it. When it outweighs me 4.5 to 1 I think a jump battery start was most prudent. I could run my old vulcan 500 and start it but this is a little bigger as you know...but thanks for the input have a great day...Geoff:bow1: :bow1: :bow1:

 

[Birdman]

With these tools you will be able to:
Remove both wheels, remove all the plastic, check under the tank cover, replace the fuel filter, change out the battery, repair a flat, change oil, adjust anything adjustable, replace brakes pad?s, tighten almost anything on the bike, replace the front forks?.etc?.
Screw driver?s;
Phillips #2 bit (magnetized) (2) 1-small, one larger.
The shaft should fit in the small hole?s in the front axle.
Flat blade #2
Wrenches: (open/box end)
6mm ? Can be used on a #6 Allen wrench for extra leverage.
8mm
10mm - (2)
12mm ? Right rear exhaust pipe.
14mm ? Rear brake
17mm ? Oil drain plug. (oil filter remover for long trips)
Sockets:
3/8 ratchet
3? extension (2)
Drive reducer 1/2? to 3/8? drive, and 3/8? drive to 1/4?
6mm, 8mm, 10mm, 12mm, 14mm ? rear brake, 22mm ? front axle (1/2 drive), 27mm rear axle (1/2 drive)
Spark plug socket ? need to make sure it fit?s the hole ? standard Honda unit
works well.
6mm (front axle, brakes, all plastic), Allen wrench socket (nice to have)
Allen wrenches:
6mm, 7mm (rear axle)
Pliers;
Small needle nose, with a 45 degree bent tip ? great for removing/installing
the small plastic pins.
Standard pliers
Magnetic pickup (looks like a pen) that extends to about 16?.
Paint brush;
Short handle 1 ? - 2? wide paint brush. (Great for cleaning areas before getting dirt in your oil,
under the seat, gas tank, etc.)
Tire repair kit.
Flashlight
Tie?s, tape and some short wire.
PLUS; any tools needed to cover your ?Farkles?
You should always learn how to remove your wheels, someone may come along and offer help but they are unable to transport the bike. Most likely you could put the wheel in the truck. Just to make it more real, remove the wheel in the dark with only a flash light and have the water sprinkler covering the whole area you are working in?.

 

[Machog]

I always carry some jumper leads with me. I made up a set with monster speaker wire from radio shack-$10.00 worth of parts total. All the car ones were too big and bulky. Have used them half a dozen times starting fellow bikers over the years. They wrap up small and as long as you don't spend a long time getting the donor bike started they don't get hot. I also carry some metric hex wrench's in the right side "glove box" in case I need to get some of the tupperware off and can't get to the tool kit.

On another note, I'm 175lbs soaking wet (naked;-)), but I'm not sure I would try bump starting an ST, might if I could run it down hill, but not pushing!

One final comment, changing out a 10 month old battery because you didn't trust it??? a/ wouldn't it be under warranty & b/ I get minimum 4-6 years with over 10k miles a year on my batteries. But when I do replace them, I put in Odyessy, bit spendy but fantastic performance in any climate as well as long no riding periods. My 10c

 

[BlaSTr]

+1

Excellent list Birdman.

I also carry one fuse in each size the bike uses.

 

[sparkinator]

#1 Birdman on the tool list.

Vise grips

I've never had to change a tire in the dark and the rain, but I have helped rebuild a carburetor at night in the rain. (It was on a buddys Harley, no kidding). The only thing we needed that I didn't have was a pair of vise grips. (Stripped phillips head screw on fuel bowl). Luckily a fellow Harley rider stopped by in his truck and had a set. I've since added that to my MC tool box.

Funny thing is, we've use my tools a couple of times on his bike, but I've never needed 'em once on mine.

 

[Machog]

One more think, I always carry a Knipex wrench. They come in 3 sizes, very well made and gives you a lot of leverage in an emergency. Have the medium on my KLR and the big one on the ST, never go anywhere without them.