Today's Battery Adventure.

[Finewest]

OK, the bike's is close to two years old and the battery died! Now I've been noticing on my radar detector that the voltmeter was running in the low 12's and high 11's. I went on my regular ride up and down the coast and stop at the viewpoint and had a smoke. When finished I got back on the bike and it wouldn't turn over. I had forgotten to turn off the ignition when I stopped. DOH!!! So I wait a bit, have another smoke and try again. Nope! I'm stuck...

Luckily here comes a couple of sport bike guys and I wave 'em over and ask for a jump. No sweat. They asked me if I have cables. Yep! Always carry 'em! Unluckily my big tool bag under the seat didn't have the right size allen wrench to take off the cover! DOH! Luckily the sport bike guy had one. Got the cover off, jumped it and away we go! Whew!

Went to the local Honda dealer and bought a new battery and a battery tender. So what's the lesson here? LOTS OF THEM!!! Turn off the bike when stopped! Always carry battery jumper cables! Always carry the proper allen wrench! AND DON'T SMOKE! LOL!

 

[OldSuperSport]

It doesnt take much time to kill the battery. Working in the driveway I've done it a couple times, while trying to not go too long, and it still happens. Id say 5 minutes key on (headlight on), engine not running, and you're too far down for cranking over the starter. I've thought about an auxilliary battery under the seat but have never moved on trying it, probably not enough room under there anyway.

 

[Geoff]

Based on my vast experience killing these batteries I can tell you that after two killings the battery is toast..all the recharging in the world wont help it..you might get one or two starts out of it but thats it. I have done twice exactly what you did..put the stand down and walked away (hey the bike wasnt running). I now carry a pair of cheap cables from auto zone 12.99 in a plastic case..also carry the tire repair kit with 4 co2 cartidges and I hate to admit it but also a self contained air pump..the last flat tire required a 27 mile flat bed tow. Of course since I bought all the stuff nothing has happened (knock on wood).

 

[John_Diego]

Fred,

Haven't you been reading the posts? The '06 has a battery issue that should be covered under warranty, at least the 1st one anyway.

John

 

[the Ferret]

Fred,

Haven't you been reading the posts? The '06 has a battery issue that should be covered under warranty, at least the 1st one anyway.

John

What's the battery issues with the 06?

 

[Scooter]

What's the battery issues with the 06?

I don't believe there is any issue at all with the '06 battery per say. It's just that some of these '06's have been sitting around the dealers for a couple of years and if they don't remember to charge the battery occasionally it will affect the longevity of the battery.

 

[John_Diego]

What's the battery issues with the 06?

It seems that the '06's got a bad batch of batteries. Several have reported failure. And many have been replaced by the dealer. Mine has gone dead twice from leaving the key on for 5 -10 minutes, push start and back on the road. I should have it checked.

On the plus side my '97 Valkyrie still has the original battery!

John

 

[BakerBoy]

My '04 still has the original battery which still seems to be strong as it approaches 4 years of service. It's always on a Battery Tender when the bike is parked. Opinions on how long it should last?

 

[Finewest]

Yeah, I've been reading the recent post about mhagen's battery problem, but mine is going on two years from purchase and who knows how long on floor before. I just don't think it's a warranty issue. Just a old battery that I finally killed. Got a fresh one in and bought a battery tender. I also have a Powerlet cord I can attach to the Battery Tender Plus and directly plug it into the bike's Powerlet plug and charge the battery. Cool!

 

[Scarman]

I finally bought a new battery for my 05 today. My bike is only a year and a half old but the dealer showed me his book that states one year warranty on the battery so I was SOL. Gulp! but it had to be done. I bought one of the last 05's still in a crate and I suspect I'm the victim of a battery that sat a long time without any charging.

If I left the key on for 5 minutes, it was dead. I noticed other STs I've ridden with didn't have that problem. With the new battery in place, I left the key on for 15 minutes and it fired right up.

 

[Finewest]

Wow! This is getting twisty now! You're probably right Matt and this comes under that weird self-considerations of what do you take a warranty stand on. Like the thermostat, light bulbs, batteries, etc. But. In my twisted and sick delusional mind leaving the battery on to drain without turning off the bike when stopped could fall into that legalese area of self induced abuse, and not normal wear and tear. Whew! That was a mouthful! LOL.

 

[Scarman]

I tried four different dealers and I got the same answer at each dealer. One year warranty on the battery. If your dealer covered the battery, you got yourself a good dealer interested in providing service to their customers. That's rare around here.

 

[Marshal_Mercer]

Fred:

Don't know if this applies to you or not, but I've found that some riders shut off their engine with the "kill switch" instead of the ignition switch. If they forget to turn of the ignition switch after that, the lights will still be on, and down goes the battery. I use the ignition switch to get around this.

BTW: glad that you got back on the road safely.

Marshal

 

[Scarman]

That sucks! I'm just passing along what my dealer told me after they looked it up. They even took the time to look up the information on the replacement battery warranty so they did not give me inaccurate information.

Sounds like those dealerships are just out to make a buck.

Yeah,
Just another reason to consider moving to Texas. Actually, we've seriously considered it. Love the Fort Worth Dallas area.