Measuring discs and a battery

I'm having a monster clearout of my garage.

Amongst other things, I've got three sets of front disks for a GSX-R
600. I suspect that the reason some were on the shelf in the first
case is because I'd replaced them, and kept the old ones "just in
case".

Now, I don't want to eBay knackered old shit, and piss people off. So
how do I check them first? I've always found it really difficult to
assess discs on the bench, and usually relied on the 'does the lever
pulse when the bike is rolling" test.

As a subsidary question - the battery on my ZX10R is playing up. If I
leave the bike for a few days, it won't turn over. Charge it up, and
it's fine. I guess it's knackered, but what's the test for *proving*
that it's knackered?

 

Charge it, take it off the bike & leave it, then connect it up a few days
later & try start the bike. If it's ok, the battery should be ok, if not the
things fucked. If it wont start, you have some kind of leakage problem on
bike.



--


Nige,

BMW K1200S
Range Rover Vogue
Suzuki GSX-R600 Racebike

 

See how long it'll spin an electric starter before dying.

 

With load surely?

--


Nige,

BMW K1200S
Range Rover Vogue
Suzuki GSX-R600 Racebike

 

Press it against a sheet of glass & see if a feeler guage will slide in
anywhere around the edge?

Charge it, disconnect one of the leads then leave it for a few days. If
it turns over after that, there's something draining it. If it doesn't
turn over, it's dead, Dave.

--
Krusty

'03 Tiger 955i
'02 MV Senna (for sale) '96 Tiger (for sale)
'79 Fantic Hiro 250 (for sale) '81 Corvette (for sale)

 

1) Place discs on granite surface plate. Wire up discs in series with
battery.

2) If the discs glow red hot, then with a bit of luck the heat will
flatten them, also proving that your battery wasn't knackered.

3) Buy new battery to replace the now knackered one.

This post has be brought to you courtesy of Estonian beer.

 

'zed's dead, baby'

--


Nige,

BMW K1200S
Range Rover Vogue
Suzuki GSX-R600 Racebike

 

Sounds knackered, usually battery testing is done with a load test.
Put a known load across it and make sure that it can draw current for
a predetermined period without the battery voltage dropping to much.

Charge it, turn on the lights and see how long until the voltage drops
below 12v off load. The real old way used to be with a hydrometer but
that relies on being able to draw off the electrolyte.

 

That doesn't sound very scientific. How long *should* it spin for?

 

It could spin ages without load, Neal. It needs to be on load to prove
anything. Take it to a decent car place, they can do an on load test.

--


Nige,

BMW K1200S
Range Rover Vogue
Suzuki GSX-R600 Racebike

 

When the battery on my 9R was dieing, it had enough oomph to start the
bike *if* I remembered to turn the immobiliser off. Otherwise, it
would run the starter motor for about 2-3 seconds and then it was bump
start time.

 

Place the disc on a sheet of glass and tap it around the edge in a
number of places. If it rattles then it's warped and it's fucked.

If in doubt buy a new battery. The battery on my 10R needed an
extended charge after being laid up for 6 months and whilst I'd
happily leave it as is if I was only using it at home I'll be fitting
a new one before we go to the Alps.

 

Stick a volt meter accross it, it shouldn't drop below 10.5v when you
start the engine and should read between 13.4 and 13.8v when the
engine is running. If it's outside these values, or if you have any
doubt about it, replace it.

Now.

It'll leave you stuck somewhere if you don't.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Champ

Piece of plate glass blagged from the glazier across the road from your
old gaff, check if they rock.

It worked for you on the race bike and you didn't die (at least, not on
that one), so it must have been safe.

Wait until the bike won't start in the pissing rain a hundred miles from
home. Then you'll know.

Alternatively, buy another one first you fucking pikey.

Option one is more amusing provided that:

a) you text me to tell me about it, and
b) I'm far enough away to say "**** him" with a clear conscience. A mile
ought to do it, now you've ignored my advice.

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - "He's hopeless, but he's honest"

I have already made the greatest contribution to the fight against climate
change that I can make: I have decided not to breed. Now quit bugging me and
go and talk to the Catholics.

 

The problem is that the buttons for the disc carrier usually stand
proud of the disc surface. And removing all the buttons is usually
difficult / impossible.

uh huh.

 

See my answer to Krusty - the disc buttons connecting it to the
carrier usually prevent this.

Oh sure. I happen to have a spare battery on the shelf courtesy of
KwackZilla [1]

[1] which now sits on the bench consisting of just a frame, swing-arm
and engine. Everything else is off, and stacked up for later eBaying
or re-use on my road bike. On Saturday Black Mike is coming round and
the Ohlins shock, Maxton forks and brakes (inc Brembo m/c and braided
lines) are going on the roadster.

 

Ok, see if you can find an old taper roller bearing in your garage and
take 4 of the rollers out. Sit the disc on the rollers as if they were
support pillars and if any of them come out (or the disc rattles on
them) chuck the disc away.

Obviously you want to have the rollers as far away from the centre of
the disc as is possible and you'll need to check each disc in several
positions but that'll show up any deformation. None of them will be
flat but you can use a set of feelers to check exactly how bad they
are.

I sent an email to Maxton the other day asking what they suggested
doing to the suspension on a 10R and how much they'd charge for doing
it. Do you want me to forward you the response?

 

Of course with bloody load.

 

Just pull the plug leads, stick a plug in each lead, and press the
button. If it's a 20A starter motor and it's a 20A/h battery, it should
spin for an hour.

If it spins for several minutes, that would be good enough for me (note:
don't just keep the button held down for ten minutes at a stretch: do it
in short bursts). If, OTOH, it dies after a minute or two, it's dead.

 

<rocks with silent laughter>

You're a bit divorced from modern bikes, aren't you?

When I changed the plugs on my ZX10R (as part of the service) it took
about two hours.