Motorcycle question

I charged my battery up until the Optimate said it was spot on. This
morning got all excited about going for a spin to El Chorro. Even wiped
the dust off and pumped up the tyres. Pressed the starter and got about
one and a half revolutions. Poo. Went for a walk instead. Saw lots of
flamingos. Bit boring really.

In the opinion of those gathered here, is this most likely to mean that
the starter is shagged? Or what? I mean the fact that the bike wouldn't
start, not that the flamingos were boring.

--

Paul.
CBR1100XX SuperBlackbird
BOTAFOT #4
BOTAFOF #30
MRO #24
OMF #15
UKRMMA #30
Buy this house: http://personales.ya.com/wibbleypants/main.htm
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More likely the battery's fucked. Yes, it'll hold a charge but it won't
handle a load.

--
Veggie Dave
UKRMHRC#2 BOTAFOF#08
IQ 18 FILMS http://www.iq18films.com
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Toxic Shock Syndrome Gets More Girls Than Me

 

More than likely the battery.

I've had a similar issue with the VFR. It's very reluctant to hold a
charge - my charger reports it as being OK, but it drains away *very*
rapidly.

Try jump-starting it from your car.

 

The battery is probably shagged. Has it spent a long time without being
used? I had a similar problem with an old bike that hadn't been used for a
year. The battery appeared to recharge fine, but it wouldn't keep its
charge for very long.

 

SteveH wrote

So tell me(an Optimate free zone since the day they were invented) why
this magnificent addition to home chemistry seems to fail so often and
report duff batteries as good?

What is so suddenly wrong with getting the bitch to push?

 

I don't have an Optimate, just a generic car battery charger.

I can only assume that they don't actually test the battery under load.

Doesn't eliminate starter motor problems.

Also, I don't know what age Paul's BlackBird is, but if it's an EFI
model, you can't push start them anyway.

 

Check whether the battery will run your headlight on main beam. If it
won't do that the starter's probably OK and the battery's shagged.

 

True. I know I couldn't push start the VFR when the battery was fully
flat.

I managed to get enough charge into it to get it to fire up once, then
took it for a ride, which appears to have done the trick.

The question is, why does going for a ride charge the battery better
than a charger does?

 

SteveH wrote

You assume right. In it's purest form a mains driven battery charger
need only be a 10V transformer and a single diode.

 

Well, the battery is only a couple of months old, but I haven't used the
bike, so perhaps lack of use has killed the battery.

I'll go and buy some jump leads today.

--

Paul.
CBR1100XX SuperBlackbird
BOTAFOT #4
BOTAFOF #30
MRO #24
OMF #15
UKRMMA #30
Buy this house: http://personales.ya.com/wibbleypants/main.htm
This will be ready soon:
http://personales.ya.com/wibbleypants/bb_in_andalucia_spain.htm

 

1998 with carbs.

--

Paul.
CBR1100XX SuperBlackbird
BOTAFOT #4
BOTAFOF #30
MRO #24
OMF #15
UKRMMA #30
Buy this house: http://personales.ya.com/wibbleypants/main.htm
This will be ready soon:
http://personales.ya.com/wibbleypants/bb_in_andalucia_spain.htm

 

The very same. It's closed now, but apparently if you're an accomplished
abseiler (sp?) it's possible. Most of it you can only see from the train
and it's amazing.

There are plans to renovate it. By the way, the path is called "El
camino del Rey" "The path of the king". There's a story about it, but
you'll have to google.

http://www.bamjam.net/Spain/Chorro.html

--

Paul.
CBR1100XX SuperBlackbird
BOTAFOT #4
BOTAFOF #30
MRO #24
OMF #15
UKRMMA #30
Buy this house: http://personales.ya.com/wibbleypants/main.htm
This will be ready soon:
http://personales.ya.com/wibbleypants/bb_in_andalucia_spain.htm

 

D'oh! I used to think I was quite intelligent. I'll go and do it now Boss.

--

Paul.
CBR1100XX SuperBlackbird
BOTAFOT #4
BOTAFOF #30
MRO #24
OMF #15
UKRMMA #30
Buy this house: http://personales.ya.com/wibbleypants/main.htm
This will be ready soon:
http://personales.ya.com/wibbleypants/bb_in_andalucia_spain.htm

 

Guaranteed to kill it if there is the slightest current drain, such as that from
an alarm, when the ignition is turned off.

 

Well, there's the clock...

--

Paul.
CBR1100XX SuperBlackbird
BOTAFOT #4
BOTAFOF #30
MRO #24
OMF #15
UKRMMA #30
Buy this house: http://personales.ya.com/wibbleypants/main.htm
This will be ready soon:
http://personales.ya.com/wibbleypants/bb_in_andalucia_spain.htm

 

Not IME - but this is experience not involving VFRs.

 

Battery is shagged. With jump leads on car it started in half a
revolution. I have lost my faith in Optimate and cheap batteries.

I'm now wondering if the old battery was knackered at all or if the
Optimate simply wasn't charging it.

--

Paul.
CBR1100XX SuperBlackbird
BOTAFOT #4
BOTAFOF #30
MRO #24
OMF #15
UKRMMA #30
Buy this house: http://personales.ya.com/wibbleypants/main.htm
This will be ready soon:
http://personales.ya.com/wibbleypants/bb_in_andalucia_spain.htm

 

Thanks. Am investigating.

--

Paul.
CBR1100XX SuperBlackbird
BOTAFOT #4
BOTAFOF #30
MRO #24
OMF #15
UKRMMA #30
Buy this house: http://personales.ya.com/wibbleypants/main.htm
This will be ready soon:
http://personales.ya.com/wibbleypants/bb_in_andalucia_spain.htm

 

Try a golfing shop. They use AGM batteries of bike sort of sizes in
electric golf trolleys. I know a guy in Leeds with an ebay shop who sells
them if that's any use.

 

Good point. All the bikes here are trailies or mopeds. I'll try a boat
shop on the coast.

--

Paul.
CBR1100XX SuperBlackbird
BOTAFOT #4
BOTAFOF #30
MRO #24
OMF #15
UKRMMA #30
Buy this house: http://personales.ya.com/wibbleypants/main.htm
This will be ready soon:
http://personales.ya.com/wibbleypants/bb_in_andalucia_spain.htm