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View Full Version : PITA aka my bike....



Rue
Wed Dec 18th, 2002, 09:41 AM
Here's the deal with my bike..... I bought it wrecked through auction (a. I'll never do that again, and b. hindsight is a bitch) and for the most part it was just cosmetic damage that's been taken care of, but I seem to be having recurring issues....

After I picked it up (super long story that isn't over so I won't get into that), I discovered that I had to put some work into it, so the following is a list of things that I did:

Had to get new pegs.... not really sure what happened to the pegs that were on there.

New battery because there wasn't one at all.... not really sure what happened to the battery that was in it (and I had to buy the bike that has extremely expensive batteries)

New seat because the seat that was sitting on it was actually a seat from a GSXR (I still have it if someone needs one)

Brake pedal (goes along with the peg issue... WTF?!?!?)

Then after all that was said and done (thank you Albert for the use of your tools) it wouldn't start. So, Al came over and it was determined that the gas lines weren't hooked up. Kevin thought maybe they weren't hooked up right because "he didn't do them". So we hooked those up... no go. At this point, because of noises it was making, Al thought it might be the starter. Whatever, I'm not mechanically inclined at all so this news didn't mean a whole lot to me (other than $$$). Then, out of sheer frustration I finally called my dad in to help because I was on my last straw. Dad tore it apart and couldn't figure it out either. He was pissed enough to take it down the street to Fay Myers. The good folks at Fay determined that the gas lines weren't hooked up right... :lol:.... and in Al's defense, it wasn't our hooking them up that wasn't right if that's possible. So, they had to clean out the entire engine and change the oil, blah blah blah. It would start fine after that, but not hold a charge. So, they did their little test and decided that it was the "regulator rectifier" (which honestly sounds like a Back to the Future type part to me) and dad gave them the go ahead to fix it. So, it gets fixed and we go and pick it up. Dad rides it around the parking lot, I get a VIN verification done, we bring her home.

I rode her around and she's lovely, worked fine and what have you. Part of the reason I couldn't ride it very far was because it isn't registered. It has a license plate on it, but lord only knows who's bike it belongs to. I'm guessing it was a plate that was put on there so it could be tested out but then again, there is no rhyme or reason to the things that happened with this bike from day 1. At any rate, I didn't feel like getting pulled over with this mysterious license plate. I still don't have it registered, but that's not my point.

It started getting cold and I kind of stopped riding because I had gotten busy at work, and honestly didn't feel inclined to ride in 30 degree weather. So, it wasn't till a couple of weeks ago that I discovered that it wouldn't start. I thought maybe the battery had run down which made me kick myself in the ass, but it wasn't something that was gonna end my world. Al dropped off his battery charger and took the seat off for me because I don't have any tools. I go the next day to take the battery out and whoever bolted it down at Fay is the twin of He-Man because I couldn't get it out. I kind of put it off till last week and then I try with the jumper cables. It'll start up with the jumper cables on it and run just fine, but the moment you take the cables off, it shuts off. When I say shuts off, I mean, there is no juice flowing through that thing. No lights, no gauges, nothing (and this is how it is before the jumper cables too). So, I don't know if it's the battery, perhaps it wasn't fixed right (but then why would it run for me before but not now), or lord only knows..... and that's where I stand with the bike.

Any ideas... Bueller Bueller

UglyDogRacing
Wed Dec 18th, 2002, 10:22 AM
Sounds like your battery. Pull it out and get it tested on a load tester to see if it will hold a charge.

The regulator holds the pulsating current received from the stator in check so that they are 12V when sent to the battery. Fay may have screwed something up when they changed this.

Anonymous
Wed Dec 18th, 2002, 10:45 AM
Also leave the battery on the charger for a little while (1hr max on fast charge mode, overnight if it has a 'trickle charge' mode) - they need time to build that power back up again.

Rue
Wed Dec 18th, 2002, 10:52 AM
I think I'm gonna have to find a charger (cuz Al took his back) and get the battery out somehow. If the charger thing doesn't work.... I'll take it in. Someone said electrical issues... but I don't think that's it. I really just want it to be the battery.

Anonymous
Wed Dec 18th, 2002, 11:47 AM
It'll start up with the jumper cables on it and run just fine, but the moment you take the cables off, it shuts off. When I say shuts off, I mean, there is no juice flowing through that thing. No lights, no gauges, nothing (and this is how it is before the jumper cables too).
I think the answer is no, but did the engine keep running when you took the jumper cables off?

The connection between the battery and the starter is fine, but I think the problem is in the charging system - unfortunately, I think it's shot :guns: (actually, I just wanted to use that smiley, but it might be true). In my experience, even with a dead battery, once the bike is started, it will remain running (with lights and gauges functioning) until you shut it off (or it stalls) - if the engine isn't run long enough, the battery won't get enough of a charge and won't be able to start on it's own again. BTW, if it's anything like a car, simply letting the bike idle will not generate enough juice to charge the battery, you need to keep the revs at about double of what the idle RPM is, probably around 2000 RPM - usually taking it out for a good ride (30-60 minutes) is sufficient to hold a charge for few days at least.

If your charging system isn't working, as I suspect, then all these times you were riding it around after getting it back from Fays, you were operating the lights and guages directly off the battery, draining it. Since it was new, there was plenty of juice for it to draw from, but that drain, combined with sitting for a few weeks (cold weather doesn't help much either), was enough to drain it completely - IMHO.

You may want to consider investing in a batter charger. You can pick one up for as little as $20 (a good one will only run you about $35).

I hope things work out for you. Good luck & keep us posted.
Spidey

Rue
Wed Dec 18th, 2002, 12:14 PM
This is where you lose me.... again, I'm not mechanically inclined. I'm going on what I've been told.

The regulator rectifier was bad, which was causing it to not hold a charge according to Fay. The battery was fine according to Fay. They replaced the rectifier, which to me suggests that it should hold a charge. Before you put the cables on, there is no juice, engine doesn't do anything, doesn't even attempt to turn over. Put the cables on and it turns over, lights work, gauges work, runs fine. The second you remove either cable.... everything shuts off, engine and all. I had the cables on it for a while. It's possible that they missed something else.... but I have no idea unless I take it back there, or someone else is mechanically savvy. I'm just trying to determine if I should yell at them (Fay Myers)... or if it's possible the battery has just gone completely bad.

Dysco
Thu Dec 19th, 2002, 02:01 AM
Hey Rue- I'm going with Spiderman on this. How long is "a while" with the jumper cables? I worked on a problem like this with my buddy's SV the night before the toy ride so it's still fresh in my mind.

It all started when... he left his heated handgrips (wired hot- People: Be responsible with your electrical systems :)) on while he was at working. I met him at work and when we were ready to roll, his battery had nuthin'. After pushing it around the lot for 30 minutes or so with no luck, we flagged down a SUV with jumper cables, removed the seat, and held the cables to the terminals for a while. It didn't take long at all before we could start the bike but when I pulled the cables the bike died. So we waited a few minutes before removing them the next time and the bike ran fine with the cables off. We thanked the SUV guy and he drove away. As we were getting ready to take off again the bike up and died (no lights, guages, etc). Hey Spidey nice call--> We were running it at max choke to up the RPMs, thinking that it would charge the battery a bit but it was apparently still a slight drain on the battery and all it did was superheat the header to a nice red glow- very cool.

We ended up riding 2 up on the Beemer to get a pickup and we trucked the SV to a house and charged it for a few hours while we watched a flick. After charging for 3 hours or so, the bike started with no problem. We ran it (choked) for 5 minutes or so, shut it down, and tried to start it again with no luck. This time we were able to push start it relatively easily.

We headed out to get gas and ended up taking the long way (5 miles or so) at high RPMs. At the pump, he was able to shut it down, gas up, and start it back up with no pushing 6 hours after the trouble began.

So I guess the moral of the story is to:

1) Get plates
2) Get a charger- I got mine with 6/2 amp charge for $40 at NAPA. You do not need to remove the battery from the bike to charge it.
3) Get some warm gloves and call some people over to go on a break-in run.

Or you could just charge it for 12 hours or so (time/amps is all relative- ask someone here if you have questions) when you finally decide to ride it. Don't let it go too long though because bikes get angry over time if ignored. Seriously- your bike is emotionally fragile and the sooner you start riding it, the sooner it will develop a sunny disposition.

I wouldn't go looking to kick Twin of He-Man's ass just yet. Time to suck it up and start riding... once you can start the bike. :D

Mike

If you need help or tools call me at 303.250.2179

mikesf4i
Fri Dec 20th, 2002, 12:32 AM
"emotionally fragile"? I like that!
Can you buy or borrow a volt meter? If so you would connect the leads on the meter to the terminals on your battery. Red to the plus sign, black to the minus sign. You should see 12 volts on the meter. If you dont see 12 volts you will need to charge your battery. I have a small charger I could loan you to do this if you want. After your battery is fully charged and reads 12 volts it should start your bike. If it does start your bike you should read 13.5 to 15 volts on your battery while your bike is running. You may have to rev it a little to get this.If you only see 12 volts on your battery while you bike is running your bike is not charging your battery. If you see 13.5 to 15 volts it is charging and if it doesnt restart your battery is bad. There is obviously alot more things you can check to be more specific but this is a good starting point.What year and model is your bike? Is there any corrosion or rust anywhere on it?

mikesf4i
Mon Dec 23rd, 2002, 07:58 PM
Your battery has water in it, right? If not add distilled water only, not tap water. You want to make sure that the plates inside the battery are covered. Remember, this stuff gets acidic so use safety glasses and gloves.Pull off the little caps that would be in a line on the top of the battery to check the water.If you charge your battery too much it will boil the water out of it.

mikesf4i
Mon Dec 23rd, 2002, 08:09 PM
sorry somehow i keep posting things twice

haywood jablome
Tue Dec 24th, 2002, 12:31 AM
i got a motorcycle battery charger if you need to borrow it, i think i might be right down the road from you. Im off of Tower and Hamdon. Let me know, Chad.