Bike Problems

[zexus]

Okay here is my story. I have not been riding my max a lot this season but I was going out to the garage to start it up once a week. a few weeks ago I decided to go for a ride but the bike battery was dead. I figured that when I started it each week and only let it run for a short while I slowly killed the battery. Anyway, I charged it up and no problems with the exception that I started to think that at idle the bike was running poorly (it seemed to hesitate, especially after it warmed up - it seemed to want to come close to stalling). I went out for a little ride today on the highway for about 30 miles and when I came back I let it idle for awhile to listen to the idle and sure enough it died after being left to idle for about one minute. I went to start it again and heard a fairly loud "clack clack' sound" but the bike did start and after about another minute it died again. I went to start it a final time heard the "clack" but the bike would not start.
Is all this a battery problem (not getting charged) - the poor idle and "clack clack" sound? Or do I have bigger problem. I did video this so if you figure you need to see and hear what I have described I can post it. Thanks.

 

[zexus]

Update: I just went out to see if it would start and it did. I realized that when I tried to start it before after it had stalled the fan was running because the engine was hot after the ride. So I shut the bike off, and turned on my fan over ride switch and sure enough the bike wouldn't start - it just struggled - turned the over ride off and tried again...bike started. Help!

 

[ouchez]

PC680 time. New battery.

Also put Stabil in the gas and keep it full when in storage, follow the directions and use at least 89 octane if 10% ethanol.

O

 

[wildweasel_pt]

Check charging system. The battery may still be good. Give it a good charge.

 

[mr.maxx]

check this out http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=994

 

[MaxMidnight]

Do as Mr Weasel suggests and do some basic diagnostics before spending any dosh on replacing parts.

Trying to guess what is wrong is a sure fire way to waste money.

One further point - you should not start your bike unless you intend to get it fully up to operating temperature which will take about ten miles of riding.

A 'quick' warm up can do more harm than good;

• The charging system does not have time to replenish the battery.
• You are likely to get more condensation within the motor which, as the oil does not get above boiling point, will stay in there and cause damage and degrade the oil.

 

[ouchez]

What kind of battery and how old?

That is exactly how my original battery acted before I replaced it with the PC680. I also had my original on a Battery Tender Jr. in the off riding seasons.

O

 

[sdt354]

Charge, let it sit overnight disconnected, then check the voltage. If under 12.5 volts I'd load test the battery,though it's prob. time for a new one if voltage is low .
Crank the bike over for 10 seconds and observe the voltage reading. under 10.2 volts while still cranking, replace the battery. Then move on to the charging system knowing it's not the battery.

 

[zexus]

Do as Mr Weasel suggests and do some basic diagnostics before spending any dosh on replacing parts.

Trying to guess what is wrong is a sure fire way to waste money.

One further point - you should not start your bike unless you intend to get it fully up to operating temperature which will take about ten miles of riding.

A 'quick' warm up can do more harm than good;

• The charging system does not have time to replenish the battery.
• You are likely to get more condensation within the motor which, as the oil does not get above boiling point, will stay in there and cause damage and degrade the oil.

Thank you for your advice. I will change my practice.

What kind of battery and how old?

That is exactly how my original battery acted before I replaced it with the PC680. I also had my original on a Battery Tender Jr. in the off riding seasons.

O

The battery is a PC680 and the date code makes it an 08. I just went out and bought a better battery charger. I think my old one is not appropriate for charging bike batteries (10 Amp). I think I read somewhere that I should charge a bike battery slowly...if anyone knows for sure I am all ears.

Charge, let it sit overnight disconnected, then check the voltage. If under 12.5 volts I'd load test the battery,though it's prob. time for a new one if voltage is low .
Crank the bike over for 10 seconds and observe the voltage reading. under 10.2 volts while still cranking, replace the battery. Then move on to the charging system knowing it's not the battery.

I checked the battery using my multimeter and found that it reads 12.88 V with the bike off. At idle (1000rpm) it reads 12.78V and when I increase the idle to 2500rpm it reads about 12.83V. I also notice that when I increase the idle even more, up to 5000rpm the volts drop down.
When I cranked the bike over the volts dropped, but only to around 10.5.

 

[bazwell]

With the charger, yes, use a smaller one for bikes because sometimes they fry the battery at 10A.

From your description you have a charging problem. Maybe bad connections somewhere.
Look into doing the direct connection mod, where you connect the regulator and battery direct.

 

[wildweasel_pt]

From the top of my head and relying on what you said on the "what is this?" thread i'd say you have your RR ground disconnected and that is preventing you to charge te battery and the battery is running flat everytime you start teh bike, energize teh coils, headlight and fuelpump... check for a mating connector for that balck wire in front of left side panel by the fuel vent hose just above middle gear drive and conect it... But before you do that remove headlight fuse and start the bike and measure voltage across battery terminals. I'd say almost for sure that you won't have more than 13 volts. The PC680 fully charged will give you a voltage of about 12.9 so if you get up to that reading your battery isn't charging. put the headlight fuse in and the voltage will decrease even more... I just think you have the RR ground connector disconnected...

 

[naughtyG]

Has your bike already had the 'crimp fix' applied? That's where that big crimp on the positive cables very near the battery gets filled in with hot solder - it often makes for a much better charging voltage.

 

[zexus]

From the top of my head and relying on what you said on the "what is this?" thread i'd say you have your RR ground disconnected and that is preventing you to charge te battery and the battery is running flat everytime you start teh bike, energize teh coils, headlight and fuelpump... check for a mating connector for that balck wire in front of left side panel by the fuel vent hose just above middle gear drive and conect it... But before you do that remove headlight fuse and start the bike and measure voltage across battery terminals. I'd say almost for sure that you won't have more than 13 volts. The PC680 fully charged will give you a voltage of about 12.9 so if you get up to that reading your battery isn't charging. put the headlight fuse in and the voltage will decrease even more... I just think you have the RR ground connector disconnected...

I also thought this black wire might be a disconnected r/r ground, but once I removed the r/r from its hiding place I realized that my bike does not have the newer 'finned' r/r but instead has the older version. This kinda threw me because I read in a couple of places that 1997 and up had the newer version...but after doing some more research I discovered the last year for the 'crappy' r/r was in 1997.

Has your bike already had the 'crimp fix' applied? That's where that big crimp on the positive cables very near the battery gets filled in with hot solder - it often makes for a much better charging voltage.

After removing some electrical tape I discovered that the 'crimp fix' had been done at some point prior to my ownership. I have by-passed the crimp all together now because I wired the r/r positive line directly to the battery.

 

[zexus]

Okay I am slowly moving forward on all the excellent advice and opinions people have given me...and I must say I am truly grateful for everyone taking the time to help me. I have removed the battery and it is currently at a local motorcycle shop being checked out (I took it to Canadian Tire and they said it was dead, but I was a little suspicious of the guy who was testing it - he couldn't get the analyzer to work with the PC680 and so took it into the back and then came out and said "it's pooched". Time for a second opinion.
I have hardwired the r/r to the positive terminal, sanded the back of the r/r, checked the main ground to the motor and cleaned and sanded it as well. I have checked the stator with my multimeter and believe that it is okay because all three wires gave me a .6 ohm reading. I then did the ground test on those same wires and got an infinite reading (I will conduct one more test on the stator when I get my battery back or a new one).
So I will conduct a couple more tests once I have a battery I know is working perfectly. I will chime in here once I have completed those final tests. Thanks again everyone.

 

[zexus]

Well, at this point it looks like my r/r and stator are all still good (conducted all the test and the readings look promising). Two places have now told me that my PC680 is not up to snuff...everything is pointing to a faulty battery. I have been doing some research on batteries and I think I am going to give the Ballistic Evo2 12-cell a try. So much power and so very very light and a three year warranty to boot. Thanks again to everyone for all their help.

 

[Redbone]

Okay I am slowly moving forward on all the excellent advice and opinions people have given me...and I must say I am truly grateful for everyone taking the time to help me. I have removed the battery and it is currently at a local motorcycle shop being checked out (I took it to Canadian Tire and they said it was dead, but I was a little suspicious of the guy who was testing it - he couldn't get the analyzer to work with the PC680 and so took it into the back and then came out and said "it's pooched". Time for a second opinion.
I have hardwired the r/r to the positive terminal, sanded the back of the r/r, checked the main ground to the motor and cleaned and sanded it as well. I have checked the stator with my multimeter and believe that it is okay because all three wires gave me a .6 ohm reading. I then did the ground test on those same wires and got an infinite reading (I will conduct one more test on the stator when I get my battery back or a new one).
So I will conduct a couple more tests once I have a battery I know is working perfectly. I will chime in here once I have completed those final tests. Thanks again everyone.

You may want to remove the footpeg bracket that the r/r bolts to and clean those mounting points to the frame. I remove mine every winter and there has been corrosion on on or more of the mounting points each year.

 

[Bill Seward]

I'd run a wire from one of the R/R mounting bolts directly to battery negative.
Make sure everything is clean and shiny. While not as good as a new style unit, this did work for me till I upgraded.

Solder the connectors to the wire you use, and use a fairly heave gauge wire for this connection...