Question on Bike Battery

[Peregrine Falcon89]

So heres the scoop:

Bike sits with exhaust plugged, fuel full and stabil in it over the winter- one mod done (i know i know dont make fun of me) but i installed LED's all over the bike (a typical kit). the LED's were off.
the battery was NOT on a trickle charger.

go to start it up, and as i assumed, it was dead.
but here is the cute part:

jumpstarted it from my Z, and it fired right up. let it idle to warm and put the kickstand up and backed out- GF was going to hop on and I was going to hop off, put the stand back down and it stalled (because my silly self left it in first)-- thats all NORMAL.. but i couldnt get it started again.
i mean okay, ya, i didnt build up enough charge in the battery to get it started again- but i REALLY couldnt get it going again.... even with JUMPER CABLES!
speedo, LED's, clock, would all turn on, but the engine would roll once and the battery was flat again, even hooked up to a running car battery!

.. what coulda caused this? there is no way that the battery coulda been sufficiently killed from one winters rest, to the point of shorting itself?? ???


regardless, went to NAPPA, went to get a new battery (was going to cost me 80 ... yes 80 bucks, and the guy behind the counter started chatting about bikes with me-- he had a 1300 in 1990, "before they called em' busas" as my youthful self is told. yada yada the battery "happened to be on sale for 50$"
I <3 the busa family!

unrelated: me after a days riding, after giving her a bath, and the usual spring checkup stuff. Was teaching my poopzu how to properly lean the bike over.

LOL it blocks sh itzu

 

[Big Red]

Sounds like the battery was shot. Keep it on the Battery Tender and you won't have that problem again.

 

[ogre]

or start it twice a week during the winter, let her warm up, and shut her down.

 

[jdsbusa]

And one more tidbit, next time don't jump it with a running vehicle, turn the vehicle off and let the battery do the work for the jump so there's no charging system running from the car into your bike battery.

 

[jdsbusa]

or start it twice a week during the winter, let her warm up, and shut her down.

Only if you get it into operating temp to evaporate the condensation that builds up in the oil, otherwise it's a bad idea to idle it and shut it back down. The charging system does very little at idle anyway.

 

[214 Busa]

Get a battery tender. They're cheaper then batteries even when they're on sale.

 

[Peregrine Falcon89]

will do- thanks for the input gang!

Colton

 

[BIG GUY]

If you store it over the winter and do not ride it, I would even put the bike up on stands. I would also get the battery tender and you won't have this problem again.

 

[dmrowe]

Get a battery tender. They're cheaper then batteries even when they're on sale.

+1, have I said how much I love Battery Tenders lately? Doesn't matter whether the vehicle is running or not when you jump start, the battery will only pull as much as it needs to crank and sometimes you need to have the charging system running to put juice back into a dead battery. Been there one too many times, hence an investment in battery tenders for every bike I own.