Riding a bloody long way (part2) paging the electrical FOAK

370[1] miles is seemingly (and as advertised) quite doable.
It didn't even rain till the last 50 miles or so!

It took around 8 hours, but was a pretty good ride. A bluetooth headset
and a couple of gigabytes of music were a definite assistance in the
boredom stakes though.

However I have continued my remarkable trend of riding up to my
destination driveway, turning off the bike and being unable to fucking
well start it again.

Last time it was a fried reg/rec[4] but this time I was on a hill, so I
bump started it[2] and revved the tits off[3]. The headlight does NOT
glow crimson and explode, the rev counter still works quite happily and
the bike idles along for 20 mins or so, till boredom kicks in and I turn
it off.

Symptomatically, it makes a sad clicking noise as the starter solenoid
flaps (it doesn't STAY clicked, it opens and shuts rapidly) and it
doesn't make any attempt to turn the engine over. After the bump and 20
min run it did TRY and turn the starter but really not much, then more
clicking. Headlight is bright with the engine off (makes heat on the
palm of the hand) and the indicators flash with expected rhythm.

Things I did: I filled up 40 miles from the end of the ride so it
started fine at that point. I did use heated grips for the end of the
ride and they were in use when the reg/rec failed.
I've checked fuses in the starty system and tried to clean up the
slightly scabby (green) solenoid connector.

I intend to hand it over to a man with a spanner on Monday (any one
local to the Lizard in Cornwall?) since I can bump it and ride it to
one, but I thought I'd throw it over to the debate here too.....


[1] I moved house since the last post.
[2] ER5
[3] The bike, not me
[4] It did make the battery ill and I'm still using that battery, but an
Optimate gave it a green light after a day or so considering the matter.

 

Sounds like your battery is fucked.

 

Gawd you read fast!
Ta

 

Does the headlight brighten up noticeably (point it at a garage door or
wall) when increase the engine speed from tickover to about 2000rpm?
If so, your reg/rec is ok and it's charging, but if the battery is
refusing to take the charge, be careful, as that can spell doom for some
reg/recs.
What I'd do is take it out for a blat of around 20 miles and start it on
the button on your return. Leave it overnight and see if it still starts
ok. If not, get a new battery.
--
Dave
GS850x2 XS650 SE6a

"It's a moron working with power tools.
How much more suspenseful can you get?"
- House

 

Dry, I'd have thought. Whip it out and top up to the upper line
with distilled water.

--
Ivan Reid, School of Engineering & Design, _____________ CMS Collaboration,
Brunel University. Ivan.Reid@[brunel.ac.uk|cern.ch] Room 40-1-B12, CERN
GSX600F, RG250WD "You Porsche. Me pass!" DoD #484 JKLO#003, 005
WP7# 3000 LC Unit #2368 (tinlc) UKMC#00009 BOTAFOT#16 UKRMMA#7 (Hon)
KotPT -- "for stupidity above and beyond the call of duty".

 

The label on it says it's sealed and should never be opened or the
streams crossed.

 

Do it anyway, where's your sense of adventure?

 

This is what I'd do.

Actually, what I do is as the Guzzi battery is usually ok for a day or
two is not bother getting a new battery but run alongside the bike and
bump start it if it refuses to start on the button. I've also got some
jump leads.

 

Exactly - live dangerously. So-called 'sealed for life' batteries are
entirely dependent on the charging systems being up to snuff and they do
need topped up in the real world [1]. If it's a gel battery, then that's
different, of course.

[1] That many owners take the label as being da troof and would buy a
new battery when it's not really needed wouldn't have crossed the
makers' minds at all, would it?
--
Dave
GS850x2 XS650 SE6a

"It's a moron working with power tools.
How much more suspenseful can you get?"
- House

 

Hmm, that's as maybe. I might peel the top off and have a peer inside, I
can't ruin any more than it is ruined already.

I've been for a 20 mile blatt, nice and fast, returned to the drive
idling smoothly, turn off, a slight whimper on the button and no way
it's starting again. The headlight is still VERY bright with the
ignition on and the bike not running though. Does that still fit in with
'shagged battery'? If it's not charging, shouldn't it be starting to get
flat around now, it'll suck a bit out of the battery every time it
delivers a spark won't it?

 

It sounds like a bad ground on the starter.

 

Dirty connections - battery terminals, other end of the earth strap,
connections on the starter solenoid. Even if they look clean, clean them up
properly with emery paper or the like, and reassemble with Vaseline. This
is the first thing to do in the circs - even if it doesn't fix the problem,
it'll save paying some mechanic to do it for you.

 

Did you try with the engine idling and rev it up to see if the headlight
brightens?

True. If you're running with the headlight on it won't last more than a
couple of hours. Without the h/l it would last considerably longer if
nothing's going in. Assuming it started off with a fully charged
battery. As Muddy says, it's beginning to sound like a faulty starting
system. Note 'sytem', not necessarily the starter itself.
--
Dave
GS850x2 XS650 SE6a

"It's a moron working with power tools.
How much more suspenseful can you get?"
- House

 

So, we popped a jump pack on the bike, borrowed from a neighbor.
It fired on the first turn, and started perfectly.
If it *IS* a bad ground it's astonishingly marginal.
I think I have a dodgy battery, It probably did get a boiling when the
reg/rec failed a month or so back.

The battery IN the bike has the code GTX12-BS, but mad4bikes (from whom
I got my new radiator) have a CTX12-BS for a very reasonable £37 They
imply that's correct for an ER5, but I'm buggered if I can find any
evidence on google to explain what the codes MEAN or what the difference
between those two batteries is.

Also, After popping the acid into a new battery, is it fully charged, or
do I need a charger to get it installed? It seems that delivered from
the net batteries come unfilled.

 

"yes". It'll be partly charged.

indeed.

 

There will (should) be instructions with the battery. All you do is fill
the cells with the dilute acid and leave for a few hours, preferably
overnight.
You give it a commissioning charge then - bung it on a trickle charger
overnight and fit it in the morning.

Neither of these waiting periods are observed by cunts in workshops as
they don't give a **** how long the battery lasts, but take my word on
it, it's well worth your while to do it properly.
--
Dave
GS850x2 XS650 SE6a

"It's a moron working with power tools.
How much more suspenseful can you get?"
- House