Passes & Canyons Blog

Just roll it on in here and plug it in, they told me, so I did.

The weather was nice a few days ago, with a forecast for a lot worse, so I planned to take the Concours for a ride. I geared up, rolled it out, climbed on and pushed the starter. Grunt, grunt, sigh. That motor is not going to start like that. So I hooked it up to my trickle charger and left it for a few hours.

Second try, grunt, nothing. Uh oh, I think I’m going to need a new battery.

I pulled the seat off and removed everything else you have to move to get to the battery and oh man, were those terminals corroded. I couldn’t remember when I put this battery in but clearly it was not any time recently.

First I had to struggle to disconnect the terminals. A screwdriver was not going to do it, and after dissolving away the corrosion they still would not budge. A screw bit in an adapter on a ratchet wrench–lots of leverage–did the job. OK, now I can go get a new one.

But as I set it on the workbench I saw a plastic holder with paperwork stuck on the side and when I looked at the papers I was stunned. I bought this battery in 2010. Thirteen years ago!

I remembered it then. I was writing for Examiner.com at the time and I rode out to Laughlin, Nevada, for the Laughlin River Run. When I was ready to leave home I had to charge the battery a bit to get it to start but didn’t think much about it.

Somehow I made it to Laughlin but once I got there the battery was giving me problems again. I was staying at a private campground and the only place to plug it in was in the club house. The guys who lived there told me to go ahead and just roll the bike into the club house and plug it in. So I did. That’s that photo above.

That really didn’t solve things so I bit the bullet and went to get a new battery. I paid what I recall being an exorbitant price for a new battery, but the guy told me it was a 10-year battery. I wasn’t sure I believed that but I was pretty much over a barrel. And then I pretty much forgot about it, apparently for a very long time.

When the bike was new it always fired up instantly as soon as I pushed the starter button and it has not done that in a long time. Now I see that what was probably going on was the battery was dying a slow, extended death. I put in the new one as soon as I got home with it, hit the starter, and it fired up instantly. How nice.

So now I have a new battery. I’m sure I paid a lot more for this new one, with a three-year warranty, than I did for the old 10-year battery way back then. Inflation. But now I’m going to mark it on my calendar and in three years or so I’m going to start looking around in advance to see where I can find another 10-year battery. Those things are worth it.

Biker Quote for Today

The only part you really need will also be the only part on permanent backorder.

Yeah, getting in here under the seat to push a button to jump start the bike would be a heck of an inconvenience.

I’ve had motorcycle batteries on my mind recently because one of my bikes has one that is a bit long in the tooth. I’ve had battery troubles while on the road before and I’d rather be preemptive than have to interrupt a trip with problems.

So it was with some interest that within two days I got emails, both from Adventure Rider, about two hot new batteries, both claiming to be the best ever. One is by Shorai and the other is Antigravity. I’ve never heard of either of them. So what do ya got?

Shorai says this: “Originally founded in 2010 in Sunnyvale, CA, Shorai LFX has quickly become the world’s most popular lithium iron phosphate power sports battery. Shorai LFX™ batteries deliver more energy faster, with less weight and with less wear on the battery per start cycle than any other brand or technology available on the market today.”

I figured I’d take a look at what they have for my 1999 Concours. Wrong. Their selections don’t go back to that model, so I looked at other model bikes that might use the same battery. What I came to was the Shorai LFX21A6-BS12, which listed at $245.95. OK, that’s pricey. Maybe check for a battery for the 2006 V-Strom 650.

OK, that brought me to the Shorai LFX18A1-BS12, which lists for $209.95. That’s still a bit high but I guess it depends on what you get for the money. And that’s actually kind of hard to get a handle on. Not surprisingly these lithium batteries are much lighter than their lead-acid counterparts and they claim to provide better starting power. How long will this thing last? I can’t find anything on the website that speaks to that.

And by the way, the lowest-priced battery in their line-up lists for $109.95. It gives the size specs so if that one works in the space you’ve got it might do the job. But all in all I’m not satisfied with the information provided.

As for Antigravity, they say: “THE BEST BATTERY EVER?!!!
That’s a bold statement… but we feel it holds true if you are looking for the best Starter Battery for your Motorcycle, Powersport vehicle, or even your Car. Antigravity Lithium Batteries offer a first-of-its-kind Built-In Jump Starting that will save you from being stranded; they also offer more REAL Amp Hours than competitors, which increases starting performance in cold weather and offers more overall Capacity for your Bike. Additionally, we have Heavy Duty (HD) versions for those needing even more capacity and power.”

OK, so one key thing here is their “built-in jump starting.” That is, even when the battery is theoretically dead, there is a separate compartment or reserve somewhere that holds onto enough juice to get you going so you can get out of the boonies to some place where you can get service. That could be a very handy thing.

Again, I could find nothing specified for my Concours but for the V-Strom they offer two, the ATX-12 RESTART and the ATX-12 HD RESTART, for $224.99 and $259.99, respectively.

Now here’s an interesting thing. To jump start when you’re otherwise dead you have to push a button on the battery. That’s not generally a very easy thing on most bikes so they also offer a remote device that makes it easier–at a price, of course.

They do also speak to battery life, claiming that their battery will last up to twice the life cycle of other lead acid and/or lithium batteries. And the battery comes with four posts, not two, so it will fit in your space and connect properly regardless of whether your set-up is oriented one way or the other.

So OK, maybe I’ll look into one of these Antigravity batteries. If I do you can bet I’ll have a follow-up report down the road.

Biker Quote for Today

You might be a Yuppie biker if you can’t find your oil filter.

Of course putting this new battery in couldn’t just be simple.

Joel, my mechanic, came by and checked out the V-Strom, then went and got his volt meter out of the truck. The battery was gone.

I had intended to look at my records and see when I last replaced the battery but had not done so. I looked then and found out that amazingly, this was the battery that came with the bike when I bought it in 2014. Wow.

So the charge I thought I gave it was of no use. There was enough to turn on the lights and try to turn the starter but with the reading Joel got he was surprised it could even do that.

A couple days later I got out and bought a new battery and once I got it installed (more about that in a moment) I turned the key and pushed the starter button . . . and it didn’t want to start. At first. Then it did. OK, that’s good.

Our road was still covered in ice so I couldn’t take it for a ride but on Wednesday things were clear and I figured I’d head out. I pushed the starter and it didn’t want to start. And then it did. This is not instilling me with confidence.

I was cautious about getting far from home but as I rode it and it continued to run, and in fact to run better, I did eventually take it out for a real spin. And when I got home I turned it off, opened the garage, moved Judy’s car, and then started it again to ride it in. This time it fired right up. So at this point I’m just going to keep a wary eye on it.

Besides that, while it had previously seemed like there was a fuel line leak or something, the paper I had underneath it showed no sign of a drip. Joel had checked what was on the floor of the garage and said it appeared to be coolant, not oil or gas. All in all he told me to put in a new battery and then let him know how it did and whether other problems persisted. We’ll see how that goes.

As for putting in the new battery, what a pain. Taking the old one out had been easy, just back out the bolts and lift it out. Why couldn’t putting a new one in be so simple.

The first problem was that the cable ends that connect to the battery were form-fitted to nest over the posts, but the new battery had larger posts and no nesting was going to happen. If I could have reached the vise with the cables I would have flattened them out but that was not possible, so I took pliers and bent them enough to get the metal in contact.

Next, the bolts were not long enough to reach down and thread into the nuts. I had some longer bolts but when I tried using them they were too long and I couldn’t get them tight. So I tore off some stiff paper and stuck that in the space below the bolts, to elevate the bolts, and finally was able to thread the bolts into the nuts and tighten them up. What a pain, but I’ve had to do that before so it didn’t require any new creativity.

So the V-Strom is running again. But now I’m going to be nervous every time I ride it for awhile until it proves itself trustworthy again. And what the heck is the deal with this leak and the fuel?

Biker Quote for Today

The keys to success: Waking up in the morning. Going to bed at night. Riding a motorcycle in between.

The battery in place in my CB750.

Experience is what ensures that we are completely prepared to fight the last war. Too bad the next war is likely to be completely unlike the last one.

From now on, when I go to buy a new battery for one of my motorcycles I will double-check while at the store to ensure that it is the correct one. Of course, for the rest of my life I will probably always be given the correct battery.

That was not what happened today, however.

I knew it was to be a gorgeous day so I was up reasonably early and headed over to Performance Cycles very shortly after they opened at 10 a.m. I had my old battery from the Honda with me and set it on the counter saying, “I want another just like this one.” The guy brought one out, I paid for it, and I headed home.

When I went to put it in, however, it was clearly not the right battery. It was identical with the exception that the poles were swapped. Sliding into the bike transversely, the positive post needs to be on the left, as you can see in the photo. This battery had the positive on the right.

It’s not like I could just rotate the battery 180 degrees. You can see that there is stuff very much in the way. So I had to make a second trip to the store. And then, of course, they were stuck with a battery that had had electrolyte added and had been charged (by me) that they now needed to sell soon lest they later sell someone a “new” battery that was functionally old.

So all of this delayed my ride, but I did finally get out. And hey, what a nice day.

I also put a new headlight bulb in my Kawi. It took some figuring out but I finally did. I had looked in the shop guide to see how to go about accessing that bulb but all it said was “remove the cover and remove the bulb.”

No kidding? Wow, I never could have figured that out.

What I did finally figure out was that you can–if you have small enough hands–reach past the fork tube from above and get to it. There was a plug to pull off, and that was simple. Then there was a rubber gasket/cover that pulled off, and then I could reach the prongs on the bulb. But there was a little wire wicket in there that made certain the bulb stayed in place and getting that sucker off was a trick.

Keep in mind that when you can barely get your hand in, you don’t have a lot room for movement, and therefore don’t have a lot of leverage. Finally a pair of needle-nose pliers did the job.

Then the bulb just wanted to fall out. OK, keep that in mind putting the new one in. Once I got the bulb positioned correctly the wicket actually went back on easily, the gasket went back on easily, and the plug connected easily. I turned the bike on and by golly it all worked! Yee ha!

So now I’m fully functional again with both bikes, and just in time, too. The weather is supposed to be insanely nice this coming week so I may just have to ride to work. Please don’t throw me in that briar-patch!!

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Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re becoming addicted to riding when you open the door and push your car backwards with your foot because you forgot about this thing called “reverse.”

Finally time for a new battery for the CB750.

I mentioned before that I couldn’t take my Honda CB750 Custom for a ride on Sunday because I couldn’t get it to start. I put in on the charger and today, Thursday, I came home from work figuring that just for insurance I would take it out tonight for a short spin. It’s supposed to get cold and possibly snow tomorrow.

Before I got all geared up, though, I went out to make sure it would start. It did not. Hmmm.

I figured it must need a new battery. But how long ago was it that I bought this one? I keep my records in triplicate. I keep the hard-copy receipts in one file. I keep a spreadsheet of all my expenses and earnings, for tax purposes. And I keep a list of vehicle expenses on my Palm. (Yes, my wife and I both still uses our Palms.) Somewhere in there I had to have the information I was looking for.

Well, I found it. Amazing as it sounds, it appears I bought that battery in April 2008. That’s nearly 5 years! No wonder it’s died now.

And so no, of course I didn’t get out on the Honda tonight. Now I’m just hoping we don’t have snow and cold and the roads stay frosted over for three weeks or more like what just happened. It’s supposed to be a high on Saturday of about 20 degrees, but I don’t care. If the road is clear I’m going for a ride–after I get a new battery. And what a great, REAL test for my new electric gloves.

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Biker Quote for Today

Sometimes it takes more than one tank of gas to chase the demons from my head.