Battery Help... ASAP

[Jadex1]

Hello,

So i'm at school, and i left the key in my bike and my battery died. Someone had one of those emergency jump starters and i got it to work. This is my first bike, so i feel kind of stupid, but we all make mistakes right? I was wondering is there any thing you can buy that you can keep in the bike that will jump start it if this happens again?
I was reading about battery tenders, or rechargers, and i don't quite get what those are suppose to do. Can anyone help me with this as soon as possible? After i'm done at school i'm going to go and buy a charger so i can restore the battery. I have a 2007 HOnda Shadow aero 750. IF anyone has any advice to offer i would really appreciate it.

thank you

jadex

[Motorcycle Forum]

[DrBob]

Motorcycle jumper cables are good to keep on the bike- just do a google search.

Battery tenders are very low power chargers, designed to be hooked up to your bike when it is sitting for an extended period. They give just enough of a little charge to keep the battery topped off, as it normally would drain over time. They are perfect for winter storage so the battery is not dead in the spring, or if you do not ride your bike very often. But they are not what you want to recharge a completely dead battery. Get a battery charger, not a battery tender or trickle charger. If it is the original battery in the bike just get a new one, as it is 5 years old and at the end of its life span anyways.

[Jadex1]

is there any like emergency starter like thing? i though i saw someone talking about a some sort of device that stays in that compartment where your tools are that you can turn on and gives your battery juice to start. I just bought the bike but i left the key in it by accident and drained the battery.

[DrBob]

Yeah, they sell those things, ranging from $60 to $200 depending on the quality and capacity, and we keep one around the office just in case. A small one can be had that will fit in your saddle bag, and some have a small air compressor and light built into them also. The problem I find with them is two fold. First off, they go dead over time themselves unless you keep them plugged into the wall at home or into the car's cigarette lighter, so it seems like whenever I need it the darn thing is dead anyways. Secondly, they loose capacity and effectiveness over time, so every 3 years or so I toss it out and buy a new one. If you really want one, check JC Whitney or google "emergency jump starter."

A good set of motorcycle jumper cables does not take much space, and your bike is a 12 volt so you can jump it off a car or another motorcycle. We have all forgotten our key and killed the battery, but very few people forget their key a second time LOL!

[haCharade]

Tell me about it! I had installed some lights, and turned everything off but the damn lights! They didn't require the key in the ignition to turn on as they were connected directly to the battery. My battery died, of course, and I had to jump start it. It turned it on and I left it running for quite a while so the battery could recharge. After a while, I took it to fill up on gas right down the street. The bloody thing turned off on me and wouldn't turn on again. My wife had to come to the rescue. Anyway, it would jump start, but as soon as I turned the thing off (and after it had been on for a while, mind you) it would not turn on. I left it alone for a day, and when I tried to start it up, it worked like a charm and has since. Strange, huh? Moral of the story is Dr. Bob is correct; I will not be leaving anything on a second time, lol.

[DrBob]

Probably learned your lesson about wiring things directly to the battery too, didn'tcha?

[haCharade]

A little. I'm pretty stubborn. Part of it is that I don't know a whole lot about wiring to begin with, so I go with what I know. All part of the learning process, I suppose.

[Barrie]

Depending on how DEAD the battery is, I have often Bump started both Motorcycles and Cars.

BUMP START: Get the vehicle rolling a decent speed by manually pushing it, with the key turned on, Pop the clutch in 2nd gear and hang on.

[slozomby]

i keep a AAA membership card in my wallet. not quite as good as a jumper battery but takes a heck of alot less space.