[hrglas]

Well, i rode yesterday to take advantage of the weather. after my ride, came home and locked the front wheel. remove the key and go inside. so now its about 18 hours later and i want to take advantage of a little sun. go to turn the bike and all i get is (click click click). i cant figure it out. i mean when you take the key out, theres nothing that stays on right. so i thought! then i realize that i may have actually turned the key all the way to the parking light position, since it happens to be right next to the lock position. if thats true, then my parking light was on all night.

other than that im at a loss. im sure thats what it is, but i know now to make sure i take the key out at the right spot!

any ideas on good battery chargers just in case this happens again. would hate to take it to the dealer over and over. i ask cause the manual says the charging rates should be between 0.9A x 5-10 hours-4.0A x 1 hour. i have no clue about these rates.

 

[themeatmanlandry]

Wal-Mart for a cheapie . . . Sears for one that'll last you.

The chargers are rated right on the box. Sorry about hte battery. That's a bummer.

Brand new bike? Probably left it in parking light position like you said.

There are many, many far worse things that can happen. You should feel blessed if that's all you've got to worry about!! :-D

 

[oldgeezer]

After going through the ordeal you just experienced, it probably won't happen again. You'll remember to turn the key to the off position. You should have been able to jump the bike off, run it for a while and the battery would have been charged and should stay charged. Normally, a newer battery will take a couple of blunders before it goes kaput.

 

[LayinLo]

There are many, many far worse things that can happen. You should feel blessed if that's all you've got to worry about!! :-D

+1

 

[Nexus242]

Yeah I did that once, lucy for me I picked up a charger late that night at Auto Zone for $20 hooked it up went to bed and reinstalled it the next day and was happy. Hope to never have to use it again but I'll have it if anyone else does that thing too.

 

[Clint]

Anyone know whether you can effectively pop-start an efi bike?

 

[c50tiger]

Rowdy, I don't honestly know if it'll work if the battery is totally kaput... only time I've needed to do that (after pulling the same stupid human trick as hrglas) there was enough juice to light up the headlight and get the fuel pressurized, but not enough to turn over the engine.

Hrglas - A good Craftsman trickle charger would be a wise investment... great warranty, and you never know when you might have to miss riding for a while.

One other thing, hrglas... while the first dead battery on my C50 was my fault (a la parking light), it also turned out that I had a bad battery straight from the factory. Warranty replacement, of course. It happens.

 

[pjd]

I did the same thing (I'm sure we all have) but got lucky and came back a few minutes later. Now as part of my routine as I walk away from the bike I check to make sure the lights are off.

 

[jaydog19833]

Now as part of my routine as I walk away from the bike I check to make sure the lights are off.

I do exactly the same.

Anyone know whether you can effectively pop-start an efi bike?

What's this efi you speak of?

 

[c50tiger]

Electronic Fuel Injection.

 

[inspiron]

Yeah I did that once, lucy for me ...

[Ricky Ricardo voic]You gotts some 'splanin to do, Lucy![/Ricky Ricardo voice]

 

[LayinLo]

Anyone know whether you can effectively pop-start an efi bike?

We did it when my buddy broke his clutch lever sensor.

The clutch would still engage, just wouldn't register to let the bike crank.

 

[hrglas]

One other thing, hrglas... while the first dead battery on my C50 was my fault (a la parking light), it also turned out that I had a bad battery straight from the factory. Warranty replacement, of course. It happens.

i was thinking the same thing, but just assumed that the dealer would never allow that to happen.

i'll look into craftsmen, and some other brands. thanks all!

 

[Zoe Dotes]

Sorry about your misfortune, hrglas, but that is what makes this forum so great. We can all learn from each other. In my case, I'm still waiting for my bike, so all of these hints are going under my cap (helmet) for later use.

 

[Speedwheelz]

Parking Light Blues

I keep a second battery in the garage. It's on a trickle charger with an automatic cutout. It just sits there waiting to be used.
The way I look at it, the total cost of the battery and charger (about £30.00) is one hell of a lot less than losing income as a result of not being able to get to work when you get up and find that awful flat battery!

I've left my parking light on a couple of times too. It's dead easy to do it, especially on these lighter evenings when you don't notice it's still on when you park the bike.

speedz

 

[viper94bite]

I did that at work a couple times when I had the gz. I ran through the parking lot with it in 2nd hopped on and hit the starter. vroom vroom. Don't know that I could do that with the marauder. It's heavier and would not want to drop it. lol
now I check the lights whenever I get off.

 

[novtec1]

like mentioned above you only need to do it once, you'll never do it again.. thats all it took for me. and the chargers are pretty cheap and a good investment.

 

[finch20th]

i have done it... @ work!!! good thing i work @ a BATTERY store!!! sux thought!!!

 

[Hardware]

I left the park light on as well, on the day I took delivery of my bike.

Luckily I came back to the bike a couple of hours later and the battery was still fine.

99% of the time I park underground (at work or at home) so if the park light is on, I'll see a red glow in the dim light.

Think of it as a badge of honour for owning a new, kickass bike!

 

[semnole13]

Had the bikes out one day and after I took the Honda Hawk for a ride, I accidently switched on the parking light. The '92 has a front white lensed light and rear tail light; however, the Hawk only uses the tail light. Sat outside for quite awhile in the sun before I noticed the light, it started okay. The three bikes use Batter Tenders until I can get them out for a ride.