Complete noobie

[Dustincaley]

Let me start off by saying this is my first bike and im a complete noob.
I'm the only one in my family that has/had a bike, you guys are it as far as any questions I have.


I'm getting off a long shift, 10 at night, and go to my parked bike outside.
The keys are still in it, I forgot them in a rush to start my shift (i work on a military installation, so its pretty safe.)
I try to start her up, and she's got no juice.
The battery was obviously dead... bleh
I ran inside and got a friend to help me push start it up ( it was dark, late, and i was tired.)
It started up fine, with a little push.
I let it run for a few minutes and i jumped on and was headed home (~25 miles)
I got home, shut it off, attempted to start it again to make sure it she'd start back up in the morning, but hadn't. I pressed the ignition and the charge was getting weaker (the dash lights where dimming with each press)

I've got a couple of questions, and im sure its :deadhorse:

Or i'll get flamed


A. Does my bike not have an alternator to recharge my battery once shes started back up? (I ran it for a good 30 minutes at highway speed, figured that would have done the trick)

B. I've seen you can't use a regular car battery charger to recharge it, can I not jump-start my bike with a car either?

C. Is push starting it harmful to the bike? (yes, i understand i pushed it w/o knowing, but it was literally my only option at that point :facepalm: )

D. What shall I do from here?
- New battery?
- Trickle charger? Not even sure what it is. Assuming its a bike version of a battery charger?)
- Ditch the bike because i'm a horrible owner lol


Again, excuse me for my noobness..
but searching google for questionable answers at best wasn't going to cut it. The group on here seem very knowledgeable.

Help meh palease

 

[Detrich]

My understanding is that bikes have a stator, but it's not like a full blown alternator in the car. So once the battery is fully depleted it has to be recharged. U can use a mobile/ portable jump starter to start the bike. That's better and safer than using a car, which isnt recommended. I'm not an expert either, but I think bike batteries are very small and once they go completely dead, u may need to use a battery charger to recharge it back to full. If the battery is new, then once fully charged u should be ok. The dealer told me to never leave the ignition in "on" position unless ready to start the bike, because the battery is so small and depletes easily. You can buy a combo battery bike tender/ trickle charger at any bike dealer for around $50? Amazon sells them too.

 

[oldtouring b]

Don't ditch the bike!!

You will be fine because you ask questions..

1. Buy a Battery Tender Junior for your bike. I got mine on eBay. It will keep your battery healthy.

2. DONOT jump your bike from a car battery--too much power.

3.Push starting in second gear will not hurt your bike at all.

4. Question--How old is your battery??

5. Did you leave the key in the on position?

Ride safe and ask any questions..

 

[travisH3]

The stator isn't strong enough to run the dash, turn signals, running lights and headlight, and charge the battery from dead in a 25 mile ride. It's almost using exactly what it's charging to run the lights and stuff.

It's Best to use a trickle charger/ battery tender on these small batteries to charge them. A regular car battery charger is too strong. Your battery is prolly just fine, let it charge over night a while or until the battery tender has the little green light come on but some are different and you will be good to go.

 

[Chevyfazer]

Let me start off by saying this is my first bike and im a complete noob.
I'm the only one in my family that has/had a bike, you guys are it as far as any questions I have.


I'm getting off a long shift, 10 at night, and go to my parked bike outside.
The keys are still in it, I forgot them in a rush to start my shift (i work on a military installation, so its pretty safe.)
I try to start her up, and she's got no juice.
The battery was obviously dead... bleh
I ran inside and got a friend to help me push start it up ( it was dark, late, and i was tired.)
It started up fine, with a little push.
I let it run for a few minutes and i jumped on and was headed home (~25 miles)
I got home, shut it off, attempted to start it again to make sure it she'd start back up in the morning, but hadn't. I pressed the ignition and the charge was getting weaker (the dash lights where dimming with each press)

I've got a couple of questions, and im sure its :deadhorse:

Or i'll get flamed


A. Does my bike not have an alternator to recharge my battery once shes started back up? (I ran it for a good 30 minutes at highway speed, figured that would have done the trick)

B. I've seen you can't use a regular car battery charger to recharge it, can I not jump-start my bike with a car either?

C. Is push starting it harmful to the bike? (yes, i understand i pushed it w/o knowing, but it was literally my only option at that point :facepalm: )

D. What shall I do from here?
- New battery?
- Trickle charger? Not even sure what it is. Assuming its a bike version of a battery charger?)
- Ditch the bike because i'm a horrible owner lol


Again, excuse me for my noobness..
but searching google for questionable answers at best wasn't going to cut it. The group on here seem very knowledgeable.

Help meh palease

As others have said a trickle charger or battery tender is a great idea but I can add some more info that might help you understand a little better. Your bike has a stator not a alternator, but they pretty much do the same thing. However the stator does not produce anywhere close to the same amount of power as your average alternator, and the bike has to be turning over 4,000rpms in order for the stator to charge the battery to begin with. So when you push started your bike and then let it run for a while you were actually doing more harm than good for your battery. At idle the stator only puts out enough power to barely run the bike and the instruments. So in order for it to actually produce enough power to charge you battery as well the bike needs to be turning at bare minimum 4k but charges better upwards of 6k. At this point though your battery might be toast and won't hold a charge anymore, a load test would tell you for sure. If you don't have a way to load test it or know of a place that can your best bet is to hook it up to a trickle charger and let it charge for at least 24hr. If it still won't hold a charge after that then you will more then likely be in need of a new battery.

 

[Dustincaley]

Appreciate all the help

You will be fine because you ask questions..

1. Buy a Battery Tender Junior for your bike. I got mine on eBay. It will keep your battery healthy.

2. DONOT jump your bike from a car battery--too much power.

3.Push starting in second gear will not hurt your bike at all.

4. Question--How old is your battery??

5. Did you leave the key in the on position?

Ride safe and ask any questions..

4. The battery can't be older than 6-8 months

5. Yes, i left the key in the 'on' position :facepalm: in a rush to get on the clock.


Update:

Thanks for the fast and useful help guys, really.
I got up this morning and bought a trickle charger.
Plugged it up, in a matter of about 6 or so hours it was green light go.
I pulled the seats off again, hooked it back up..
Flip the ignition to 'on' and the tach cycled, good to go.


Thanks again guys.

 

[Scott_Thomas]

Glad you got your problem sorted out. This is a great forum and the people that frequent it are a wealth of knowledge. That said, not sure if anyone else mentioned this, but don't hit the kill switch to shut off the bike. Turn the bike off with the key, always. The kill switch is basically there for emergencies. It could happen to anyone. I usually leave my bike in neutral, but the other day left it in gear. Went to start it after turning the key and nothing. I was like wtf?!?!?! Tried two more times before I realized I had it in gear. LOL! Welcome to the forum.

 

[Dustincaley]

Glad you got your problem sorted out. This is a great forum and the people that frequent it are a wealth of knowledge. That said, not sure if anyone else mentioned this, but don't hit the kill switch to shut off the bike. Turn the bike off with the key, always. The kill switch is basically there for emergencies. It could happen to anyone. I usually leave my bike in neutral, but the other day left it in gear. Went to start it after turning the key and nothing. I was like wtf?!?!?! Tried two more times before I realized I had it in gear. LOL! Welcome to the forum.

I uh, just drop the kick stand once I stop to kill it..

:Spank:

Is this horrible for me to do? or just ill-advised?
The mechanic, when doing the walk through, said it would kill the motor once dropped.
Not mentioning if that would cause potential problems..
I better go read some more hall of shame thread or something for some do's and don'ts lol..

 

[Nastybutler]

I uh, just drop the kick stand once I stop to kill it..

:Spank:

Is this horrible for me to do? or just ill-advised?
The mechanic, when doing the walk through, said it would kill the motor once dropped.
Not mentioning if that would cause potential problems..
I better go read some more hall of shame thread or something for some do's and don'ts lol..

My wife uses the kick stand to kill it too. I gotta break her of that habit or else she's liable to leave the key on and drain the battery as well.

It won't cause any problems in and of itself (as far as I know), other than the problem you experienced which was caused by human error...

 

[oldtouring b]

Good Habits

Do your best to develop good habits that prevent problems. Turn your key to the off position and then drop the side stand. Give it a little kick to make sure it is all the way forward.

 

[Scott_Thomas]

I uh, just drop the kick stand once I stop to kill it..

:Spank:

Is this horrible for me to do? or just ill-advised?
The mechanic, when doing the walk through, said it would kill the motor once dropped.
Not mentioning if that would cause potential problems..
I better go read some more hall of shame thread or something for some do's and don'ts lol..

Not horrible if you turn the key off every time. I "always" turn off my bike with the key first just so I don't forget. Do it a couple times and it becomes habit.

 

[Detrich]

^. Yes. In MSF course they taught us to alway shut off the engine by way of the ignition key. That way the kill engine switch is used only as an emergency shut off. Good habit to develop from the beginning.