Let my battery run down

[vdaily89]

Went out to the in-laws yesterday to help with some stuff. Was there about 2 hours and when I got ready to leave I notice my key is in the ignition and in the "on" position. Sure enough, dead as could be. We slow charged up for an hour or two and it was fine. God that sucked. First time I've done that. Hopefully I learned my lesson.

[md86]

Coulda push-started it and gotten home just fine . It happens . It's happened to me a few times on various bikes .

[SweetLou]

Push start that S.O.B. in second in let it go!

[vdaily89]

Push start that S.O.B. in second in let it go!

Their driveway is downhill in, uphill to get out. No way to do that.

[SweetLou]

Haul it back up the hill and have a fun down hill experiance????

[The CyberPoet]

Most of us have done it at some time or other... I did it last a few years ago at the Gap -- arrived at the resteraunt at Tapaco a bit late (last customers in) and rushed in because I was starving, forgot to switch the key... By the time I came out, it was deader than dead -- too dead to even push start. Fortunately someone in a pick-up truck came along with jumper cables and let me suck up a charge for about 10 minutes, then I thumbed it to life and rode back to Fontana Village in 2nd the whole way (about 8k RPM most of it) to charge it back up. By the time I got to the village, the battery was hot enough to want to burn my fingers from the charging rate...

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[Teh_K]

I drained the battery on my dual-sport during the MSF course!

The instructor shrugged it off and basically said I was screwed. I started to panic, but remembered that batteries tend to gain a little charge if you let them sit for a while. So, I waited 5-10 minutes and it was JUST barely able to start my little bike.

Anyway, how do you push-start a bike?

[The CyberPoet]

Anyway, how do you push-start a bike?

Put bike in neutral, switch to PRIME for 15 seconds, then back to ON. Turn the bike as necessary to be facing downhill (if possible) or at least across a flat surface. If you normally need some choke to start (bike cold), use that amount of choke or slightly less. Put bike in 2nd gear (easier than doing it in first & works better), pull in clutch and (on a flat surface) start pushing on the handlebars while walking/jogging/running next to the bike; on a downhill, sit on the bike and get it rolling forward.
Pop the clutch and one of two things will happen: either the bike will use the forward motion of the wheel to turn over the engine and spring to life, or the rear tire will skid a bit and the bike will quickly loose all it's forward motion (in about 2 feet) from the effort of trying to turn over the engine.
If it comes to life, yank in the clutch and if you're not on it yet, get on the bike, then don't let it die (followed by turning off the choke & riding it away); if it doesn't come to life, try it again. Remember to take breaks as necessary to let yourself cool off.
Note that this method only works for bikes that want to run in the first place; if you bike has troubles starting because of bad plugs, etc., this won't get around those and you'll push yourself into what feels like an early grave.
Those who live on hills (or in complexes with sloped parking lots) may want to park as high up on the hill as feasible, just in case.

KNOW THIS:
Each time you run the battery dead, it loses 25 to 40% of it's capacity to hold a long term charge. Thus, run it dead 3 to 5 times and it may no longer have the capability to start the bike, especially in cold weather (where there are fewer crank-amps available than in warm weather for the same battery).
Don't push it so often in a row that you get so tired that you might drop the bike. Be smart.
A totally dead (100% drained battery) may not let you get the bike started even when jump-starting; as soon as the jumpers are removed, the bike can die. In such situations, push starting will not work. Charge the battery up some first; jumpering it to a car battery for 5 to 10 minutes for this purpose is fine. Then again, if you have a battery to jumper it to, you don't need to push start it, eh?
Push starting works if the starter doesn't work, or if the safety interlocks are acting up -- as long as it's not the side-stand relay acting up (the engine won't run if the safety interlock for the sidestand isn't depressed, no matter how you try to start it).
this method works on any 4, 5 or 6 speed manual motorcycle. Doesn't work on automatic motorcycles, nor on 2-speed trannies (such as on the Boss Hog). The bigger the cylinders and the higher the compression ratio, the faster it needs to be moving to work.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[WildKat]

and remember, bikes have stators, they dont have alternators like cars do...so the battery doesnt automatically recharge it self just by letting it idle or riding it at lower rpms. You'll need to keep the rpm's up to keep the charging in effect.

Also if you end up running it down more than a couple more times, you might consider replacing the battery for a new one.

[md86]

Well , at idle my charging voltage is higher than battery voltage .

[The CyberPoet]

and remember, bikes have stators, they dont have alternators like cars do...so the battery doesnt automatically recharge it self just by letting it idle or riding it at lower rpms. You'll need to keep the rpm's up to keep the charging in effect.

Well , at idle my charging voltage is higher than battery voltage .

Although many sport bikes don't put out enough to offset the headlights and ignition, most sport-touring and touring bikes (including the Katana) do. They will still charge faster/higher at higher RPM's.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[md86]

Yeah , but once my rpm's get up to about 4k or so , the rate stops climbing . Or so I saw last time I checked it .

[ThAzKat]

just did the same damn thing not to long ago, now I don't feel damn fullish LOL

I changed my maintanace battery to a maintanance free now. Hope I never have to go through this again!