Good call Pete. You may have cracked Dave's problem! My June 10 had an optimate lead fitted from new and always used. Has never let me down A couple of times I forgot to hook it up and yes it can go too flat to turn those cylinders over in a week. Our hi tech bikes do tend to give the battery a hard life.
Just out of interest I've just been out to the shed. My MTS1200S has been stood in there for 2 months. It's just a wooden shed and is not heated. We've had some "proper" frosts the last few mornings. Ignition on, it turned over for a second and started. I left it run for 15 mins to get some heat into it, let the temp get up to 88 degrees. So maybe there is a drain on that bike somewhere?
Hi Tripletrouble Thats the way it should be my friend , thats the way its always been with other bikes ive had , or at least any bike with a battery less than 3 winters old , theres definately something wrong with my bike , its bog standard , no trackers or alarms etc and I dont buy the theory that the steering lock is sapping power , and if the bike is searching for the key I cant see that using anymore than a infintesimally small amount of power , a good healthy battery will regenerate itself to a certain extent anyway
All of my previous bikes have been either twins or triples and all give the battery a hard life when cranking, especially when it gets cold, learnt lesson hard way, now with or without an alarm, bike sits on optimiser, never had a problem since 5 yrs later.
I've had my11 plate MTS1200t since August this year and covered 4000 miles, most of which has been in the wet. My horn only works now and again. So switch gear seems a bit iffy then? I have also left mine out foe weeks at a time in wet and cold weather with just a small cover over the top half and it's always started first time. I think your battery is faulty.
The battery on my VTR1000 was 7 years old when I sold the bike, never put on an optimate, no alarm, simply disconnected it over the winter when I laid the bike up. IF I keep this bike and when the batter starts to get a bit ropey I'll put a really high quality AGM or maybe even a LiOn battery in it but I expect at least another 3 years service from it!!
I have always used my bikes all year around so messing about taking batteries off is not an option to me
My 2010 mutley let me down in July, had to cancel a lunch date! Grrr Always leave the kill switch in the up position now! Recently had a software update re the kill switch, same time as having my coolant changed. After reading this.....I think I'll go and charge the battery just in case....hoping to go ride tomorrow! :tongue:
Dave, As has been mentioned already, the battery like the one on the Multi will be damaged if it is allowed to completely discharge. The plates are relatively thin on a bike battery and are damaged by a complete discharge. It may recover partially with a period on an Optimate (guess >2 days). My 2012 MTS1200T has been stood in garage for one week, so I went out and hit the starter and it started readily. I shut it off and plugged my Optimate 4 in. It was on maintenance charge (with 2 green lights) within 15 minutes (not sure exactly how long) but it only charges at 0.8A max, so the one week standing and a startup did not take much out of the battery at all. In the past I have successfully recovered the 12V battery on my motorhome after a full discharge, that took a week on a battery conditioner but the plates are much thicker on a van battery. I have also ruined a bike battery using this conditioner on it, so don't charge a bike with a car charger. I now regard an Optimate as a must have accessory and always connect if I'm going to leave it for a month.
Thanks chainsaw , I only really base my assumptions about what should be and what should not be right..... when comparing my Multi to other bikes ive had , Ive never had this sort of nonsense with any other bike with a battery less than 3 years old , I always reckon 3 winters and a bike battery is struggling to cope from there on , A couple of posts have suggested that by now my battery might be knackered due to the flatting and subsequent recharging , I realise this is a possibilty , but if i just shell out and replace battery that will be knackered too shortly , there is something wrong with this bike and I want a bike that works just like other bikes do ! I havent headed into Riders with it this last week due to the apalling weather here now and other com itments but will be shortly , especially as I have a coolant recall ! ... No gearbox recall , no flapper valve recall , no charging problem recall , no shite back brake recall , no malfunctioning buttons recall ... just a pointless coolant recall , Ha , what a joke , cheers Dave
Do you have an ammeter or multimeter? AirConTechnical's idea of using a meter to measure the drain has some merit, you could also measure voltage of battery. I know you should not have to but it can be interesting. Here's the one I have (it's £8) Domestic Multimeter : Multimeters : Maplin Electronics
I dont have a ammeter or multimeter , Im going to have one more crack at taking it to Riders armed with the info I now have , Its got to go in again anyway for the coolant change , If they still claim they can find nothing wrong then I,ll be having a experiment myself with a ammeter , If there is a specific drain then the next prob will be finding the cause I had a prob with a faulty alternator on my Landrover discovery last year , the RAC guy had a very impressive meter which he just held next to the negative battery lead without connecting it to anything , it instantly displayed on a screen that there was a massive drain taking place... clever stuff indeed , I would have thought Riders would have such equipment or at least conducted a test with a ammeter as explained by Air Con , anyway should have a update in the next few days , thanks for your input , much appreciated
Dave I understand your fustration but I think your guna have to experiment your self to see if the battery is goosed. Batterys are a pain in the butt the life of them can be shortend by anything from how they were first charged, the speeed there drianed the curent that pummped into them by the altornator, theres loads of factors. If I were you the best thing you could do is take the bike out for a run say about 30-45 mins then once you get home disconect the earth and leave it stud for a week, then hook it back up and see if it starts ok. If it dose then it's got to be you bike draining the battery in wich case you may have to invest in a cheap multimeter with DC amp meter built in to it, park the bike up connect the meter and see what sort of current it's draning if it's draining more than a few milli amps take it back to the dealers and ask them to find out whats not turning off when it's in park. Or if when you reconnect the battery it wont turn over you'll know the battery is duff. Or you could be barking up the wrong tree totaly and it could be a faulty starte motor, solinoid or switch.
