Day off , mild'ish weather , ' bike day ' , flat bloody battery !!!!

[pilgo]

Nice day for a local bimble around the back roads here in Fallon NV so went to get the bike ready , she lives outside but under a good cover and is on a tender when parked up. Got that depressing ' buzzing ' sound as you try to fire her up .

The tender is saying the battery is good but I know  it's the original battery ( 2015 FJ09 ) so nearly 9 years old.

So it's off up to Reno tomorrow morning to get a new battery , thankfully its mild here till sunday so ill be able to get out for a few hours.

I had the battery tested recently after my breakdown in Yosemite park back in October and It was strong but it appears to be not so.

 

Quick question , this is the reading on the screen when I'm trying to start it , anyone know , what does the ' Hi ' mean ? 

 

 

[dazzler24]

Normally it would mean a high coolant temperature but that doesn't apply here it would seem?

Maybe you temp sensor has failed or it's a by-product of your flat battery?  I'm only speculating on that though.

[pilgo]

24 minutes ago, dazzler24 said:

Normally it would mean a high coolant temperature but that doesn't apply here it would seem?

Maybe you temp sensor has failed or it's a by-product of your flat battery?  I'm only speculating on that though.

So when the bike wouldn't start when I was parked up in Yosemite recently,  the ' Hi ' was flashing on the screen , so initialy I just assumed I'd got the bike too hot with all the stop / start photos I was taking , so I'd turned off the ignition to while the bike cooled down ( it wasn't exactly a boiling hot day , mid October up in the mountains ) but once I tried to restart it it was obviously a bad battery preventing me from moving on.

So I'm now thinking it might not be the battery as it shouldn't be stating the coolant is too hot as the bike didn't even start !! 🤔

[betoney]

After the dead battery in Yosemite, did you replace it when you returned home or is this the same battery?  Even though the tender says the battery is "fine" there may be more to a 'good battery' than just reading 12.3v, it may be damaged internally causing the weird fault to appear on the screen.  A new battery should erase all doubt, hopefully its the fix to your issue.

The battery on my '15 FJ never failed me but its definitely getting up there in age, I travel to some remote locations and didn't want to press my luck so even though the bike was still starting and operating fine I replaced it earlier this year.

[pilgo]

1 hour ago, betoney said:

After the dead battery in Yosemite, did you replace it when you returned home or is this the same battery?  Even though the tender says the battery is "fine" there may be more to a 'good battery' than just reading 12.3v, it may be damaged internally causing the weird fault to appear on the screen.  A new battery should erase all doubt, hopefully its the fix to your issue.

The battery on my '15 FJ never failed me but its definitely getting up there in age, I travel to some remote locations and didn't want to press my luck so even though the bike was still starting and operating fine I replaced it earlier this year.

Yes , same battery as the one I had for my Yosemite debacle 😶 

I'm off to Reno tomorrow to pick up a new battery , hopefully that's all it is.🤞

Of course , if I bought a new Tracer 900 GT while I'm there it would come with a new battery........

 

Sooooooo ready for a newer bike , I just don't want the debt that come with it. 

Thanks for the advice Chaps 👍

[pilgo]

+ update + 

Fitted a new OEM battery earlier and she fired straight up !! ☺ 

 

Bikes now for sale as I got , what I think to be , a cracking deal on a brand new '22 Tracer 9 GT.

If that falls through I'll stick with the original plan of upgrading the suspension front and back on the '15 👍 

[Ride365]

Life is short......buy the damn bike.  

[miweber929]

10 hours ago, pilgo said:

Bikes now for sale as I got , what I think to be , a cracking deal on a brand new '22 Tracer 9 GT.

Around here they are pretty much giving them away, I think the best I saw was $10,500 with most around $11k-11.5k. Yamaha delivered them way too late and the GT+ is coming so they’re trying to clear them out. 

Lots of bike for the money, good luck!!!

[pilgo]

1 hour ago, miweber929 said:

Around here they are pretty much giving them away, I think the best I saw was $10,500 with most around $11k-11.5k. Yamaha delivered them way too late and the GT+ is coming so they’re trying to clear them out. 

Lots of bike for the money, good luck!!!

$12k total cost. Out the door . On the road.

$12k for a brand new , zero mileage '22 Tracer 9 GT .

 

And yet , I've woken up today ready to keep my bike and just spend some money on the suspension. 

Bonkers !! 

And yet , sensible as there's nothing wrong with my bike ( bar the rubbish handling....) 

Basically I hate debt.

 

And yet , I reallllllllly want the GT.......

🤔

[betoney]

12 hours ago, pilgo said:

+ update + 

Fitted a new OEM battery earlier and she fired straight up !! ☺

GREAT news, its good to hear that you are back up and running again.  I read a lot of different motorcycle forums and there have been MANY posts with the exact same scenario and resolution from fitting a fresh battery. 👍🏻

10 minutes ago, pilgo said:

$12k total cost. Out the door . On the road.

$12k for a brand new , zero mileage '22 Tracer 9 GT .

 

And yet , I've woken up today ready to keep my bike and just spend some money on the suspension. 

Bonkers !! 

And yet , sensible as there's nothing wrong with my bike ( bar the rubbish handling....) 

Basically I hate debt.

My buddy just recently got the exact same deal, $12k OTD on a brand new 2022 model.

I completely understand your mindset, I also own a 2015 model.  A brand new bike is sexy and exciting but when you step back and take a moment to think sensibly the current bike is (almost) perfectly fine, ESPECIALLY since its paid off.

If you have already budgeted some money toward a new bike then I agree with you, take that money and upgrade the suspension.  I have never regretted spending money on suspension, the improved comfort and handling still puts a smile on my face.

[pilgo]

32 minutes ago, betoney said:

GREAT news, its good to hear that you are back up and running again.  I read a lot of different motorcycle forums and there have been MANY posts with the exact same scenario and resolution from fitting a fresh battery. 👍🏻

My buddy just recently got the exact same deal, $12k OTD on a brand new 2022 model.

I completely understand your mindset, I also own a 2015 model.  A brand new bike is sexy and exciting but when you step back and take a moment to think sensibly the current bike is (almost) perfectly fine, ESPECIALLY since its paid off.

If you have already budgeted some money toward a new bike then I agree with you, take that money and upgrade the suspension.  I have never regretted spending money on suspension, the improved comfort and handling still puts a smile on my face.

My problem here where I live is finding a street bike suspension specialist. I can undoubtedly source the parts from advice off posts in this great forum but id much rather deal with a expert who also does the work ( ideally ride in/ ride out in a day ) 

I'll do some homework , now that I've talked myself out of the new bike. 

[DavidS]

On 12/27/2023 at 6:18 PM, betoney said:

...........

The battery on my '15 FJ never failed me but its definitely getting up there in age, I travel to some remote locations and didn't want to press my luck so even though the bike was still starting and operating fine I replaced it earlier this year.

When I was in Seattle, it was cold in the winter and the bike didn't get out much due to the snow and cold. I did keep it on a tender, but new batteries are less than $100, so I just replace them after 2 years and keep my peace of mind.....

[pilgo]

4 minutes ago, DavidS said:

When I was in Seattle, it was cold in the winter and the bike didn't get out much due to the snow and cold. I did keep it on a tender, but new batteries are less than $100, so I just replace them after 2 years and keep my peace of mind.....

$228 for a OEM YTZ10S !! 😶

[betoney]

42 minutes ago, DavidS said:

new batteries are less than $100, so I just replace them after 2 years and keep my peace of mind.....

 

36 minutes ago, pilgo said:

$228 for a OEM YTZ10S !! 😶

When I replaced mine earlier this year, the oem Yausa was very close to $200. 

The battery in my VFR is now 7 years old, I checked the voltage yesterday and after 2 weeks of sitting idle its holding 12.6v.  I'll keep an eye on it throughout the upcoming riding season.

[dazzler24]

Think I'm going to opt for one of the higher capacity batteries (or equivalent) when the time comes, as they will fit - without the foam spacer installed - 2015 version at least.