Bike has started to act a little funny on startup. This happens when starting a cold engine. Turn the ignition on, wait for fuel pump to pressure up, pull clutch in, press the button. Bike will turn over once, stop for a beat, then spin up and start. It's never not started. I keep it on a Battery Tender religiously, charging system is charging fine. I have not taken the battery out and had it load tested. It's a 2012, so that battery is 3-4 years old.

Thanks

David

 

It definitely sounds like a battery going bad. I'll ask the obvious...have you checked your cables for tightness?

2010 Limited with some stuff!!

 

I don't wait for the fuel pump to get going and this is sometimes avoided for me. It's not neccessary to wait. That being said, I always use a tender and noticed this only after 2 years. These batteries just don't hold up well IMO.

 

Yeah, but I don't mind you asking. Thanks


I'd been told that I should wait for the fuel pump. Thanks for the info. Hell, nothing lasts like it should anymore. No one cares about quality or longevity. We're a disposable society now.

David

 

I very seldom wait on the fuel pump either. Especially on a hot start. I usually wait on a cold start but I don't think that it really matters.

2010 Limited with some stuff!!

 

Usually the symptoms you describe begin with hot starts. Yours is an unusual case. On touring machines the battery is right behind the rear jug with an exhaust pipe even closer as an additional "radiator" to provide heat to the battery. High heat is very hard on batteries. Considering the overall design of our bikes, I have no idea where else the battery could go.

 

Place a volt meter across the battery, watch for voltage drop while cranking, switch to amps, take notice of amperage draw. Compare to specs. You probably have either a connection problem or a battery on its way out. The original batteries commonly last 5 years or even more when cared for.
As far as waiting for the fuel system to build pressure before starting. I believe it states in the manual to wait until the check engine light goes out before cranking engine. This is usually a second or two after the fuel pump switch's off.

 

Honestly, if the bike is not going to sit for a few weeks don't even think about plugging in the battery tinder. Over charging kills batteries too, and most battery tinders just supply a constant charge to batteries so they often get over charged.

The point of a tinder is to charge the battery enough to keep up the voltage/ charge enough to start the bike after sitting for a long period of time due to the parasitic drain from security systems and keeping time on the clocks and such on these bikes.

 

mine was doing the same thing , it was the battery, held good voltage but would not pass the load test

 

the stealer wants $195 for the batt 1yr warranty , i went to batteries plus $155 with tax 2yr warrenty