The Valk was having a hard time starting

[Bonzo]

76.000 miles on it. I had to jump start it a few times, Sometimes it would not start after a long ride or first thing in the AM. No rhyme or reason to it. 14.3 voltage from + to ground. Three year old battery. Plugs good, new air filter, etc.
Picking up my son at the mall, looked in at Sears, ran in bought a new "Gold" series battery, prepped it charged it, put it in this morning, and the bike fired up like it was hooked up to a turbine. Problem solved.

[Dirty Dave]

Cool! I was thinking that it might have been that crappy Ethanol gas. Can't believe how hard it is to cold start tha Valk with that crap in the tank.

[Bonzo]

I never thought of that.

[Chrisj CMA]

Sometimes I think people get tired of hearing it, but these little batteries arent reliable after a few years.  They give little warning before they quit and its my opinion once they stop performing well, they overwork the alternator. 

Having an on board volt meter (to me) is mandatory.  I have mine connected directly to the battery with an on/off switch on the ground.  That way I can turn it on while the bike is not running to check the static charge and then watch the needle climb as the engine starts to make sure alternator output is right.

Glad you got it done before anything bad happened......

Change those old batteries and prevent being stranded

[old2soon]

Not tryin to be a smart a$$-but there are a lot of posts about just how much juice these fat girls of ours need to start em up. I might be pissin in the wind here but wouldn't an amp draw test while starting the bike be a better indication of battery status than a volt test?? The voltage test be for when it's running to show how much the altenator be putting out-right?? Glad you got her fixed up. Not being able to ride for what ever reason when the weather is nice why that be down right unamerican. RIDE SAFE.

[Chrisj CMA]

Not tryin to be a smart a$$-but there are a lot of posts about just how much juice these fat girls of ours need to start em up. I might be pissin in the wind here but wouldn't an amp draw test while starting the bike be a better indication of battery status than a volt test?? The voltage test be for when it's running to show how much the altenator be putting out-right?? Glad you got her fixed up. Not being able to ride for what ever reason when the weather is nice why that be down right unamerican. RIDE SAFE.

I had the same question before I installed the volt meter.  I talked to my car mechanic and a few bike mechanics and all told me (with more technical explainations than I can remember right now) that a volt meter would be a fine indicator of battery health for my needs and indeed, I was warned by my volt meter a year and a half ago that the battery was starting to fail to hold a charge, so it got replaced.

Also amp meters are a PIA to install while a volt meter is like installing a light bulb

[Ricky-D]

76.000 miles on it. I had to jump start it a few times, Sometimes it would not start after a long ride or first thing in the AM. No rhyme or reason to it. 14.3 voltage from + to ground. Three year old battery. Plugs good, new air filter, etc.
Picking up my son at the mall, looked in at Sears, ran in bought a new "Gold" series battery, prepped it charged it, put it in this morning, and the bike fired up like it was hooked up to a turbine. Problem solved.

I guess that 14.3 voltage figure is with the motor running and indicating the charging current from the alternator.

I also want to add that as Chris says, a voltage gauge would be a good addition to the bike, for all the reasons stated.

***

[Patrick]

The start circuit on these monsters use a lot of power and there may not be enough electrons left over for the ignition system from a questionable battery..
Yep, an amp meter would give a better indication, but, since they need to be in series, a voltmeter is a lot easier and quicker..

[Bonzo]

I am definitely installing a Volt meter ASAP. I could put a CT around the hot lead of the battery and put a ammeter in, but I do not think it is a necessity. Thanks for all the comments! 

[Jess from VA]

I have mine connected directly to the battery with an on/off switch on the ground.  That way I can turn it on while the bike is not running to check the static charge and then watch the needle climb as the engine starts to make sure alternator output is right.

That is a simple and neat idea.  I was wondering what meter do you have?  I have the Kury LEDs, but it seems little better than an idiot light (better than nothing).  Mine is always green, one green only, no more greens with revs (though it can wander into yellow on low idle starts).  A real meter would seem a better choice. 

[old2soon]

Chrisj cma. I do understand the volt meter and what it will and will not do. I was raised up north of chicago and the first cold snaps saw a lot of batteries go bad. Then the first hot spell after winter would take out some more batteries. My first car 1954 ford was fully gauged from the factory. My 94 olds has a temp gauge and a fuel gauge. Every thing else is an idiot light. You know the light-they come on 2 minutes AFTER the motor blows up. Time was you could go into most any SEVICE station and get an amp draw test done usually for free. If you did need a battery-they wanted to be the ones to sell it to you. Of course with all the handy marts now and pumpin yer own gas-you either do it yerself or-perish the thought-stealer i mean dealer.  Just hope when my battery says adios it's in the garage and not out on the highway. Most likely put a new one in as part of my winter maintence plan. RIDE SAFE.

[Chrisj CMA]

I have mine connected directly to the battery with an on/off switch on the ground.  That way I can turn it on while the bike is not running to check the static charge and then watch the needle climb as the engine starts to make sure alternator output is right.

That is a simple and neat idea.  I was wondering what meter do you have?  I have the Kury LEDs, but it seems little better than an idiot light (better than nothing).  Mine is always green, one green only, no more greens with revs (though it can wander into yellow on low idle starts).  A real meter would seem a better choice. 

My volt meter is a marine guage I got from the Overtons catalog.  was 50 or 60 bucks but a real solid piece and I found one that sorta matched the honda guages

[Chrisj CMA]

Chrisj cma. I do understand the volt meter and what it will and will not do. I was raised up north of chicago and the first cold snaps saw a lot of batteries go bad. Then the first hot spell after winter would take out some more batteries. My first car 1954 ford was fully gauged from the factory. My 94 olds has a temp gauge and a fuel gauge. Every thing else is an idiot light. You know the light-they come on 2 minutes AFTER the motor blows up. Time was you could go into most any SEVICE station and get an amp draw test done usually for free. If you did need a battery-they wanted to be the ones to sell it to you. Of course with all the handy marts now and pumpin yer own gas-you either do it yerself or-perish the thought-stealer i mean dealer.  Just hope when my battery says adios it's in the garage and not out on the highway. Most likely put a new one in as part of my winter maintence plan. RIDE SAFE.

Well, I didnt mean to insult your intellegence.....you said you might be pissing in the wind, maybe that sounded like you didnt really know so much.......

My mechanic told me something to the effect that its unusual to have a significant drop in cranking amps with no drop in volts so go ahead with the normal volt meter....and I think by noticing how low the volts drop during starting you get an idea of any problem with amps.........I may just be pissing in the wind, Im not an electrician........just trust my mechanic and reely like my volt meter

[thelt]

I agree with everyone on "Little or No Warning". Cranked my Lady and road about 10 Miles, got a haircut, cranked up drove another 5 or so miles. Stopped to get gas and hit the starter, NOTHING. Not even a click. Had a buddy jump start it. Drove to my local shop, bought a new battery, problem solved. In my case there was NO warning.

[redflash]

I put one of these on, I believe i have posted previously, from Kuryakyn:



There was some discussion as to how many greens should be showing, but it's more indicative if it changes than how many. If connected more directly to the battery both greens would probably be lit. Mine is tied to something in the headlight nacelle for ease. It's very sensitive, if a blinker is on at idle, the charge light will blink opposite the the blinker bulbs.