Battery Keeps Dying

[BehereNow]

Odyssey battery and charger.
Last several weeks, nighttime temps in the single digits, high in the teens daytime, maybe low 20's. Haven't seen above freezing in at least 2 weeks.
Too much ice to ride, but cranked it up last evening just to listen to it purr.
She grunted, but fired right up after that.

 

[Macrider]

light delay

A delay is a great idea! Im no electrical engineer but is there a way to wire it so it can be switched off during start up?
Has anyone tried this?

 

[HellFire]

Did I read that someone is using 93 octane gas? It's a low compression motor, it runs best on low octane fuel.

 

[nethound]

You must have been too easy on her during break-in .... maybe she needed a good thrashing early in life to keep her in line. lol

I've wondered a bit if this might be the cause of my problem. I really did baby it during break-in, and only have a total of about 1200 miles on it. Maybe it just needs to be ridden hard for awhile to get it loosened up a bit.

 

[nethound]

Not rapidly enough for my taste!

Hope they diagnose your battery problem.

Well, still a few inches of snow on the ground on my street, and yesterday was in the single digits and I was dealing with frozen pipes. But in the 50's this weekend, if enough melts where I'm not trying to ride over ice then riding season has arrived.

 

[HellFire]

I've wondered a bit if this might be the cause of my problem. I really did baby it during break-in, and only have a total of about 1200 miles on it. Maybe it just needs to be ridden hard for awhile to get it loosened up a bit.

I was kind to her for a little while ... then I got used to the power and all bets were off. The original oil it came with was specifically for break-in and I think I abused that some. But other than the odd noise the trans makes in low gears, there have been no adverse performance issues. I really believe that the trans noise is from it falling over at the gas pump when the stand sunk into the ****ty asphalt at a station in upper PA while it was still running. the trip to the pavement bent the shifter and killed the engine so I honestly think a gear got a tooth chipped in the process. It hasn't caused a problem in two years, and the noise is getting less, so it's probably just a scar I'll have to live with.
Nobody else hears it, just me. I have been accused of picking nits when it comes to engine noise.

 

[64Herald]

I found this site that has replacement batteries. Odyssey is $100 but they have an AGm for $50. what could be the difference cca are 260 http://www.best-price.com/search/la...gle/altk/Batteries+Batteries/koid/6251975980/

 

[HellFire]

I found this site that has replacement batteries. Odyssey is $100 but they have an AGm for $50. what could be the difference cca are 260 odyssey 625 battery | Price comparison and reviews at best-price.com

The Odyssey is a different kind of lead/acid battery that uses higher initial voltages. The chargers are made with special algorithms for proper charging. You should really go to the Odyssey website and read about it, very interesting. Mine just got plugged back in for the forecasted warm weather later in the week. She's been sitting now for two solid months, we'll see how she starts.

 

[nethound]

Another month passed since the dealer told me they were going to escalate this to Triumph. Yesterday I contacted Triumph and they tell me the dealer has never contacted them for this problem.

As much as I love the bike, it has been sitting in the shop for 143 of the 193 days I've owned it and is less than worthless to me.

I sent a message to the dealer today demanding a buyback and will be forwarding it on to Triumph as well.

I thank everyone here for the advice, it was a hell of a ride for the few short weeks it worked, but I just want to wash my hands of Triumph and Engle Motors at this point.

 

[Mad-mich]

To Net hound, I have had a few issues myself with cold starting (see previous threads) But I understand electrics and mechanics as I used to be a mechanic in the army and I now teach it at a college. I don't know why it is such a problem with the rocket3 but even if you use the bike everyday the battery voltage will start to settle around 12.5 volts if you put a battery tender on it (after a few weeks ) the battery voltage will settle to around 12.8 volts. I know it doesn't sound much but it makes the difference between turning over for 3 seconds on a cold day to turning over for 30 secs and still being able to fire up. In the summer you will find this isn't a problem and will start up easily, its only when its cold it get the problem. I have had problems over the last 2 years, but I now have a battery optimiser (tender) and it has not been a problem since. I think Triumph should give everyone who buys a rocket a free one as it obviously has a problem without it. Good luck.