Battery Keeps Dying

[MR VTX]

That just may become a reality for you; the more you ride and get accustomed to it....

I knew I recognized your board name from somewhere!

I'd love to pick one up as a second bike, but it's just not in the cards right now! I did take it out to the Meet 'n Greet, though. It was fun running against an 1800 and leaving it behind for a change.

 

[TriumPhil]

Hey, Mr VTX! XHombre here... another denizen of the VTXOA and also a former owner of two VTX 1800s.

I think I noticed an 1800 for sale over in the OA's classifieds that looks nearly identical to your 1300. Same color, screeen and bags, I think? It had me drooling.

It was a very tough decision to opt out of getting a third VTX for the R3 that I ultimately bought. No regrets, however I would not hesitate to have another big Honda, if there was room in my garage and if the Mulberry Mistress promised not to get jealous!

 

[Macrider]

Find Problem?

Nethound, did you ever find out what the problem was?

 

[HD2Rocket3]

Battery

I just bought a Scorpion battery from Motorcycle Batteries, ATV, Car, Marine, and Solar Battery Products | BatteryStuff.com. $75 including shipping. It has the same warranty as the "brand name" batteries and the CCA is on the order of 330. It replaces the original one (mine is an '07). I just installed it Saturday so I can't tell you much more about it. I think I had a hand in killing the original battery. About three times when I first got it this summer, I would turn the key all the way to the left and pull it out. If you do that, the lights come back on and on a summer day it's hard to notice. I never have understood the logic of that. If there's even a need for "parking lights" seems like it would make more sense for it not be all the way to the left, but stop one click short instead. But after jumping a dead battery a few times, I finally learned to be careful of the key position before I pull it out...

 

[Namaste]

Maybe a dumb idea, but would it cause the bike any harm to throw an electric blanket over the tank and engine at night? Gets down into low 30's in my garage at night. It is pretty hard starting in the morning sometimes.

Don't have the money to replace battery and get a new charger right now, and maybe this would help. My bike has never totally refused to start, but it has been close a couple of times.

 

[HellFire]

I don't know if that will warm the engine or not, but what the hell ...

I once put a small heater under the bike, attached the maintainer Jr. and then covered it with a blanket and the bike cover overnight in the garage. I was going on a ride early the next morning and still had the stock battery that wasn't cranking it when cold, and there was NO WAY I was going to miss the ride.
It worked, but it was overkill and desperation from it not starting previously. It was a huge waste of electricity and a one-time thing.
The Odyssey and charger have long since solved those problems.

 

[budman]

..the Odyssey battery and the Odyssey charger seem to work for some..they didn't do squat for me..my next move is the scorpion battery..

YTX20DHL Battery | Harley Davidson 12 Volt Motorcycle Batteries

 

[saboteur]

There was a post/thread here where someone finally traced, at a dealership, that it required something like almost twice the amps a Rocket should need to crank to crank his. Engine too tight, and they were going to do a rebuild....

 

[MR VTX]

Hey, Mr VTX! XHombre here... another denizen of the VTXOA and also a former owner of two VTX 1800s.

I think I noticed an 1800 for sale over in the OA's classifieds that looks nearly identical to your 1300. Same color, screeen and bags, I think? It had me drooling.

It was a very tough decision to opt out of getting a third VTX for the R3 that I ultimately bought. No regrets, however I would not hesitate to have another big Honda, if there was room in my garage and if the Mulberry Mistress promised not to get jealous!

Ha ha! I hear ya'. I'd love to get my hands on an R3. I watched this one go to a lucky buyer for only $7K with 3200 miles on it!

 

[nethound]

Nethound, did you ever find out what the problem was?

Not yet. I took it back to the dealership the week before Thanksgiving and they said they would do whatever they could to figure it out. I haven't heard back from them yet.

It's 7 degrees here this morning, so I'm not missing it at the moment, just hope they come up with something before spring.