Battery life

[bsn06]

I was riding the bike this morning, went out to mom's house to do some work for her. Came out, jumped on the bike and turned the key....nothing. Deader than a doornail. Jumped it with no problem and now it's starting right up but it got me thinking about battery life. What's been your experience?

BTW...the bike is 1yr old and it's a beautiful 65F out today, so it sure wasn't the cold that caused it to die.

 

[Bishop]

Mine made it 3 years on the OEM battery, cold snap finally killed it.

If you kill your battery in a year or less, you've either got a battery that was bad off the shelf or there is some other factor at work that's causing it to not get or not hold a charge.

 

[tdragger]

When you say that you turned the key and nothing, how literal are you being? If you didn't get a tach sweep or any other electrical activity, then you may be in the first stages of a bum ignition switch which many of us have experienced.

 

[Geek_Law]

I got about 3 years out of the OEM battery. I bought a new aftermarket battery and I keep it on a trickle charger. I don't think the prior owner used one.

 

[bsn06]

When you say that you turned the key and nothing, how literal are you being? If you didn't get a tach sweep or any other electrical activity, then you may be in the first stages of a bum ignition switch which many of us have experienced.

Quite literal- I got nothing. After a couple of on/off tries the lights beside the odometer and the odometer flashed- when I turned the key to the "off" position.

Never had any problems before today, and since I jumped it I've kicked it over maybe 10 times to check it out and it fires up every time.

 

[Bishop]

well then that definitely sounds like ignition switch then.

 

[Geek_Law]

If there was some kind of load on the battery, it is possible for it to be completely and utterly dead. Even a dead batter once jumped and charged will do a great job turning over a well oiled engine ... for a couple of days.

Take your battery out and get somebody to run a load test on it. That will tell you whether it is healthy or not.

I'm guessing it is toast. I think your ignition switch is fine. However, Marcus has been right before. It was a couple of months ago and cause for great celebration!

 

[TurboFan]

I also suspect the ignition switch is the problem. Let us know what you find.

 

[gR3yWolf]

Ignition switch. By the way, do you have the Rivco relocation kit? It makes it real easy to install a temporary toggle switch for starting purposes, until your warranty replacement kit comes in. Make sure your dealer orders you the complete kit, otherwise you'll end up with two different keys for your bike.

 

[bsn06]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll take the battery out tomorrow and have it checked. The bike is going in for the 10k service as soon as I get my truck inspected so I'll have them check out the ignition switch while they're at it.

Speaking of 10k service, the dealer says $400 plus oil and filter. Sound about right to you guys?