| Author | Message | ||
     Advoutlander |
As of yesterday im a new xb12x owner. I live in Colorado and last night it was single digit temperatures. I went to fire up the buell and it didn't crank but I could hear the starter trying to engage as if the battery is dead. I know the battery on it is the original factory battery from 2008. I was talking to someone that said those types of motorcycles need to be in a garage as they wont start in the morning. Surely its just an old battery. | ||
| Ourdee |
I keep mine on a tender. Needs a 30 minute ride whenever you start it. If you have been doing 15 minute or less rides, it will do this. Get a new battery. I still have my 08 battery. I use it for a spare. It is on the tender when the bike is not. Ruined the second battery and the third one is in the bike. All bikes should be in the garage when not being used. Put your cage outside. If you do not have a garage, cover the bike if it will sit unused for a week or more. Otherwise just hook up a tender. I use a Schumaker float type tender of less then 2 amps. I think it is a 1.5. EBR ecm helps with cold weather starting and it not fouling a plug. I fouled a lot of plugs trying to start in cold weather with a low battery and the OEM ecm. | ||
| Brown_e |
That is typical of Ulys. The starter will begin to engage, stop of a second and they turn over. My 06 has done this even with a new battery. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Run your bike long enough to burn off any condensate from the combustion process. Might not be so easy with the fan on all the time. Stuff a rag or something in the Uly's oil cooler because you don't need that extra cooling in the winter months. (Message edited by electraglider_1997 on January 14, 2013) | ||
| Mnrider |
No way I would try to start my bike if it sat outside in single digit temps. The oil is too thick and won't lube the engine. | ||
| Uly_man |
For the love of God, NO? The bike has a VERY complicated fuel and injection control system that DOES NOT NEED "stuffing" in any way AT ALL? YOU all need to get this straight? A XB will run right (ish), even a 06 bike, with crap fuel and very low/high ambient temps. If it does not idle smooth(ish), pull hard and have a flat spot then the bike has a problem. And thats a STONE COLD FACT of the situation. Because it WILL run well if it is right. Man its like the "Dark Ages" are back again. The BLACK ART of "moving bits" and "freaky electrics" need those to be burned at the stake. Or at least with a good BBQ and beer. | ||
| Reepicheep |
The 12's turn over slow... high compression and thick oil. A good battery will help, but it turns over slow even on a hot day with a good battery. When I have a good battery, it always starts, but sometimes it REALLY sounds like it won't... Maybe keep it on tender when it is cold just to keep the battery a little warmer. | ||
| Hdxbones |
Put it on a tender, there's no reason it shouldn't start and run well in any ambient temperature. | ||
| Tootal |
I have noticed that if you have the idle set on the low side you might have to crack the throttle just a smidge to get it to fire. It doesn't take much and too much will give you a back fire that will wake the neighbors!  As soon as it starts I have to bring it up to 1500 rpm for a couple of seconds and then it will idle fine on it's own. Now I have an 06 and I know the 08's are not that way, that I know of. | ||
| Ourdee |
 duct tape | ||
| Ratbuell |
The idle can't be adjusted on an 08. My 06, I'll press the starter to get to the single-crank-pause stage. Release the starter and let the fuel pump re-prime. Hit the starter again, it cranks like I rode it 100 miles and parked it five minutes ago - full tilt boogie cranking, fires right up. I started doing it to keep my HID from flaming out...but the faster starts are a nice bonus. And yes, that includes single digit temps  | ||
| Ourdee |
If you only ride it when it is warm out, you have not felt it make power. | ||
| 7873jake |
Ohhhhh, +1 to that! Cold temps + Uly = easy wheelies It caught me by surprise the first time but the more I rode it in temps in the 30's the more it seemed to like being a unicycle, at least for brief periods. It is also the time many report that their belts seem to want to give up so I guess a complimentary equation to the one above would be something like: Cold temps + Uly Belt + wheelies ~~ a greater chance of snapping that belt. | ||
| Panhead_dan |
At any temp my '06 will need what Ratbuell posted above. Many times it will crank on through the first try but when it doesn't, his method works and it will not re-set the info on the gauges. When it's cold, I have to do as Tootal described above. | ||
| Advoutlander |
Im going to need a waterproof battery tender. Would a 5 watt tender do the job? | ||
| Ourdee |
Way bad on the 5 watt! Less than 2 watts. | ||
| Advoutlander |
Ignore the last post I was looking at the solar tender. Will the below do the job? http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/14/71/965/954 /ITEM/Battery-Tender-Waterproof-800-Charger.aspx | ||
| Ourdee |
Look on amazon for about $20. Schumacher SE-1-12S Fully Automatic Onboard Battery Charger - 1.5 Amps http://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-SE-1-12S-Automati c-Onboard-Battery/dp/B0000AXTUY | ||
| Ourdee |
 | ||
| Ourdee |
OH, solar...... | ||
| Uly_man |
My 06 bike was always a slow starter even with a brand new battery no matter what I tried. You may get the odd "back fire" on cold starting. Its the unburnt fuel of the startup enrichment cycle. And it would wheelie at any time hot or cold. I had two belts go on this bike and both were with hot engines, warm days, easy pull aways and a FST fitted. The 10 bike was always fine but I had been working on the electrics and let it go a bit flat. I had to jump it to go to work and left it over night on a 700Ma charger. The following morning the bike spun up like a four. Over the next three days, seven starts and seven 10 mile runs it was still fine. I remove the Neg lead (the bike has a very slight parasitic drain and this helps a lot) for 4 days and have done 4 starts and four 10 mile runs and it still spins up like a four. All days were 2C or less and today it was -1C (30F). In fact it was so cold you could see the fog turning into ice crystals in the headlight beams. An amazing sight to see. Yes I know a 10 mile run is not good but thats how it is. I can not use a tender and tried a solar charger to no effect. The thing is I know that a AGM battery does not work quite the same way as a lead acid one. I just can not find any details of how that would be. It may be that they are ok on a normal engine bike but need treating another way on a V-Twin. So I will run the bike and see how it goes. And yes use a 1 amp or less charger on a bike battery. | ||
| Tootal |
I have an Odyssey Dry Cell battery but I don't know if that's the same as an AGM or not. Odyssey says to use at least 10 amps if the battery is discharged and will recharge in 15 minutes with 100 amps!! I use a 12 amp charger to bring it up to full and then lower it to 2 amp to top it off. This is only in the Spring after sitting most of the Winter. If somebody knows if the AGM is the same it might change the way they charge them. |
