What did you do to your bike today?

[Joe85]

Annoyingly, over the last few very cold mornings, the bike has been very sluggish to start. OnMonday i had to disconnect all accessories and turn off the heated grips/seat before it started. I park it in a warm carpark at work, and when i start it at the end of the day it fire up fine.

 

Had the same today, however this time i stoped for petrol just near my house and the f**ker just wouldnt start. The battery voltage was down at 12v. I had an Optimate delivered today and its currently recharging the battery, but do you guys think it's a battery or alternator issue?

[Pie man]

11 minutes ago, Joe85 said:

Annoyingly, over the last few very cold mornings, the bike has been very sluggish to start. OnMonday i had to disconnect all accessories and turn off the heated grips/seat before it started. I park it in a warm carpark at work, and when i start it at the end of the day it fire up fine.

 

Had the same today, however this time i stoped for petrol just near my house and the f**ker just wouldnt start. The battery voltage was down at 12v. I had an Optimate delivered today and its currently recharging the battery, but do you guys think it's a battery or alternator issue?

I don't know and not much help, people have had issues with the batteries, and recommend you check the battery ground to the frame isn't loose 

[MikeHorton]

31 minutes ago, Joe85 said:

Annoyingly, over the last few very cold mornings, the bike has been very sluggish to start. OnMonday i had to disconnect all accessories and turn off the heated grips/seat before it started. I park it in a warm carpark at work, and when i start it at the end of the day it fire up fine.

 

Had the same today, however this time i stoped for petrol just near my house and the f**ker just wouldnt start. The battery voltage was down at 12v. I had an Optimate delivered today and its currently recharging the battery, but do you guys think it's a battery or alternator issue?

I'm no expert but when I picked up the Africa twin the salesman advised to use a trickle charger when not riding for a while and often in the winter. I'm sure your GS is no different to my bike packed with tech which puts strain on the battery, electronic suspension, ancillaries and my datatool tracker won't help matters. Wait till you hook up the optimiser hopefully it will cure the issue 

[billy sugger]

@Joe85it may be a good idea to try a battery wjth a higher cold cranking amps than your standard one, though it sounds like your starting to get a dodgy cell on your current one so not getting enough amps 

[Joe85]

1 minute ago, billy sugger said:

@Joe85it may be a good idea to try a battery wjth a higher cold cranking amps than your standard one, though it sounds like your starting to get a dodgy cell on your current one so not getting enough amps 

Thanks, the Optimate will tell me if the battery is damaged though, right? It concerns me that after a 40 minute ride it was below the required voltage to start.

 

I probably went a week without starting it in the recent snow.

[billy sugger]

The optimate puts out enough to take a good battery up to a max voltage of 14.2 volts, (its higher than what the battery actually is so it can reach a full charge) and your battery should register 13.7 volts fully charged if all 6 cells are functioning correctly 

[onesea]

If your relying on Optimate to start your bike on cold mornings, particularly a modern fuel injection bike I would be concerned.

 

Time for basic checks, do you get a charging voltage when it's running.

Next for me if voltage is up over 14v is a new battery.

[Joe85]

1 hour ago, onesea said:

If your relying on Optimate to start your bike on cold mornings, particularly a modern fuel injection bike I would be concerned.

 

Time for basic checks, do you get a charging voltage when it's running.

Next for me if voltage is up over 14v is a new battery.

Well i only put it on tis evening as i bought it thinking the cold weather was impacting the battery.

 

14.4v is what i normally see while riding the bike, is that bad?

[Joe85]

Here’s some pictures.

First is the voltage dripping after switching bike off.

.

 

Second is turning the bike on (Not the engine, jsut the bike) with the Optimate connected:

 

Third is the bike running on engine (again pretty sluggish to start). Voltage shoots up to 14.4V

 

Fourth is after switching off the engine, and watching the volts just drop away. Eventually dropped to 11.9. Was barely able to get it to turn over again.

 

I've plugged the Optimate back in, and it says the battery is fine and that its conditioning it. I think it's a duff.

Edited January 25, 2023 by Joe85

[Joe85]

Looks to me like the Alternator is doing its job and either something is dragging the battery down as mentioned earlier or its a duff battery. Will have a fiddle tomorrow. 

 

Thanks all.

Edited January 25, 2023 by Joe85

[Stu]

57 minutes ago, Joe85 said:

14.4v is what i normally see while riding the bike, is that bad?

 

Thats normal and what my RT shows on the dash while running then with all the heated shit on it might drop to 14.2v which is plenty 

 

Sounds like it could be a duff battery as the charging system looks to be working fine 

 

When I turn mine on it saps a lot of power while everything starts up and yours will be the same so I would stick the ignition on and wait a few seconds for the system voltage to stabilise then hit the starter 

 

[bonio]

The voltages look fine to me - that's what it should be doing.

My guess is that the battery's taken a bit of a beating in the cold. Either the Optimate will cheer it up and make it fine again, or else it will keep it hobbling on for a few more weeks before it dies on you when you really need get somewhere on time.  

 

[bonio]

... when I had my GS they were known for being shipped with batteries that would last a year at best. Perhaps not much has changed there.

[Joe85]

Starting to think it might be a starter issue. Starts first time, if i stopt the bike and try to restart it fails to crank. If i fully turn off the bike and turn it back on, it works first time.

 

I unplugged it from the Optimate after a night of conditioning and was able to start it 10 times in a row by turning the bike fully off (Dash off or key out) and then back on again. It's only when i stop the engine and attemtp to restart it (dash stays on) that it faisl to crank.

 

Just gonna have to take it to BMW.

[onesea]

10 minutes ago, Joe85 said:

Starting to think it might be a starter issue. Starts first time, if i stopt the bike and try to restart it fails to crank. If i fully turn off the bike and turn it back on, it works first time.

 

I unplugged it from the Optimate after a night of conditioning and was able to start it 10 times in a row by turning the bike fully off (Dash off or key out) and then back on again. It's only when i stop the engine and attemtp to restart it (dash stays on) that it faisl to crank.

 

Just gonna have to take it to BMW.

Unless it’s a new thing, That might be a design thing/ software issue? Block on restarting if stopped on kills switch?  Or anti theft thing?
God knows what they are thinking when things are designed.

 

I would still be suspicious of battery if it cannot go a week without the Optimate.  Then That’s a personal thing.

Edited January 26, 2023 by onesea

[Joe85]

2 minutes ago, onesea said:

Unless it’s a new thing, That might be a design thing/ software issue? Block on restarting if stopped on kills switch?  Or anti theft thing?
God knows what they are thinking when things are designed.

 

I would still be suspicious of battery if it cannot go a week without the Optimate.  Then That’s a personal thing.

Yeh, but it tries to crank, and then fails. Even though the voltage is >12V.

 

Annyoing because you know the next time it's gonna let you down is when you've pulled over for a piss 300miles from home.

[billy sugger]

I carry a lithium polymer battery booster power pack that's half the size of a video case. Will jump a 1.2 ltr engine, charge USB devices, has a light and will hold its charge for about 10 years

[Trooper74]

 

Screen Buffeting on V-Stroms .... Todays issue.

 

So ..Before cutting the original screen down i found a Powerbronze short screen on the interweb ..... on first ride, a dash along the local motorway the buffet seemed to have disappeared.
Today i want for a longer ride, through the Peak District. Not only no buffet but a much quieter and pleasant riding experience .... fantastic bit of kit...

 

 

 

[Joe85]

Looks like i found thie issue :

 

 

Loose connection. Looks like movement on the accessory cable has loosened the Grd terminal bolt. Thanks to Bonio for poiting me in the right direction.

Edited January 26, 2023 by Joe85

[husoi]

Splashed £59.41 on the new insurance for the pan 

Safe for another year

[Stu]

2 hours ago, Joe85 said:

Looks like i found thie issue :

 

 

Loose connection. Looks like movement on the accessory cable has loosened the Grd terminal bolt. Thanks to Bonio for poiting me in the right direction.

 

That would have been embarrassing at the dealer

[Joe85]

Gave it a good wash. Might be less hassle with out chain maintenance but takes twice as long to clean. 

[Bianco2564]

Did a few jobs on the 250R.

Replaced the tacho bulb that had blown, have to remove the entire fairing to get to the back of the cluster.

Lubricated the speedo cable, noise from it is a common fault on this model apparently.

Same with rattling from the clutch lever with excessive play. Found a wavy washer just the right size to take out the worst of the free play.

Replaced the air filter.

Gave it a good clean, it was absolutely minging after using it last Wednesday.

 

[billy sugger]

This. Moved satnav from handlebars to better position 

[billy sugger]

Not sure why first picture is upside down. Anyway, home made bar and tube 22mm size bolted together and fixed to screen. Now I can see the satnav better