So if someday I am stuck with a dead battery can I use a car for a jump start?

 

The service tech here told me to never jump my dyna off a car. It will fry the charging system. So I wouldn't. But I have done it several times with my 2002 Honda Sabre with no problems. If you do choose to try it, do not have the car running when you jump the bike. It can cause a surge that will make increase the chance of frying something.

 

I think, if you DON'T have the engine of the car running. I think?

 

just bump it

 

If you try to start it with out the car running, you'll drain the car battery unless they have an exceptionally large battery. I found out the hard way and felt really bad for the guy that stopped to help me. The proper way is to have the car running and allow it to charge the motorcycle battery for 10-15 minutes. Then remove the cables from the motorcycle and start it up. This is how I've done it in the past with out any problems.

 

it's not recommended unless yer doin it with another bike.
Push start it. Harleys will push start fairly (I did say fairly....lol) easily.

 

+1 done it plenty times Never with auto engine running and always with a battery on the bike To buffer any sudden shock

 

I have jumped some metrics with a car before, but like 2003Springer said, with the car off and only touching the bikes positive terminal for a second or 2.
I've always ground it to somewhere else on the bike

 

A few thoughts in general, and make up your own minds from there.
No need to have the car running; starting a bike off of it is far less a drain than when you start the car itself over & over.
12 volts is 12 volts, neither battery cares what physical size the other is.

The big issue is the rate of charge when you attach any device to a low/dead battery. When you put a dead battery on a 1-1/2 amp trickle charger only 1-1/2 amps of current is supplied to the battery so a 50 amp/hr. battery would take approx 33 hours to charge. since a car/truck battery can easily exceed 500cca in theory the car battery could recharge that 50 amp/hr battery in a minute or two. I say in theory because the cables used for jumping might not be able to carry 500+ amps or the cable connections might be so high resistance (small clip contact area) that the heat generated at the connections blah blah blah battery plates could warp from the high current and short against each other, blah blah blah (you guys know I get paid by the word, right?)
Short & sweet, if you don't have time for a battery charger get your cables to the car & don't bother running it. Turn on the ign. Get the positive cable hooked to the bike's positive and have a helper put the negative cable on and you hit the starter right away. You are starting the bike off the car battery and the bike's battery is grabbing everything it can at the same time. As soon as the bike starts your helper pulls the jumper cables off right away. If the bike is healthy and the battery was dead from other reasons just drive it away and get it on a charger. The idea is to minimize the time you're hooked up to the car battery AND minimize the current available to the bike battery. That will be aided by the car being not running and from the voltage drop of the starter motor.

 

If a battery doesn't have sufficient charge to pressurize the EFI, you can't bump start a bike. You must jump it using another battery. If this is done with a car, you shouldn't have the motor running.