At the end of the riding season while fueling up, my starter appeared to drag just a little. The bike started and I went home and checked the connections and put it on a tender. I have noticed of late that if the bike sits a day, when I go to start it, the starter does not spin like it once did. It always starts, doesn't click but seems to be slower. If I have the tender on and unplug it, it spins it very well and I can assume there is lots of voltage. I have checked it with a volt meter and it reads 13.4 V right after disconnecting the tender. After sitting a day or two the battery is always 2.8 or 2.9, never below the 2.7 line but close. The battery is probably original as I have all the documents from previous owners and no maintenance papers show any servicing or replacement of the battery. So my question is, on an old battery that still shows 12.7+ will a new battery spin the bike over better.

randy

 

Without knowing the year of your bike and you say the battery is probably original I would say its possible the battery is on it way out. One thing you can do is take it to a auto parts store and have it load tested before you start throwing parts at it.

I have had very good luck with this battery.
http://www.batterymart.com/p-Big-Cra...L-Battery.html

rk classic

 

Funny I was just looking at batteries yesterday and I came across that Big Crank ETX30L. I have the same unit in my Polaris RZR and it's been great! I use the winch frequently and even if the thing has been sitting in a cold shed with no tender for 2 months, it fires like a champ.

 

Put your voltmeter on the battery and hit the starter, if it drops below 9.6 v you probably need a new one.

 

Ok, I did the volt meter test and twice I checked it. Upon keying the starter, the voltage dropped to 9.01 volts. The bike of course started and the voltage jumped up to 14v immediately. This was after sitting on the tender all night as well. So I'm taking every ones word on this one and buying a new battery. Thanks for the help.

randy

 

I just went through this. The battery is full after a ride but it deteriorates overnight very quickly. The dealer ran a load test on it and it was failing after 4 years. New battery installed for about $200 bucks and problem stalled. I don't take a chance with either batteries or tires. If they fail out in the sticks you are screwed.

 

+1 on the voltage drop when starting. 9v is too low and I agree the battery is on its way out. I had similar symptoms even regularly using a tender. I would hit the start switch...starter would turn...then slight hesitation...then fire up the bike. The voltage would drop low enough that it would reset my trip odometer..etc....

 

Cajun you near Alexandria, La? Danny Davis custom Bikes in Pineville has the best batteries and prices.

 

with out knowing your year. I had a similar issue last year replaced battery,cables and rebuilt starter. Much better but struggled a bit and 1 year old big crank is toast. lesson I learned not to be cheap, as we speak installing all ***** and yuasa gyz32hl plus heavy duty cables. wasted 250 on rebuild kits and battery...

 

whyrzwaldo, exactly what mine was doing. Put in a New Deka battery and all is good now. And.......... when I put a voltmeter on the battery and key the starter, it drops to 10.5 volts so thankyou everyone.

randy