Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

I'd only replaced my battery 12 months ago - and on sunday after starting it up no worries, I turned it off before heading out as I needed something out of the globebox and then it wouldn't start (kicked over slowly).

Rolled the car down and jump started... sweet. Attempted to roll out and left the stand down - engine killed. Fk. And then it turn over slowly but not enough to bring it to life.

is it a shit battery or do I require a trickle charger attached at all times because I start it so rarely?

I'll hazard a guess that i probably start mine less than you do i find if i charge it up o/n on a friday it is good for about a week and a 1/2... I dont leave it on all the time.

I also know mine has a fault somewhere in the ignition lock that makes it go flat real quick - ZZR's have a parking light you can switch on but you have to turn the key past Lock. If you dont Lock the ignition it doesnt go flat so i'm thinking that is the problem. Something to consider.

Even a brand new battery will eventually have the same flatness issues if you dont ride it - guilty as charged

guilty as charged

nice pun!

Cheers

Trickle chargers definitely help.

But make sure everything else is working properly first.

red_dave wrote:Trickle chargers definitely help.

But make sure everything else is working properly first.

wise words from the battery man...

If you're keen to spend some coin and make your bike more race...

http://www.ballisticparts.com/
or
http://www.shoraipower.com/

Both are Lithium Iron Phosphate.. only lose 10% of their charge per year when sitting around idle, and maintain good cranking power even when nearly flat.

Oh and they is about 80% lighter too

Hi Guys,

My bike still has the factory battery after 5 years. It starts no problems after sitting unused for 6 weeks.

It should be easy enough to see if there's a current draw on the battery with the ignition shut off. Lift the earth lead of the battery and connect an ammeter between the battery terminal and the disconnected lead. If there's current flow, I'd suspect an electrical fault (or maybe an alarm system?).

A defective battery will make it very difficult to charge and it will also be reluctant to supply power. I've seen this problem on two batteries. They had a poor connection internally. Both batteries blew up when the poor conection sparked igniting internal hydrogen gas. It might be safer to remove the battery for charging and turn the charger on after connecting to the battery. This means you're less likely to get acid in your face because you're at the power point not crouching over the battery trying to connect clips. Batteries go off with a bang when they explode.



PAH

My ZR7 still has her original battery in her, over 12 years old now and still going strong, admittedly she very rarely sits for more than a week without a good run!