Had a battery issue lately and checked out some old threads. I bought my '07 in May '08. Build tag has November '06, so I figured the OEM battery was about 4 years old. The bike had set for over a month and just didn't want to fire up, and the battery lost it's ability to crank in short order. The threads I read showed a wide experience with battery life, which surprised me. Back in the day a MC battery was good for a year tops, and after buying one replacement for my XL250S is said screw it. The bike would start on the first kick without fail, who needed estart.

Pulled the battery and connected it to my charger, an old Sears/Schumacher unit with 50/10/2 amp charges, plus a maintainer setting, battery gauge, etc. Battery charged right up on the 2 amp slow charge.

My surprise came when I went to reconnect the battery. When I disconnected it the 5mm phillips screws backed right out and I assumed that the connecting nuts were built into the connection terminals. My bad. Turns out the not your run of the mill rectagonal nut just rested at the bottom of the connecting post assembly, and when I went to reinstall the battery one of those little buggers was no longer present for service, probably slipped out when I angled the battery at some point and now lives somewhere on my garage floor.

Murphy's law dictates that you never find a critical part like that until the replacement is acquired. Fat chance. Was actually able to start the bike with the charged OEM battery by using the one good nut on the positive side and hand snugging the negative. Battery still had plenty of cranking power but it seemed to be loosing charge too quickly.

A quick trip to the hardware store(s) confirmed that no such nut exists. I bought a standard nut and considered grinding/filing it down to fit. Also considered drilling out the back of the post assembly and stuffing the bolt through horizontally to fit the standard nut. Or driving 50 miles to the nearest Kawi dealer only to be told my 32 cent part would have to be ordered. No thanks.

I ended up going with a new AGM type battery for 55 bucks. Complete with mounting hardware, including the aforementioned rectagonal nuts. Which, by the way, should be shimmed with a piece of carboard when intalled, the tolerances for connection are a pain.

Right now I'm happy to have a rideable bike again, and pissed at Kawi for not giving me a kick start. I understand I can have one added for around 3 bills. Kawi could have done it at the factory for probably $50.

Watch your nuts - always a good idea.

 

Yeah those pesky nuts on the batteries can be a bugger. I always take a micro flat blade screwdriver and hold it in there so the bolt can grab it.

 

Some people put their nuts in their mouth so they don't lose them.



Good story, I hope you kept the one you still had in the old battery for a spare in the future. I think I have a couple of old ones laying around .

 

I sometimes will put them in my front pocket so that I just put my hand in there and feel them anytime I want....just to make sure they are still there. You don't want to lose those babies.

 

roll up an old earplug and put under each nut. It'll hold them up and in place making the screw easier to start, especially if you have added lugs on the terminal.

 

I recently bought an AGM battery online for only $37 with free shipping:

http://www.batterymart.com/p-YTX7L-B...e-Battery.html

No affiliation with the site, it was recommended from a previous thread i posted about battery woes.

The battery came fully charged, no need to add the acid or anything and it came with some fresh nuts. I took my old nuts off the old battery and put them in the box with the old battery which is stowed away in the shed with the other stock KLX parts. These nuts are of odd shape, and seems like your average ABC hardware store may not carry such a strange looking nut.

Definitely watch those nuts, can never be too careful. I now have 4 nuts in case something happens

 

I've used a small flat bladed screw driver to hold those in place. I have been told to inject silicone caulking beneath the nuts once the cables are in place. Once hardened the nuts are always where they're suppose to be. I haven't tried it yet. Maybe a good solution?

 

I recently had some battery woes myself, it was my nuts...they came loose, battery wouldn't start the bike. I removed my nuts, cleaned my posts and re-assembled, charged my battery and never had an issue since. Might be a good idea to loctite those nuts so they don't vibrate loose and leave you stranded because your battery went dead.

 

I can't lose mine, my wife actually keeps mine in her purse. If I need them I just have to ask.

 

It would be good if some vendor was to produce some sort of bag to keep the nuts in for safekeeping. perhaps a green bag that could attach to the bike somewhere obvious, like just under the headlight, maybe hanging between the forks. Maybe Dirtbagz could make it.

On another note,
What happens when you attach the clamps of a battery tender to your nuts anyway??? How doyou tell if they are clamped on tight enough