So living in Michigan and our epic seasonal changes it's that time of year again to start the bike up. I stored the battery over winter on a trickle charger and today, since it hit 50 degrees, I threw it back in the bike and attepmted to fire her up.....


Yea......


Fail....


So the battery feels strong and the starter is working when I hit the ignition button, but that's about it... Sounds like a quiet machine gun firing and the FI light comes on. And that's it. When I take my finger off the button the guages seem to reset like when the key is first turned.

So the question... What should I look at first? When I put it up on the stands to store it I treated the fuel with Sta-bil... This is my first bike that's not 20 years old and fuel injected, so it's new to me... The ran perfectly when I parked it last Fall.............

Thanks!

 

probably check the basics of: is there fuel and spark

 

+1, after it sits there will always be problems, make sure all the fluids are good, and dont rule out fuel simply because you added stabil, it could still be bad or gunked.

 

Thanks guys!.... I think I might have had a case of tunnel vision right off the bat....

I just headed out again to try again, and I'm realizing it's barely cranking.... I'm thinking maybe in fact it IS the battery. I've never had a car battery make it longer than 6 years, (usually not even 5) and the Cycle battery is 6.5 years old...

What's the general life span of Cycle batteries usually?

 

I have a weak battery in my 05 EX500 that needs replaced. My 06 10r battery is still going strong. So as in life, not everything will last the same predetermined expectancy. Check your fluids as mentioned above and electrolytes. (03 so probably sealed). and get your meter out for testing

 

Yup. I'm about 99% sure it's the battery... I guess the thing must have jsut died sometime over the last 4 months... I went out this morning and attached my normal charger that has a starter function and the engine would turn over. The bike didn't fire up, but I didn't want to risk running the bike like that anyway. My comprehension of electrical stuff isn't exactly the best..... :-)

Looks like I'll throw a new battery in and see what happens... Might as well get some oil while I'm out...

Thanks guys!