Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Today I learned something new, how to push start a motorcycle and I have to admit it's a heck of a workout.

I got a call from a friend around 4pm that she is stranded and needs someone to deliver a can of gas to her car, sure not the big deal.
I was a bit frustrated since I just cleaned and lubed to chain, which was supposed to rest overnight. Reason being is that the lube can soak into the seals completely and 30 minutes are recommended, but a night was supposed to be better.

Anyway after riding to her house and picking up the gas, my bike didn't start anymore. Reason being, no electricity. At this point I remembered, wait I had the high beams running, while the engine was off. To keep the engine fan running, while lubing the chain. Seems that a motorcycle battery is drained much quicker than a car battery. In like 45 minutes or so...

So I googled on my trusty IPhone and found out that I can push start the bike, I just have to move it in first or second gear and it should fire up. 20 Minutes later I realized that the success is higher, if you turn the kill button off... Once this was done the bike stuttered and fired right up.

Guess I put in a new battery after my Christmas vacation, since I'm quite sure that the battery will be drained after being in the garage for 3 weeks, without running. And my car battery charger can't be used on the bike.

Also to take off the seat to reach the battery is kinda sad...