NC ever left you stranded?

[The Phoenix]

I was out in the summer it was probably 110 degrees or so on the heat index. Going out for a ride and not thinking I turned the bike off with the kill switch without first changing the tranny to Neutral from Drive.
After about 10 minutes I tried starting the bike but only got weakened responses until I knew I was just draining whatever battery power I had remaining. I called for a tow truck. It was an interesting experience
having the bike towed on a flatbed for about 10 miles on an Interstate/ByPass and then local streets until I got home. I put the battery on a charger for 2 days and it started up but would not do so again after shutting it off.
Looking back I realize I made some mistakes - not recognizing that my battery was failing; not checking the voltage on the battery periodically (which you can do with a setting on the dashboard for consistency), and forgetting that in summer months extreme heat will take its toll on the battery so I should periodically attach it to a battery tender.
After that experience I replaced the battery and am more vigilant in doing what I should have done.

 

[bumblepee]

Got the new battery, Mighty Max YTZ14S, voltage was already 13.2V. I put the tender 800mA on it anyway, but turned green within two minutes. Put the battery on the NC and started right away. Will this be a lasting battery? Will see. Now it got too cold to ride around or commute to work.

Not to be heretic, but I don't think checking the battery voltage every week or month is something I want to do. Got plenty of other things in life to take care of. The motorcycle is there for fun, not to need that kind of attention. The best I can do it put it on the tender a little more frequently. I may also have unusual situation compared to others because I take often 10min rides, not sure if that is enough to recharge the battery but certainly my old scooters had no problem dealing with.

Question: anyone can suggest a good battery charger + tester that I can use for anything (car, bike, lawn tractor)? I am looking for something around $70 max, don't want to throw $200 at it or spend money just on the bike. By tester I don't mean voltage (I can use a multimeter for that), I mean testing the load at various CCA. There are a few devices like that on Amazon, but I wanted a human opinion here instead of the hit or miss Amazon stuff.

Thank you.

 

[halfmt1]

Got the new battery, Mighty Max YTZ14S, voltage was already 13.2V. I put the tender 800mA on it anyway, but turned green within two minutes. Put the battery on the NC and started right away. Will this be a lasting battery? Will see. Now it got too cold to ride around or commute to work.

Not to be heretic, but I don't think checking the battery voltage every week or month is something I want to do. Got plenty of other things in life to take care of. The motorcycle is there for fun, not to need that kind of attention. The best I can do it put it on the tender a little more frequently. I may also have unusual situation compared to others because I take often 10min rides, not sure if that is enough to recharge the battery but certainly my old scooters had no problem dealing with.

Question: anyone can suggest a good battery charger + tester that I can use for anything (car, bike, lawn tractor)? I am looking for something around $70 max, don't want to throw $200 at it or spend money just on the bike. By tester I don't mean voltage (I can use a multimeter for that), I mean testing the load at various CCA. There are a few devices like that on Amazon, but I wanted a human opinion here instead of the hit or miss Amazon stuff.

Thank you.

I've used this one for many years now. Works very well.

100 Amp, 6/12V Battery Load Tester

Amazing deals on this 100 Amp 6/12V Battery Load Tester at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

 

[bumblepee]

I've used this one for many years now. Works very well.

100 Amp, 6/12V Battery Load Tester

Amazing deals on this 100 Amp 6/12V Battery Load Tester at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

Thanks, I actually followed your got a similar one with a load heating coil; it's the Solar brand from Napa, quite easy to use. But I also tested a few electronic ones and landed on a charger+tester, Lanco CAT-500. Not sure which will I keep.

As for batteries, a little update, the Mighty Max battery I bought for $40 was kind of garbage. It starts the bike but failed all the tests I ran with various battery testers. It has high internal resistance and 70% of the cranking amps advertised. I got the money back from Amazon, and now I am back looking for a battery. My eyes are on Lithium ones, either Shorai or Noco. My fears of the motorcycle catching fire from the lithium battery have been placated by other posts here and reading more articles online.

 

[Dailyridersg]

compatible with the new batteries?

 

[bumblepee]

Not sure what's the question. The CAT500 is compatible with lots of batteries, including LiPoe4. I charged the Noco NLP14 today and put it on the bike. The battery has ~300 CCA compared to 210 CCA of Yuasa, verified both with the electronic tester and the old style load resistance coil. The battery has a great built , weighs very little. The only problem: I had to flatten the Honda connectors with pliers because they did not fit. I saw a guy with a Goldwing on YouTube doing the same.

Looking forward to not think about batteries anymore. The CAT500 is surprisingly good, matches well other battery testers and can charge all types of car and motorcycle batteries. The clippers are very good for tiny motorcycle connectors. The Topdon equivalent (6000 pro) costs $80+ compared to Lanco's $28, and does not even charge lithium batteries and can test your patience with the bulky clippers.

 

[670cc]

Not sure what's the question. The CAT500 is compatible with lots of batteries, including LiPoe4. I charged the Noco NLP14 today and put it on the bike. The battery has ~300 CCA compared to 210 CCA of Yuasa, verified both with the electronic tester and the old style load resistance coil. The battery has a great built , weighs very little. The only problem: I had to flatten the Honda connectors with pliers because they did not fit. I saw a guy with a Goldwing on YouTube doing the same.

Looking forward to not think about batteries anymore. The CAT500 is surprisingly good, matches well other battery testers and can charge all types of car and motorcycle batteries. The clippers are very good for tiny motorcycle connectors. The Topdon equivalent (6000 pro) costs $80+ compared to Lanco's $28, and does not even charge lithium batteries and can test your patience with the bulky clippers.

I was looking at this CAT500 on Amazon, since you mentioned it. I see on it’s screen a measurement it calls “PIPPLE”. That is an electrical term I have never heard. The definition of pipple I found is: “pipple: [intransitive verb] to make the murmuring sound of a gentle wind or of rippling water”. What dies the manual say about pipple? Or it it perhaps a typo or a bad translation from another language?

 

[bumblepee]

It means Ripple. Chinese stuff has terrible manuals usually, even when the product is ok. The manual was just a sheet of paper with minimal explanations how to work. That Lancol brand though is not small or unknown. There's videos of their devices in various countries in Asia. And the line of products seems established.

 

[Lee_0123]

Anyone ever have their NC break down on them? If so what happened? We’re you able to get it going again, or did it require a tow?

Nope. I have 25k miles on the bike, no problems. Great bike.

 

[skills4lou]

Question: anyone can suggest a good battery charger + tester that I can use for anything (car, bike, lawn tractor)? I am looking for something around $70 max, don't want to throw $200 at it or spend money just on the bike. By tester I don't mean voltage (I can use a multimeter for that), I mean testing the load at various CCA. There are a few devices like that on Amazon, but I wanted a human opinion here instead of the hit or miss Amazon stuff.

Thank you.

I've had the older version of this one for over a decade. I move it around between boat/RV/bike/ATV/lawn tractor, leaving it for a week or two on each battery. Some of those batteries last 7 or 8 yrs, some of them are still going over 10 yrs later. I figure I've saved far more in not having to replace the batteries than this little thing cost. And if you put the SAE connector on things it's very simple to move the charger between each.
BatteryMINDer

For the original question on this thread: nope.

 

[Rabbit]

Bad battery just left me stranded but AMA carried me home

 

[dduelin]

Last Saturday the NC wouldn't start during one attempt. The starter button elicited a single click from a relay somewhere under or forward of the frunk but no start. This caught me by surprise and after a moment I pressed the starter again and it cranked as normal as it did 3 or 4 more times that day. I have a voltmeter in line to a USB port in the frunk and when I checked the standing voltage it showed 12.6 or 12.8 like usual for that battery but I did not do a load test on the battery. Yesterday it did didn't start again in the garage before a ride so I pulled out my multimeter. Standing voltage 12.8 but when I pressed the starter the display briefly dropped to 9 something volts. After the initial no-start he bike started without even cranking slow. It's hard to see the exact voltage drop but it was less than 10. Not good. I did that three times and saw 9 something then 8 something. Still, the bike started but Spidey sense alerted I switched bikes for the ride and later checked if I could get a new battery later on in the day. I got a YTZ12S Yuasa and charged it last night 6 hours at the charge rate of 1.25 amps. I installed it this morning and the multimeter shows volts dropping into the 11 volt range when cranking. With no way to push start a DCT I don't want to get stuck somewhere with a battery that gives it up pretty much without any more warning than it was giving me.

 

[skills4lou]

Dave, to be clear for someone down the road who might read that post, you meant that you charged the new battery at 1.25 amps, not 1.25 volts?

 

[dduelin]

Dave, to be clear for someone down the road who might read that post, you meant that you charged the new battery at 1.25 amps, not 1.25 volts?

Thank you for noticing my mistake. I edited the post to show amps not volts.