Cold Battery!

BigBlueBerg · Mar 3, 2011

Hi Guys,

I live in Cold, Cold Canada. I need to start my 2009 FE 570 (My first Berg, just bought), but it is so cold up here that the battery doesn't have the power to turn over the engine fast enough to start. A week ago, the bike was parked in a heated garage and it started with just the touch of the button. Now sitting in weather at -20 to -30 Celsius 8O all week the battery is just too cold to go!

My question is, can I boost the battery? I have a quad that can be boosted by my truck if I leave the ignition of the truck off. Is that possible with the Berg??? Where the Berg is going there is a trickle charger, so that should alleviate the problem down the road.

Glenn.

pegscraper · Mar 3, 2011

Standard lead acid batteries are designed for optimum performance around 30-35deg C. At -20 the drop in capacity will be MASSIVE! The battery isn't flattened by the cold. The temp slows down the chemical reaction in the plates to such an extent that the battery just cannot deliver what it has in reserve. So long as the battery doesn't freeze (a fully charged battery should be safe down to around -40 C) it will not be damaged and will recover as the temp rises. So long as the battery you intend to jump from is 12v it'll be OK.

nsman · Mar 3, 2011

For extreme cold weather operation it can be usefull to use a 0W-30 0r 0w-40 oil
that is what the Yamaha 4t snowmobile engines spec.
easier on the engine parts on initial start up and less drag for cold temp starting

BigBlueBerg · Mar 3, 2011

With a little help from my truck, the Berg started right up. One touch starts are nice, but the weather warmed up to -14, I'm sure that helped! :cheers:

BBB

easyrider · Mar 3, 2011

I have jump started or boosted my berg and a mates berg off my car (Toyota landcruiser).
I have also jumped his bike off mine, Ive been thinking of making up a set of small jumper leads to carry in my camelbak.

Davo · Mar 3, 2011

easyrider said:
I have jump started or boosted my berg and a mates berg off my car (Toyota landcruiser).
I have also jumped his bike off mine, Ive been thinking of making up a set of small jumper leads to carry in my camelbak.

I think you can get away with 1 jumper lead in the camelbak. Connect positive to positive on both bikes and keep both bikes handle bars touching for the negatives. Never tried it but read it on here in a post ages ago.
How about the temp BigBlueBerg was quoting -30C ? Couldn't imagine what it would feel like in that temp 8O

DeeG · Mar 3, 2011

When jumping car to car it is customary to rev the engine of the live vehicle. This produces a higher voltage (~14.5V) from the alternate, making it easier to start/charge the dead vehicle.

For a motorcycle, this higher voltage could possibly damage the bikes regulator/regulator (or maybe even the ECU???) - or so I have heard. So it might be best to not rev the engine. You would then have something closer to 12V which should not cause any damage.

I "thought" I burned out the R/R in my son's DRZ-400 by jumping from a car so I replaced the R/R (expensive). It turned out to not be the problem. But it was in a Suzuki forum where I heard the R/R could be damaged. They aren't designed to handle the same current that a car/truck handles.

I bought a small set of ATV jumper cables that we carry in my wife's ATV cargo bag. They have come in handy many times - usually for my buddies that don't maintain their bikes as well as I do. I can easily access the battery on my wife's ATV by removing the seat - similar to the Berg - but with way more room.

Garrison · Mar 3, 2011

-30 is nothing. I did three winters in the oil sands in Fort McMurray. My first winter I saw -47c. You could throw a pot of hot water off the balcony and it would just turn to ice crystals instantly. guys would leave their diesel trucks running all night long for fear they wouldn't start in the morning.

You can get a boost from a car or truck - just make sure the donor vehicle isn't running or you'll fry your regulator. Hopefully reading that didn't make your butt pucker.
(just saw Deeg's post. He's totally right).

Or take a tip I learned while up north; fire up your truck and move the bike to the blast from the exhaust. After about ten minutes it's enough to warm the oil, and makes most bikes easy to start. We did this for a ride we did up there. February, on bikes, to Fort Smith in the Northwest Territories. I did that three times. It was a charity ride to raise money for the aboriginal school in Fort Chipewyan. You can imagine the windchill from riding a bike in -28! Great fun getting sideways on studded tires on a road of pure ice and hard packed snow. The longest drifting you'll ever do!

BigBlueBerg · Mar 3, 2011

I just boosted from the truck battery, without the vehicle started. Worked great.

I rode once in -32, one guy we were with had exposed flesh on his face... When we got back to the vehicles there was snow on his face that wouldn't melt. After sweeping it off he discovered the frozen patch...ouch! It was grey.

BBB

nsman · Mar 4, 2011

Really whats the point of starting your bike at -30c,unless of course there is a polar bear chasing you..

BigBlueBerg · Mar 4, 2011

Cause it is much easier to move thru 2 feet of snow when the motor is helping!

BBB

PhaZer_SWE1234 · Mar 5, 2011

My FE570 has normally no problem starting to degree down to -25C, but I normally run it every week.
(We never have less than -30)
My old bike was standing unused last winter and when trying to start it in spring time the battery was ruined and not possible to reload.
I think the battery will have reduced effect if stored cold and not used.
Try a new battery and You'll hopefully be fine.

pegscraper · Mar 5, 2011

Generally speaking storing lead acid batteries at lower temperatures slows down the self discharge rate to around 6-7% pm. Leaving them too long without a charge will ruin their capacity dut to sulphation. I left my R1 battery too long (2 months) forgetting about the permenant drain of the alarm, small though it is. When I came to try and start it the battery was showing less than 4v which is WAY too deep a discharge. Yes, there are chargers that can supposedly recover such batteries and I have one and used it and the bike then started but the battery wouldn't hold it's charge for more than 2-3 days. In short, it was knackered. With no alarm and no drain it would probably have survived.

Cold Battery!

Help Support Husaberg:

BigBlueBerg

pegscraper

nsman

BigBlueBerg

easyrider

Davo

DeeG

Garrison

BigBlueBerg

nsman

BigBlueBerg

PhaZer_SWE1234

pegscraper

Similar threads

Register CTA

Recent Discussions

Recent Discussions