Is my bike getting the flu?

[China 11]

I’m a new rider & have had my n750 day for about 18 months & I love it but....... on the way to work it lost power & did not display what gear it was in & just showed a dash, I stoped & it would not engage gears, I turn the bike off and restarted it and it just made a funny clicking noise, 

I gave it about five minutes before I tried to start it again and then it clicked down through the gears from sixth and then started but seemed very sluggish! 
it’s due for its big service within the next month hopefully this should fix any problems but does anybody have any experience or advice on what’s going on with my baby

 

thanks in advance

[chris 357]

Could be as simple as a bad battery connection or falling battery.  The symptoms you describe sound like that. 

[China 11]

Hi Chris, the power to the head lights & display seemed fine & when i started it up again it started fine, it felt like it was stuck in a high gear When the gear indicator Just displayed a dash ?

27 minutes ago, chris said:

Could be as simple as a bad battery connection or falling battery.  The symptoms you describe sound like that. 

 

[chris 357]

I can easily be wrong but if voltage is low then it'll light up the lights and dash but struggles to change gear and just makes a clicking noise when you try to start it as the solenoid moves but starter doesn't turn the engine.  The fact it started next time could either be a bit of battery recovery due to your five minute rest or sign of a loose connection.  It only takes a couple of minutes to make sure battery terminals are clean and tight. 

[trisaki 2,029]

Volt meter across battery terminals  , probably  showing about 10.5 v without engine  running but with ignition switch  on 

[thwartedEfforts 264]

How old is the bike?

 

As @chris suggested the battery could on its beam ends. If the bike is a few years old, and your battery is the factory original, now that the temperatures are dropping close to zero you might find that you need to renew it.

[Grumpy old man 4,670]

Just put a little Lem Sip in the tank soon shake off that nasty flu bug😁

 

Ps- only joking!

Edited November 26, 2019 by Grumpy old man

[China 11]

5 hours ago, thwartedEfforts said:

How old is the bike?

 

As @chris suggested the battery could on its beam ends. If the bike is a few years old, and your battery is the factory original, now that the temperatures are dropping close to zero you might find that you need to renew it.

The bikes a 2014 model & I have no idea how old the battery is??

if I have to buy a new one should I get one of those flashy lithium ones? Are they worth it?

thanks

[embee 7,288]

Your issues may or may not be battery related, it's possible but not certain by any means. As suggested, the simplest checks with a voltmeter will give a very good idea of the state of things. A digital multimeter costs a few ££ these days, perfectly adequate for most general purposes, just as an example https://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-mas830b-digital-multimeter-600v/75337

Check the battery volts when switched off, then when ignition is switched on, then when the engine is idling, then when revved up. The numbers will give at least a basic idea of how the electrics are behaving.

 

It is quite probably the original battery on the bike, in which case 5yrs is pretty typical life expectancy.

 

The lead/acid vs lithium battery option is not entirely a no-brainer decision, each has its pros and cons. Stelios is our resident battery guru, and hopefully will comment.

 

I have a Shido LTZ14S LiFePO4 on my Integra, bought from https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/

Benefits are it's 1kg vs 4kg, it can deliver a lot of cranking current at moderate temperatures, it will recharge very quickly after a start so is well suited to short journeys or lots of city traffic use where you sit idling for regular periods.

Downsides are it's expensive, it has a smaller nominal energy (amp-hours) capacity, it doesn't like being very cold. The usual advice for when the battery is cold (around 0C for example) is to switch on the ignition/lights for a few minutes, the current through the battery will warm it up a bit and then it will deliver high current for starting.

Theoretically you also really need a specific charger for it should you want to recharge it.

It has behaved perfectly for a couple of years now, but I don't commute or do city traffic, and don't have electrical accessories like heated grips etc.

 

Having said those pros/cons, some qualification. The actual capacity isn't much of an issue. A lead acid battery often has a bigger nominal capacity than really necessary simply as a by-product of getting enough cranking current capability. A LiFePO4 battery capable of maybe 25% more cranking current might have only half the Ah capacity of the "equivalent" Pb/acid one, however because they re-charge so quickly you don't really need the extra Ah capacity, you can afford to discharge a greater percentage at any time because it will recover in a few minutes riding. Also you can't really use all the Ah capacity of a Pb/acid battery and still expect to start an engine, so it might have not much more "real usable" capacity than the LiFePO4 version in practice.

Pb/acid batteries can be likened to wet sponges, the flow out of them slows down the more you squeeze out, whereas a LiFePO4 is more like emptying a bottle, it flows out at full rate and suddenly stops when empty. It's a similar analogy when recharging, you can pour water into a bottle a lot quicker than a sponge can soak it up.

 

You "can" use a regular battery charger on a LiFePO4 providing it doesn't have a de-sulphation or recovery mode which can exceed the voltage limit for it. You do need to be careful if you do use a charger which in not specifically for LiFePO4, and monitor the voltage at all times. It is safer to get a proper charger, considering the cost of the batteries. I have an Optimate LiFePO4 charger because I intend to use them on other bikes as they come up for replacing (my SV650 will need one next season).

Edited November 26, 2019 by embee

[China 11]

Little update as I’ve finish work, the bike started absolutely fine & I drive home ( about 8 miles) with no problem what so ever apart from The anxiety of having to push my bike home, She is booked in for a 16 K service on the weekend so hopefully they should find any gremlins in the system if there are any I will also get the guys to check the health of the battery and buy a new one if needed.

 

Thanks for your help guys very much appreciated I’m sure you’ll hear from me in the future

 

Right safe