Nothing is more dreadful than seeing a motorbike that won’t start right before you have to go for a ride. Most likely, the battery has given up on your bike and you, which is a pure disappointment, and then you need to jog your mind for the best solution to jump-start your motorbike. There are various ways to do this, and so much cautionary advice about which is the best way. It can quickly get overwhelming how you should really go about this but don’t panic because, in this mini-guide, we are going to walk you through exactly that. So, let’s get started.
Table of Contents
Why does The Battery Stop Working?
As we mentioned earlier, there can be numerous reasons that lead to this particular issue. These reasons could be quite simple ones, for instance, if you forgot to get the gas filled. Or when the battery simply won’t work because of the excessive buildup of ‘carbon’ on the spark plug.
A dead battery is among the most common reasons for a motorcycle not starting, and although you can fix this by using the steps below to jump-start the battery, it is not a long-term solution. If the motorcycle battery has given up, it means that the charge depletion has been way too deep, and eventually, you will have to go for a new battery.
Few Options to Jump the Battery
There are a few different ways (using a car battery, trying to start it in gear, a bike, or a portable jump starter) through which you can jumpstart the motorbike battery. Let’s quickly review each (and we will talk about the method using the jump starter set).
- When you’re using a car for this purpose, turn off your motorcycle as well as the car before starting. Start by joining the positive clip (usually red in color) with the positive terminal of the dead bike battery. Once you do this, connect the negative clip with the negative of the car battery and ground the other clip by attaching it to the metal surface of your motorbike.
Next, you should try starting the motorbike, however, don’t forget to turn off the automobile. Start by disconnecting the clips on your bike’s negative side in the opposite direction from how you attached them. To fully charge the battery of your motorbike, you shouldn’t ride for less than 20 minutes at least, but if you have decided that you’re going for a replacement then you can definitely skip this “recharging-20minutes-ride”.
Typically, an automobile battery can conveniently charge up a motorbike battery. However, even after trying to charge it this way multiple times, ends up in vain, it may be an indication of the motorbike battery is completely dead.
A car battery has enough power for jump-starting a bike, and if it fails to work after a few attempts, it’s possible that the battery is either entirely dead or isn’t the basis of your concerns.
- Another interesting method is via using the perfect gear setting, but you may wonder what is an ideal gear setting. Well, you should be prepared to move if at least some of the lights begin to turn on. Remember, there are a few underlying hazards in using this technique, so only use it if you have no other choice and feel comfortable doing so
Place the key in and set it to the “run” setting. Get the bike rolling while maintaining clutch control. Gravity will do the labor for you if you are on a hill, but it might make it more difficult to control. It’s not hard to execute on level land; you just need to move the bike quickly, which will necessitate jogging.
You can simply release the pressure from the clutch, once you’ve picked up speed and are able to keep it constant. Take great care not to disturb the bike to the level where it topples. Simply let the clutch out when going up a hill. Pull the gear straight in firmly and start the engine. If everything is in functioning order, the bike will keep running.
Let’s talk in detail about the third option of trying to jump-start the battery by connecting it with the jump-starter cables.
Step-by-Step Guide to Jump Starting the Battery
It’s highly recommended to keep the portable jump-starter cables with you all the time because that’s the most convenient way to kickstart the battery of your motorbike.
Tools needed
- A 12-volt vehicle having a healthy battery
- Portable jump starter
The four steps are simple and given below.
- The first thing that you need to do is to establish a connection between the ‘dead bike battery’ with the working battery. To do this, simply locate the positive terminals of the batteries and connect them (the positive terminals are usually ‘red’ in color). The clips that are the classic or typical ones are used quite universally and they are very simple to use when it comes to connecting the batteries (while other options are way more complex in comparison).
- Now attend to the live battery’s negative terminal, clamp that, and ground the other end of the clamp, on a surface of the bike that’s not painted.
- Now you’re ready to start your motorbike. Remember to just press the ignition button briefly. Trying to start the motorcycle by constantly pressing down on the ignition button can potentially damage the jump-start battery. If the motorcycle does not start on the first attempt, don’t try again for a couple of minutes. Give at least a two-minute break between each attempt. However, if after attempting to start it a couple of times, the battery doesn’t work, it might be an indication of a complete discharge.
- Once it starts, don’t rush into anything, let it run idly for a while before you disconnect the two batteries. While disconnecting, be careful to do it in reverse sequence.
Whatever, you do, simply don’t forget about recharging it. To recharge your battery, ride around while revving your bike to a high pitch. If you plan to change the battery, ignore this step. Moreover, you can simply plug in the jump starter if you want to recharge it.
Extended Tip:
Maintaining your motorcycle’s battery will not only save you from an untimely dead battery but will actually increase the battery life. The following tips will help you with maintaining your battery in its best shape.
- Make sure that when you’re making the negative terminal connections, you place the clamp on another end for grounding purposes far from the battery, as it runs the risk of fire hazard. This is because of all the sparks that show up while making this connection.
- In addition to the above tip, you should also be careful that the cables you’re using for making the connection between both batteries, must not touch. If you leave it unattended, this may also result in sparks and they pose a great risk of an explosion or a big fire.
- Another important aspect that can make a huge difference is to keep the motorbike battery clean. Remove any accumulated filth, dust, or other tiny contaminants. Use a clamp brush with battery cleaners to wash and scrub the battery terminals to get rid of corrosion.
- Your motorbike battery must always be kept at room temperature. To do this, simply remember to unplug your battery during the winter and keep it at room temperature to avoid freezing or clamping. It will eventually drain if you store it in a basement on a cement or metal surface. Choose a wooden surface or any other warmer surface instead.
- Lastly, to keep your battery fully charged whenever you head out on the road, plug it into a motorbike battery charger. This is helpful all year long; however, it is absolutely essential for proper maintenance in winter.
Things You Can Do to Prevent This
Now that we have gone into the details of all the necessary steps that you can take to jump-start a motorbike battery, it is about time you learn about some preventive measures too.
The first one has to do with the built-in kickstand mechanism for added safety. This is a typical safety addon in some of the motorbikes, nowadays and the goal here is to just prevent the start when the stand is down.
In addition to this, a simple ‘shut down’ switch is also there in most motorbikes and even if they don’t add an absolutely innovative detail in the list of features, they do make your life a lot easier as a biker. Now all you need to do in order to turn off your bike is to use this switch without worrying about anything else. So, double-check if that’s not one of the reasons impeding your bike ride.
Another important thing is the ‘gear-shift’ mechanism which has quite a similar purpose to the first kickstand. This one hinders the start of bikes during gear mode, however, for a lot of bikes, the gear must be fixed to ‘neutral’ in order to be able to proceed further.
Conclusion
Using a portable jump starter is the safest and easiest way to jump a motorcycle battery. It has the least amount of risks and is fairly easy to perform. If you have any questions regarding jumping your motorcycle batteries, comment below. Remember, the first thing you must make sure of in any of the options is to make sure that your motorcycle is turned off and that you yourself remain calm.