Correct way to jump start a motorcycle?

[co_g30]

Tried a search, got only one posting that had relevance, it mentioned you can connect your motorcycle via jumper cables to a car battery...leave the car off, and jump start your motorcycle accordingly.

 

Any experience out there/lessons learned and such on how to properly and safely jump start a motorcycle using a car's battery? I say car because finding a motorcycle during this time of year to try and jump start from is harder to to.

 

My battery is fine, just want to know the procedure before I actually need it.

 

tia

[Paco]

I would think the best way to jump start a motorcycle from a car battery would be to:

 

A. Connect the positive terminal of the car battery to the positive terminal of the motorcycle.

 

B. Connect the negative terminal of the car battery to a good ground on the frame of the motorcycle.

 

C. Turn on the motorcyle ignition and try to start it.

 

D. Do not continue to crank if it seems it will not start quickly. Let it build a charge in the motorcycle battery, and give it a try a little later.

 

This is the procedure I have used in the past.

[Boffin]

I would think the best way to jump start a motorcycle from a car battery would be to:

 

A. Connect the positive terminal of the car battery to the positive terminal of the motorcycle.

 

B. Connect the negative terminal of the car battery to a good ground on the frame of the motorcycle.

 

C. Turn on the motorcyle ignition and try to start it.

 

D. Do not continue to crank if it seems it will not start quickly. Let it build a charge in the motorcycle battery, and give it a try a little later.

 

This is the procedure I have used in the past.

 

Almost right - always leave the batteries connected for five to ten minutes before attempting to start the bike. A flat battery will take almost all of the power coming down the jump leads and it will also act as a resistance in the current path significantly lowering the voltage at the bikes circuitry.

 

A couple of minutes will allow the flat battery to attain enough charge to prevent the voltage dropping too far to start the bike. This is especially important with a fuel-injected, digitaly mapped ignition system bike like modern BMWs. If the volts are too low the computer will not do its stuff.

 

Andy

[dave_jo]

Good luck getting a set of cables attached to the terminals of the battery on an RT. I lived with a bad battery for a couple weeks so I carried a portable battery pack, and I could make contact with one of the clamps but had to extend the other clamp with a 16d nail...It really took two hands to do but I eventually got so I could hold both with one hand and then get the bike started alone. Some have suggested installing cables that extend under the seat that you can attach jumper cables to.

[Boffin]

Good luck getting a set of cables attached to the terminals of the battery on an RT. I lived with a bad battery for a couple weeks so I carried a portable battery pack, and I could make contact with one of the clamps but had to extend the other clamp with a 16d nail...It really took two hands to do but I eventually got so I could hold both with one hand and then get the bike started alone. Some have suggested installing cables that extend under the seat that you can attach jumper cables to.

 

The later '04s have a jumper terminal added to the battery. This is available seperately and can be retro-fitted to all RTs. There is also a ground terminal on the LH head, which is not so easy to fit but not so necessary.

 

 

Link to real oem.com parts list

 

Parts 9-12 are what you need.

 

Andy

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

I would think the best way to jump start a motorcycle from a car battery would be to:

 

A. Connect the positive terminal of the car battery to the positive terminal of the motorcycle.

 

B. Connect the negative terminal of the car battery to a good ground on the frame of the motorcycle.

 

Advice I heard while growing up was that the negative cable should go frame to frame, and the very last connection ought to be on the vehicle with the good battery. Ssupposedly this is because sometimes you find hydrogen hanging around the dead battery, and you don't want sparks (which you will get when you make the very last connection) in that area. May be specious advice, but I can't think of a solid reason to go against it unless you're having great difficulty finding exposed frame members on which to make a connection.

 

The vehicle with the dead battery will charge/crank faster if the vehicle with the good battery is operating at peak voltage, shoving as much current as it can through the cable to the dead battery; this is accomplished by running the good vehicle's engine somewhere above idle - like maybe ~2000 RPM - with the high-draw electrical accessories (headlights, rear defrost, HVAC blower) turned off.

 

The dead vehicle may crank/start fine just as soon as you hook up the cables, but if it doesn't, check the integrity of your connections (frame-to-frame connections should not be on painted/coated/plastic objects) and refer to the previous paragraph.

[Paul Mihalka]

My only addition would be if you have a few extra minutes. Start the car. Hook up the jumper cables. Let the car engine run for 10/15 minutes. Shut off the car. Start the motorcycle. Remove the jumper cables. This way the bike battery already has some charge and will not depend 100% on it's charging system after starting.

[mefly2]

Of course it does NOT need to be said, but always ... ALWAYS ... double check the polarity to avoid $$$ expense!

[SAMSAR]

My question would be:

 

After jumping a dead battery... Is there a need to reset the Motronic via the triple full throttle twist like when you are changing the battery???

 

If so, that might need to be added to the procedure.

 

Anyone know either way?

 

Paul

[R67]

Last month a friend picked up his '02 R1100S that was shipped to Seattle. Battery would just turn over the engine, but not enough to start. Fortunately the shipping company had a car charger. There is a connector behind the accessory plug that I disconnected, and then put a nail in each charger clamp, and stuck the nails in the connector (after carefully checking polarity!). Buddy sat on the floor for 15 minutes, and gave it another go. Started right up.