To Jump or not to Jump!

Chango

Registered
Ok the busa has been setting in the cold! So it's like the first start after winter! The battery was on a tender but it was in an uninsulated area so the cold was still a factor. So the battery died. It doesn't take a charge or anything else. So I'm going to replace it. However I was told by a friend that jumping it with a car will blow the ECU. I have never heard of this. I've been jumping bikes for years. Is this true? Also any Battery suggestions are welcome but not trying to go all out got a winter budget don't want to drop to much on a battery. Thanks in advance!
 
I've never jumped my busa so I can't say 4 certain?? However I have jumped a previous bike and nothing bad happened. I was stranded and had no way of getting home so it was a desperation move. I wouldn't do it or take the risk unless I was in a similar situation. Better off just playing it safe and buying a new battery. In the winter months I completely remove my battery and bring it inside my house. Charge it up and then set it on a shelf @ room temp. Periodically throughout the winter i'll hook it back up and charge it but I don't leave a battery on the tender. Others may disagree but I feel leaving it on the tender ruins it. I've left batteries on the tender and had them go bad, I've also just did the periodic charge say once a week and then stored them. Those batteries have lasted and I'm still using them 2 this day vs the other method so 4 me I'm sticking 2 what has proven 2 work.
 
Perhaps jumping a vehicle would fry the ecu if there were no fuses in place... just a thought. Personally Id replace the battery but thats me

-D
 
I have never jumped a bike off with a car but I have jumped off a bike with my Tourer using these cables.....

Cheap Jumper Cable

With that said, I suggest getting a new battery.
 
Is the temp so in IN that you think your going to ride it?

I have jump bikes (not the Busa) off of cars etc. Just make sure the car vehicle is not running and you should be fine.

If you are not going to ride it (in December?) then I would wait til spring to replace it. Most batteries have a warranty
so no sense in starting that warranty in the winter, right? It's your choice of course......
 
I use one of those portable jumpers. You plug it into the wall to charge and then you can carry it around and get a jump. Done it 4-5 times no problem. I have a habit of leaving the key on the bike on and going out of the garage - come back in 3-5 days and no juice.
 
Is the temp so in IN that you think your going to ride it?

I have jump bikes (not the Busa) off of cars etc. Just make sure the car vehicle is not running and you should be fine.

If you are not going to ride it (in December?) then I would wait til spring to replace it. Most batteries have a warranty
so no sense in starting that warranty in the winter, right? It's your choice of course......

Doesn't matter if the car is running or not.:beerchug:
 
The busa battery has no idea what it's source of 12 volt jump is. How could it fry the ECU?
Also I have a 2008 with original battery that I have on a battery tender every winter. It is still going strong.
 
I have seen after market two way radios messed up by jumping a car with a car. I always turn my radio off now, anyway I jumped my '06 off once with a running car and it didn't damage anything. I brought a dead SLA battery in my lawn tractor back to life after leaving it over the winter a few years ago. Still using that battery. Got lucky.

How Does Sulfation Drain a Battery?
 
Used a friends battery to jump but she wouldn't turn over.Gonna change plugs and see what happens.
Going to get a new battery any suggestions on good brands at a reasonable price?

It got up to 45° was going to leather up and get a last 2 wheel fix before complete winter shut down.
I wanna thank you guys for all of your input.
 
Used a friends battery to jump but she wouldn't turn over.Gonna change plugs and see what happens.
Going to get a new battery any suggestions on good brands at a reasonable price?

It got up to 45° was going to leather up and get a last 2 wheel fix before complete winter shut down.
I wanna thank you guys for all of your input.

Changing spark plugs won't have any effect.
 
When jumping from a car, I would turn the car OFF. This is the safest way because it's the same 12.6V battery, just bigger. If the car is running its voltage regulator will try to compensate for any voltage drop. So, when you crank the bike, the car's voltage regulator adds more juice, and as you stopped cranking, a momentary spike is inevitable until the car's voltage regulator scales the voltage back. It's OK if the voltage spikes to 15-16V, however significantly more than that... who knows what might happen.

For this reason, even when jumping car to car, I would turn the car off because when the other car/bike starts, the two charging systems fight with each other. That's why every instruction says to disconnect cables immediately as soon as the other vehicle starts. While in most cases, nothing bad happens, I think there is an increased chance of something going wrong with one vehicle or another.

Also, your battery didn't go bust because of the cold. Something else is wrong, and I would suspect your tender. I am a strong advocate of avoiding tenders, and has been for many years. If the tender failed to maintain your battery and is discharged, it has mostly water and not acid. In warm season, it's not so bad - you just charge it, and no harm done. Not so when the temperatures were below freezing. Water freezes, pretty much destroying the battery in the process.

If you don't ride for a period of time, just take the battery out indoors, charge it and leave it alone for up to a few months. Charge again before the next use. Or, charge it once a week overnight, and then disconnect from charger.
 
I've jumped mine off with a car probably 4 or 5 times with no problems. The cars have always been running. The reason for jumping was it had been sitting outside for 8+ hrs. in sub freezing temps. The battery would always start it in the morning in the garage but after sitting outside of work all day it just wouldn't turn it over fast enough. After the last time of not cranking, I won't ride unless it's getting into the upper 30's.
 
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