Dead Battery?

[Mike02048]

I have a 2009 Kawi ZX6R. Today was pretty nice so I decided to take the cover off the bike for my first spring ride. I turned the key which started the fuel pump and lit up the gauges, but when I hit the start switch the engine didn't turn over. Instead all I heard was a clicking sound.

Can I assume that even though I had the battery on a tender all winter that it still did not have enough power to start the engine? Or do I have a more serious problem? BTW-The bike was running fine when I put it away for the winter. And my garage is not heated.

[Danz19899]

ya sounds like the battery to me. I have the same bike and it did the same thing to me a few days ago. I just charged it for 30 minutes and she fired right up. you could also push start it and go for a ride.

[Mike02048]

ya sounds like the battery to me. I have the same bike and it did the same thing to me a few days ago. I just charged it for 30 minutes and she fired right up. you could also push start it and go for a ride.

This may be a stupid question, but doesn't the tender keep it charged up? Do I have to charge it another way?

[eboos]

you could also push start it and go for a ride.

I must be doing something wrong, but I've never been able to push start anything larger then my 125.

[eboos]

This may be a stupid question, but doesn't the tender keep it charged up? Do I have to charge it another way?

It does both. Do you need to borrow one?

[Mike02048]

It does both. Do you need to borrow one?

Thanks, but I've had it on a trickle charger all winter. But I left the battery in the bike and the garage is not heated, so I'm thinking that the cold might have affected the bike.

[ZX11D]

I`m betting the on the battery as long as the tender was ok and hooked up right.

[dontpanic]

Batteries don't live forever; they have a certain life span. The combination of age and cold may have put yours over the edge.

[Danz19899]

I must be doing something wrong, but I've never been able to push start anything larger then my 125.

really? i've pop started 600's way to many times. even had 2 pop start degsy's gsxr 750 a few times when he let me borrow it and the battery was toast. not hard just takes practice lol

[eboos]

Batteries don't live forever; they have a certain life span. The combination of age and cold may have put yours over the edge.

True, but an AGM battery should last easily between 3-7 years, with 3 being the extreme short side. Regular wet batteries, I would expect, wouldn't go dead in 2 years.

[Eric Baker]

And even a slight hill makes it so much easier. I've had to push start my R6 countless times.

[ZX-12R]

Batteries can be purely luck of the draw.

Factory battery in my '04 12R crapped out in it's 6th year. Never used a tender. The Walmart special replacement survived this past winter without a tender.

The previous Yuasa replacement battery in my SV650 lasted 3/4 of a season before it died. It was also replaced with a Walmart special (for just over half the price) and it has survived 2 winters without a tender.

I averaged about 3-4 years with my KZ1000 and KZ1100.

The factory battery in my Mazda developed a shorted cell 2 months after I bought the car brand new. It was replaced under warranty and has been going strong for a few years now.

And when you pop start a 500+ pound KZ1100 down a steep hill, make sure you turn the fuel on. I pushed it all the way home before I realized I was a dumb-ass.

[Mike02048]

Update: I checked the connections and evrything was tight. So today I attached a regular 12 volt battery charger to the battery (as opposed to the little trickle charger I had it on all winter) and charged it up for a few hours. Then I tried to start the bike and it turned right over. I let it idle for about 10 minutes, shut it off, and plugged it back into the trickle charger. I'll try it again tomorrow. Assuming it starts tomorrow, am I out of the woods? Or should I start to price a replacement battery anyway?

[Danz19899]

i'd see how she does, honestly sounds like you have a crappy trickle charge

[DuncanMoto]

Update: I checked the connections and evrything was tight. So today I attached a regular 12 volt battery charger to the battery (as opposed to the little trickle charger I had it on all winter) and charged it up for a few hours. Then I tried to start the bike and it turned right over. I let it idle for about 10 minutes, shut it off, and plugged it back into the trickle charger. I'll try it again tomorrow. Assuming it starts tomorrow, am I out of the woods? Or should I start to price a replacement battery anyway?

What do you mean by a "regular" charger?

Your trickle charger... Is it a name brand with an electronic regulator, like Battery Tender, or some no name chinese brand?
The regular charger you used.... Is it rated for more than 5.0 amps? a car charger? If so that battery is done.