Cold start problem

[thedon1000]

HI all

bike stated to have problems starting i the cold mornings.
bike was hooked up to trickle charger this wknd, so i could use it come monday.

tried starting it this morning and it seemed as thought the battery didnt have enough power in it to start. (so i used the trusty golf GTI)
this afternoon presuming the battery had died on my (as i had this problem last year, replaced battery and regulator) bike i thought i would just give it a try and wow to my amazement it started the first time, i didnt do anything to the bike or battery all that changed was the weather ??

if anyone has suggestions what ould be wrong im all ears.
battery voltage 12.57 volts (im going to take it off the bike and charge it for 24hours see if the voltages drops in 48hours of been disconnected )
regulator was chargeing between 14 to 18 volts on idle.
bike is a sv650s 1999 (carbs not fuel injection)
oh and if anyone can recomend a good oil i can use im doing a service on it this wknd. (would i be able to use a synthetic oil or part synthetic oil from halfords ? i got a trade card so cheaper 4 me)

look forward to your replys

[Alpinestarhero]

Your battery may be up the duff; it may charge, it may hold a charge, but it may be very inefficient. PM batteryman on here, see what battery he recommends; yuasa are very good. Cheap batteries can give up the ghost quite quickly (my dad found this out with his car). Did the engine just not crank strongly enough? or did it fail to turn over at all?

As for oil, a good semi-synthetic motorcycle oil, like castrol's stuff (which is what I have always used) or mobil one. Halfords is alright stuff, but I always think its a false economy to go for cheaper oil. The castrol's and Shell's and Mobil 1's of this world I think are better for the engine.

Fully synthetic oil is also good to use, but it depends on how often you change your oil. I change mine every 4500 miles regardless, but if you dont really keep an eye on miles, fully synthetic will be a more "stable" oil for a longer time.

[thedon1000]

Hi mate

It turned over once and kinda started in the morning but cut out (i didnt have the choke on) and then after that it didnt turn over at all like no power, lights on pannel and odomiter meter didnt display as if the battery was totaly dead.
but if that was the case how come it worked this afternoon with out any charging etc.. and started first time.

i dont think battery was cheap cost my 75 quid its a Dynavolt mg12abs.

hope its not the battery

thanks for the quick reply

[Biker Biggles]

You shouldnt be seeing 18 volts on the multimeter.Check that again with lights on at 5000 revs.If you see anything above about 15.5 volts it is overcharging and the reg is duff.It will also have probably damaged the battery hence not holding charge.

[thedon1000]

I thought that might of been the case ?
guess there isnt a warrenty for elctric parts like the reg ? will find out were i got it from and see what they have to say.
if only i kept the recipets,
ill do the test tomorrow night and keep you all posted, battery has been on charge now for over 24hours and the trickle charger is still on deep cycle (i have a biketek pro 3 charger) normaly the charger stays on deep cycle until its fully charged then it goes on to float cycle to keep it topped up.

thanks again for the quick reply

has anyone els had problems with reg over charging ? (oh i just remembered i did test voltage with rev's around 3 to 5 thousand and it read 14 to 15 volts ?) will do test again to see what happens.

[Alpinestarhero]

ah, didnt read your voltages. voltage should be always between 12 and 14 volts, regardless of revs (although the higher the revs, the closer to 14v you'll measure).

Check reg/rec. Battery may well be a bit goosed if the reg/rec is allowing for overcharging.

do try and see if you can score a deal with the supplier, they might have your details anyway and could help you out, even if its a discount?

Let us know how things go with that.

With regards to cold starting, first thing in the morning you will require choke; I use full choke, then back it off when the engine has fired up to let the engine idle at about 2500 for 30 secs (as per manual instructions).

[fastdruid]

i dont think battery was cheap cost my 75 quid its a Dynavolt mg12abs.

Cheaper to get a genuine Yuasa...

Druid