- Joined
- Oct 15, 2008
- Messages
- 8,924
- Reaction score
- 2,070
- Location
- Out of Africa
- Bike
- KTM 950 Adventure S
Bored, I am. Stuck in the UK, lock-downed to death and staring out the window, looking at the snow ................. ho hum. Drumming up the courage to go for a walk in the countryside.
Now this is not a "please help me thread" but more of an interest thread. Something has happened to my bike in the UK that would never happen in SA ........................... unless you're dealing with cold starts.
The bike spent 3 months traveling here before I finally got to start it again. It didn't want to start. This after I'd left it on the Optimate for a week or so. It turned over slower than normal until the battery faded. I'd expected this coz it needed fuelling, etc.
But once I stopped cranking the smoke appeared, lots of it, it poured out of the battery area. I though that, that was it, my bike was gonna burst into flames and go to Valhalla.
So, on with some warmer clothes and out with the tools, I had a look. The battery cables had melted and shorted a bit, or shorted and melted a bit, I wasn't sure.
This was ridiculous, these are silicon cables, specially prepared by a master electrician, so that they don't vibrate and snap like the originals used to do, an occurrence that left me doing roadside repairs a few times in the past. I'd replaced the originals with silicone for the the flexibility and left long tails for future repairs, should they be necessary. I'm clever like that.
Anyways, my first thought was that the battery was fooked, from not being used for months. I repaired the wiring and went down to the local bike shop and bought a new Yuasa super-duper bike battery. You know the good battery that we can't get in SA? .................... yes, that one. They only sell the good stuff here for bikes.
I put that in, jump started the bike and took it off for an MOT. Once warm, it started fine and all was forgiven. The beast was alive and my blood was pumping.
But then it sat. In a shed, on the Optimate, in temperatures of near zero.
Having now got it registered and licensed, etc, it's time to start it up and go for a ride.
Alas, the same thing happened, the motor turned over and after a few seconds the battery started dying. AND THEN THE SMOKE CAME. Melting silicon gives off a lot, I thought the bike was gonna burst into flames and take the shed with it.
So, what now?, I thought, this is serious. How do bikes, made in a cold country, work in a cold country?
A classic case of "letting the smoke out ................. " crossed my mind.
Then the penny dropped ................... It's not the bike, it's not the battery, it's not the cold. It's the silicon cables that that clever electrician used. Although quite thick in overall diameter, the conductors must be a bit small. This is fine for bike in SA, which starts fairly quickly, but for a bike starting from scratch, you need the right stuff.
Cables that are too thin get hot, and drain the battery as they heat up. Once hot enough they burn the cable insulation, letting the smoke out. Unfortunately, I have no workshop and limited tools here, so I've ordered new cables from KTM.
I'll report back on progress .....................
Wow!!! ....................... you all say .............................. what a boring story.
BUT, my experience got me thinking about all the "best battery" discussions that have been around since the viking days. Perhaps poor starting has more to do with the state of the cables than we think. And 950s are prone to vibration damage to the battery cables.
Everytime a strand breaks due to vibration, the conductor is thinner and weaker.
Colder temperatures make for harder starting and more work is required from the battery.
Cables going hot/cold/hot/cold get brittle and break even easier.
A snowball effect ............................. exacerbated for me, living in the Arctic.
Now this is not a "please help me thread" but more of an interest thread. Something has happened to my bike in the UK that would never happen in SA ........................... unless you're dealing with cold starts.
The bike spent 3 months traveling here before I finally got to start it again. It didn't want to start. This after I'd left it on the Optimate for a week or so. It turned over slower than normal until the battery faded. I'd expected this coz it needed fuelling, etc.
But once I stopped cranking the smoke appeared, lots of it, it poured out of the battery area. I though that, that was it, my bike was gonna burst into flames and go to Valhalla.
So, on with some warmer clothes and out with the tools, I had a look. The battery cables had melted and shorted a bit, or shorted and melted a bit, I wasn't sure.
This was ridiculous, these are silicon cables, specially prepared by a master electrician, so that they don't vibrate and snap like the originals used to do, an occurrence that left me doing roadside repairs a few times in the past. I'd replaced the originals with silicone for the the flexibility and left long tails for future repairs, should they be necessary. I'm clever like that.
Anyways, my first thought was that the battery was fooked, from not being used for months. I repaired the wiring and went down to the local bike shop and bought a new Yuasa super-duper bike battery. You know the good battery that we can't get in SA? .................... yes, that one. They only sell the good stuff here for bikes.
I put that in, jump started the bike and took it off for an MOT. Once warm, it started fine and all was forgiven. The beast was alive and my blood was pumping.
But then it sat. In a shed, on the Optimate, in temperatures of near zero.
Having now got it registered and licensed, etc, it's time to start it up and go for a ride.
Alas, the same thing happened, the motor turned over and after a few seconds the battery started dying. AND THEN THE SMOKE CAME. Melting silicon gives off a lot, I thought the bike was gonna burst into flames and take the shed with it.
So, what now?, I thought, this is serious. How do bikes, made in a cold country, work in a cold country?
A classic case of "letting the smoke out ................. " crossed my mind.
Then the penny dropped ................... It's not the bike, it's not the battery, it's not the cold. It's the silicon cables that that clever electrician used. Although quite thick in overall diameter, the conductors must be a bit small. This is fine for bike in SA, which starts fairly quickly, but for a bike starting from scratch, you need the right stuff.
Cables that are too thin get hot, and drain the battery as they heat up. Once hot enough they burn the cable insulation, letting the smoke out. Unfortunately, I have no workshop and limited tools here, so I've ordered new cables from KTM.
I'll report back on progress .....................
Wow!!! ....................... you all say .............................. what a boring story.
BUT, my experience got me thinking about all the "best battery" discussions that have been around since the viking days. Perhaps poor starting has more to do with the state of the cables than we think. And 950s are prone to vibration damage to the battery cables.
Everytime a strand breaks due to vibration, the conductor is thinner and weaker.
Colder temperatures make for harder starting and more work is required from the battery.
Cables going hot/cold/hot/cold get brittle and break even easier.
A snowball effect ............................. exacerbated for me, living in the Arctic.
