| Author | Message | ||
     Baggermike |
I got the 1125R started under ten degrees. Mike | ||
| Dhalen32 |
Mike: This reply is in no way intended to excuse Buell CS for the manner in which you have been treated during this ordeal with your charging system. Nor do I "know" that your machine is okay. However, you do need to know that there are many bikes out there with charging systems that cannot handle all of the "farkles" we like to put on our machines. A recent example in the world of sport touring bikes is the FJR 1300. The first generation bike was famous for blowing overstressed stators when they were asked to power heated gear and auxiliary lights in addition to the bike's stock electrical components. There is a company that makes "new and improved" stators that many FJR owners have used to boost their bike's charging capacity. This is a spot touring bike that a lot of us would reasonably expect owners to want to set up with lots of power consuming accessories and it didn't make the grade. Please consider that you may have chosen the wrong machine for operating with a lot of accessories without needing to plug into a battery tender upon arrival at your destination or without an upgrade to the alternator's output. I am not an electrical engineer nor have I looked at the details of your bike's charging system design and what you are trying to run as far as electrical load. However, you might just need to compromise on what the bike is capable of supporting electrically. Dave | ||
| Ccryder |
Mike: Aren't the stock batteries AGM design? Neil S. | ||
| Baggermike |
Hi Dave I was told the bike is designed to run with high beams and heated grips, now when you turn on your high beams the low beams stay on also, so that is an extra 70 watts, the heated grips are I think 36 watts, that is 106 watts so if I use my heated jacket liner on low beams I should be fine, the only other things I use is a gps which I can not see using much power at all, this is all I need so the bike should have no problem running my jacket liner and gps. I also am going to install a switch so I can have just high beams on alone, so if I need to see far and it is cold and I need my jacket liner. I know I have to adjust my riding style and I know now this bike can not handle heating all my gear, but my blast can, and is going to be my winter bike. I can get snow tires and metal studs so I am all set for cold weather riding for next year. Mike | ||
| Spectrum |
Thanks Red_raven. Which side is the positive post on? Looks like it may be reversed from the 1125R battery. Mike the battery that comes with the 1125R is an AGM gel battery. As far as I can tell, it is just a Harley rebranded Yuasa (SP in my previous post) YTX14-BS. I'm not absolutely positive it's rebranded, but it makes sense because I doubt Harley manufacturers their own batteries. They have to get them from someone. If it's not a Yuasa, it is a direct cross-reference to the YTX14-BS. | ||
| Court |
>>>I was also told that the more amp hours the better it would heat my gear. The battery should have NOTHING to do with the ability to operate heated gear. The battery the 1125R is delivered with is just fine. The 8 year batteries do have more cranking amps. I've been riding Buells for 20+ years and have never, short of my own abuse (putting too much farkle load on and DOING DAMAGE) had a bit of problem with the battery. There appear to have been a few early 1125R's that had electrical problems. That number appears to be in the range of 5 of the hundreds produced. I'd suspect that any battery problems were the result of, not the cause of, the other electrical problems. The great news is that the folks at BUELL CUSTOMER SERVICE are on top of this. Be very leary of stuff folks tell you that Buell techs said this and that. You spent good money, you deserve facts not rumors. In addition, no responsible customer service rep would ever get on the phone and speculate or play what if. They are painfully aware that anything that passes their lips is at risk of being construed as parole contract. Just a thought based on doing this for a while . . . | ||
| Baggermike |
I just do not trust the battery and did see a difference between my nephews and mine, I did not know the batteries were agm batteries. I figured it was the cheapest batteries that they would use, my nephew bought a 06 sportster and had a 04 battery so he got a new one. My bagger which was a 04 battery broke 07 just cruising the highway and the bike shut off then on then off and stayed off, something broke inside the battery. if Buell gives me a new battery that would be good, but if not I will buy a new one. Mike | ||
| Zac4mac |
Batteries are expendables, they fail. If they fail early, Warranty. When they fail later, buy the best you can find. I've always used "Interstate" batteries in my Harleys. They have thicker plates and tolerate vibration well. I expect I'll stick with OEM or a Yuasa equivalent if I need a replacement on Loretta. Time will tell, but I think all is well, design wise. I'm not going to use my Tender on the 1125 and see if the numerous, short Spring rides precipitate any issues. Zack | ||
| Spectrum |
From a quality perspective there's nothing wrong with the battery that comes on the 1125R. It's a modern design and quality product. Simple way to test if you have a good or bad battery. Remove the battery from the bike. Fully charge the battery. Let it set for a couple of hours then test the volts (should be 12.7 or higher). Let it set for a couple of days then test again. If it's good it should not loose more than .1 volts setting for a week or so at room temperature. If it's bad, it will loose a lot more. | ||
| Court |
>>>>I just do not trust the battery Quite a different statement than inferring Buell uses a bad battery. >>>I figured it was the cheapest batteries that they would use. That too would be an inaccurate statement. There are a team of purchasing folks at Buell who "marry" a product the moment it is defined as necessary for a platform. They follow it through concept, R&D, testing, compatibility and eventually production purchase. They use a number of criteria. Price is one. You can think of all the criteria as a big pie and price being something like 15%. . . that's not the precise number but that gives you an idea. Things like stability and ability to deliver consistency and repeatable products get far more weight. If you are at Homecoming, and would like, I'd be pleased to arrange for you to meet with the head of purchasing for a quick lesson in component product life cycle. In the meantime, you might want to poll Dave Gess. . .he may not admit it, but he is very fluent in these things. I'm wondering if component selection and purchasing wouldn't be a great technical topic at Homecoming. I was entertained recently when someone opined the XB12XT for having Showa 43mm forks, as opposed to the 47mm units on the 2008 Uly. I had to point out that the 43mm units were essentially the same as 3 of the 4 Ducati Monsters came with (exception being the $1500 Ohlins folks). Court | ||
| Strmvt |
I was just in to Toledo HD and they got a 1125R on the lift for the "charging problem" was the only one they had in stock and I wanted to see it and my Bolt hehe | ||
| Baggermike |
I figured they put out a bid for batteries and then chose the battery for price and other criteria and not the best because to build a bike with the best of everything would cost so much they would not sell. I did think it was weird that they used the 43 mm forks instead of the 47 mm forks just that it goes back to less turning radios, probably not a big deal for most on a street bike, but to have to go through Boston traffic and you want that extra turning radios, I like the blast for its turning radios and the uly for jumping curbs, combine the two and I would have the perfect Boston bike. I am surprised they did not use the tt suspension, but they must have wanted the lowest seat hight possible. Mike | ||
| Blake |
Mike, Not necessarily "the best", but certainly "meeting or exceeding specifications". | ||
| Azxb9r |
Batteries are funny things. They can go bad at any time, sometimes without warning. They can be bad right off the shelf(brand new). If you have any doubts about the battery, have it tested. If the battery is bad, nothing else will work properly. | ||
| Baggermike |
Thanks guys, I am bringing the bike in tomorrow so time will tell and hopefully it will not take so long this time, I also got to work on the Blast tomorrow to the rear wheel is loose. I do not know if it is bearings but the bike was sold to me as having 6000 miles on it and I find it hard to believe it does with all the wear. Mike | ||
| Cmonkey |
I was doing some web surfing on weak charging systems (google search KTM Weak Charging) and came across this bit of info on a Triumph board: http://www.triumphrat.net/daytona-deliberations/68 041-weak-charging-system-the-solution.html Has anyone actually taken a look at the actual wires? What gauge is currently being used? This is definitely something I'll be looking at when I get my bike. Dave | ||
| Baggermike |
Hi dave I had read the same article but only seen two wires a black and red and were thick, I also do not want to do anything that would void the warranty which I think that would. I have buell bad luck my first a 97 lightning vibrated to much and the techs said this also, my second a ulysses I bought in june kickstand broke and then the oil pump broke in mid october so I misses some good riding, I knew it was an oil pump but they would not listen to me and took over two month to get it back, I got it back just in time to by the 1125R and then this bike has given me a hard time also and has been in the shop for three weeks and just had a fuell pump replaced, I do not think they went over the charging system because I was still having problems with it, I hope this time buell takes care of me. I have had a really bad fall and winter with bike problems and that should not have happened with new bikes. I will post facts when I get them, the bike has been in the shop for two days and I know I am not getting it back this week and hope by next week I will get it back with the answers I need. Mike | ||
| Court |
>>>>I also do not want to do anything that would void the warranty which I think that would.  I think, judging from these posts, you pretty well toasted any legal obligations under the warranty long ago. . . . | ||
| Baggermike |
Court I have done nothing to void the warranty, the bike is built from the rider on down and I am a rider and if that statement is true then it should run accessories, I have read no were that you can not run accessories or heated gear on this bike, which is all I have done and have not changed anything but batteries, so I do not understand how you can say that I have voided the warranty, do you not think Buell would have told me this and would say tough luck your on your own now because you did this. Mike | ||
| Budo |
Well back in the day, I bought new a 1998 S1W. The battery apparently was a bad design. The original battery went bad, the dealership replaced it. The replacement went bad and the dealership refused to replace it and wanted to charge me $125 for a new battery on a bike that was less than a year old. I declined to do that and bought a Odessy IIRC and never had another problem. I think the original batteries at that time were AGM. | ||
| Baggermike |
I want an Odyssey but would have to make it fit so will see what they say when I get the bike back. I know the battery is not as good as the one I tried from my nephews bike and that is six month old, so if they do not replace the battery I have to buy one. Mike | ||
| Court |
What is your six month old nephew doing with a motorcycle? | ||
| Baggermike |
Court I am starting him young. LOL the battery is six month old. Mike | ||
| Jos51700 |
Buell doesn't want to go too cheap on batteries, or any other parts, because if they fail under warranty, BUELL has to pay for the parts, and pay the dealer for repairing the parts (This is strictly a financial side, I think Buell is exceptional in that they place customer service and reputation well above cost vs. failure risk). Why do you think, in over a decade of production, Yamaha NEVER updated the YZF600R transmission, even though they fail on a very regular basis? If you said, "Because the transmission waits to crap out until after the bike is out of warranty!" you're right! They love ya, and leave ya, everytime. How long was that Buell warranty again? | ||
| Court |
Buell would not pay for a battery that failed in the warranty period, the battery manufacturer, like tires or the battery in your car, would. | ||
| Baggermike |
Court my nephew battery went bad and Harley replaced it. Maybe it was because the battery was older than the bike by one of two years? I want the best battery I can get because out of all the bikes I have had it is the battery that craps out. So for piece of mind I will get a better battery before I start touring, I am also going to get M T S towing and I think there best plan covers batteries. I also read that most breakdowns are electrical problems but they did not specify what kind of electrical problems. Mike | ||
| Court |
>>>Court my nephew battery went bad and Harley replaced it. That's right. Then they completed a form and were reimbursed by the battery maker. I agree on the battery. As you may know, in my day, I was given to jumping on a Buell in Kansas and appearing about anywhere the next morning hitting 44 states riding Buell. I am a gadget nut as well. Take care of your battery (I'm not one to lecture, I toast them right and left but at least I know why mine go . . ABUSE) and it'll take care of you. | ||
| Court |
Mike: I'm not sure I can trouble shoot your nephew from here but we can try . . . Take him outside and hook jumper cables to his ears. . . that's red on the right and black on the left. Now . . . . pour a bottle of Evian water over his head and hit the starter. Drop me a note and let me know what happens and I'll walk you through the next step. | ||
| Baggermike |
I am going to hook up the jumper wires to my ears and pour water over my head, check out my new post under thoughts and idea's. Mike | ||
| Blake |
Mike, I don't see that you've given any cause to be refused warranty service. Have you dangled the bike underneath a flying helicopter or anything like that? Court may just be wishing for the good old days. |
