Engine turns over but no star after sitting few days

[rboe]

Running the bike for a short time (10-20 seconds) may work the battery but you dump "cold water" and other aerosols into the muffler which will reduce the life of the muffler. Unless you can get the engine up to working temps I think that on the whole you'd be better off just buying a new battery.

I've never heard about working a battery to make it last so I don't know what to make of it. I'd like to learn more about that. (shuffles off the google to look into this a bit more....).

[GoldOxide_imp]

Not sure what is meant by working the battery either.

A charger can go into a desulfate mode where by excessive cell plate oxidation is shed by high current, but that is a process of more than seconds.

[max]

"Working the battery" i don't want to alarm anyone using a battery tender, you're doing fine but it would not be the first time i have heard of a battery failing because of lack of use and this happens ( thanks Obleo );

"Yesterday was going to be my maiden voyage after a Triple bypass on December 5th. Bike was started just before that date. Bike is stored in a heated garage, always on a battery tender ( that’s the brand) was on full float,fully charged. Battery is a yusa Ytz 14s 230 cold cranking amps . Battery about 15 months old . Went to start bike dead as door nail . Jumped it over and rode for 1 hour never shutting it off , on my return ,shut off ,then tried to start ,no soap. Had battery tested 12.8 volts . Put in new battery not the yusa that I wanted but direct replacement.No w bike is a go . Have no idea why battery died always on tha tender never stored without being on the tender. What gives $150.00 battery 15 months old . "

So he followed all the rules, did everything right and still........ The key here is " bike ran fine before it was stored " so what happened, coincidence?

There is nothing i can prove but i learned over many years that a battery has the best chance if it is kept active over it's life, it's a chemical reaction and being passive for a longer period may not be the best situation ( and i agree, two months is not very long but it might help prove a point ).

And by the way i agree on the condensation in the exhaust, but which is preferable?

Here is a clip that explains that it's not just solid lead plates inside ;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo2xwTF0VTU

and this one which is a more advanced watch but shows the complexity;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dvBcek5NUY

Not trying to convert anyone or stake a claim, just to possibly shed some light on what's going on ("what gives") in more ( than necessary ) detail, you make up your own mind, nothing better than a free flow of information, i like to find out new stuff even if it means i'm dead wrong.

Sounds over the top but we could start a poll; battery died mid season or during storage.......

[rboe]

When I price out batteries compared to mufflers; well, I'd rather buy a battery.

What complicates things today; most bikes have a parasitic draw on the battery to keep things like the system clock, system memory and such working. So I find it easier and safer to just pull the battery (I also work under the hypothesis that a leaking battery damaging the bike is a really bad thing so instead of taking a chance just remove the dang thing!) and hit it with the charger from time to time. That seems to work for me; but like oil, we all have our reasons for choosing something. So if your method works for you - well nothing succeeds like success!

Side bar: I was under the impression my XR650L did NOT have a parasitic draw but the battery did seem to go dead on me (could be several short rides that did not charge the battery enough to replace the drain caused by a couple difficult starts) recently and I typically leave it in the bike.

[GoldOxide_imp]

Agreed: I can't imagine the XR650L having any significant parasitic battery draw. Unless you have an ignition disable feature, or worse, an alarm system, it should not be a problem. Even a clock is negligible. It is easy to determine though: Just measure the current inline at the [removed] battery terminal when the bike is off.

In terms of the CB, statistics and parameters are likely stored in non-volatile memory (that is my guess) and copied to volatile memory at start-up for fast read/write access. Otherwise, I can't imagine any significant draw. Curious, should measure it.

[Honda_Fan_imp]

So I bought a 2009 Yamaha Tmax for fun and so far it’s an excellent city machine. Handles amazing with very good brakes and no clutch to wear you out.

[GoldOxide_imp]

So I bought a 2009 Yamaha Tmax for fun and so far it’s an excellent city machine. Handles amazing with very good brakes and no clutch to wear you out.

Congrats Yama_Fuh, err, Honda_Fan on the TMax.

Modern scooters / super scooters are so made for urban convenience. Just hop 'n' go. The super scoots make inter-town treks brainless.

Many scooters can be adapted for winter use too!

Try ridin' the CB in winter snow. Not.

[Charlie Bravo_imp]

my guess is the battery. sometimes there's enuff juice to turn it, not enuff to provide a fat spark.