[Brad_G]

With today's computers and key FOB's etc there is always a little draw on a battery (regardless of vehicle type). But you shouldn't have to charge it that frequently.

I'm with @faffi that batteries can and will take an unexpected dump. If you've got a "smart" charger it may not detect the battery if it's too low. An old school charger that will try to charge a pencil might get it charged. I'd load test it if you can charge it to see what condition the battery is in. It may have been this battery's time.........

 

[faffi]

Good point! My charger for Lithium batteries must be tricked into charging if the battery is too low. Most lithium batteries will also disconnect themselves if they get a bit low since a flat lithium cannot recover. Usually, a lithium battery should last for at least a decade, probably more. Did your Indian come with a lithium battery?

 

[Jspree]

I still had the keyless ignition on the Strat when I was waiting for tires, so I wasn't riding. in 5 days it killed the battery, I was able to take it to the auto parts and they save it with there charger my trickle charger didn't touch it. Now I have a good charger and I have removed the keyless ignition.
I also start the bike and run it above idle if we don't go anywhere .

 

[Brad_G]

I still had the keyless ignition on the Strat when I was waiting for tires, so I wasn't riding. in 5 days it killed the battery, I was able to take it to the auto parts and they save it with there charger my trickle charger didn't touch it. Now I have a good charger and I have removed the keyless ignition.
I also start the bike and run it above idle if we don't go anywhere .

Wow...5 days! To me that sounds like an excessive draw. I don't know if there are any specs in a service manual that states what is deemed acceptable? If I could find that info I'd at least check to make sure it's within spec.

 

[Deeksvstarclassic]

I still had the keyless ignition on the Strat when I was waiting for tires, so I wasn't riding. in 5 days it killed the battery, I was able to take it to the auto parts and they save it with there charger my trickle charger didn't touch it. Now I have a good charger and I have removed the keyless ignition.
I also start the bike and run it above idle if we don't go anywhere .

Didn't ride it for 5 days what the heck? (toned down for a family show) From me that is the ultimate burn!

 

[Jspree]

I had a bad back tire , was just waiting for it to be delivered

 

[bevo1981]

With today's computers and key FOB's etc there is always a little draw on a battery (regardless of vehicle type). But you shouldn't have to charge it that frequently.

I'm with @faffi that batteries can and will take an unexpected dump. If you've got a "smart" charger it may not detect the battery if it's too low. An old school charger that will try to charge a pencil might get it charged. I'd load test it if you can charge it to see what condition the battery is in. It may have been this battery's time.........

i do have a charger that is stuck on the lithium 12v mode, but i figured the difference between the lithium vs. other mode is that the lithium batteries generally have some sort of circuit protection to prevent overcharging. i wouldn't think the mode would have any bearing on not being able to detect a battery if voltage is too low? battery should only be about a year old. it's an '19 model

 

[faffi]

A lithium battery getting a bit low will usually shut itself off to protect itself from getting damaged. Some chargers see this as not being connected to anything and will not try to charge. An old style charger does not have any intelligence and will try to charge whatever, be it your cat, a dead battery or a fully charged battery. In other wory, your dead battery may be perfectly fine if you can get a charge going.

 

[Brad_G]

Sometimes "smart" technology can be too smart for it's own good. Generally it does work as expected and is great. But there are those few times where an old school device is actually better. I'm not a battery expert (especially with lithium) but have heard many similar stories where lights/ignition had been left on for a long period. A smart charger doesn't sense the battery and just sits idle.

Similar to using a battery charger for electrolysis to remove rust. A smart charger won't put out any voltage as it's waiting to sense voltage.

 

[bevo1981]

GOOD NEWS!! battery charged up with an older style charger. which kind makes my 'new tech' charger pointless for it. ah technology...

 

[Jspree]

Mom has a small tractor, the battery would be dead everytime I would go to bushhog.
We went down to a Major Auto Parts to have the battery checked. They put it on the expensive battery tester and said it was fine ( I had checked the charging circuit, but mom wanted the battery tested)
I argued with the guy it is bad , he ran it again, he said it is fine. I told them to just wait a minute, I went to their cheap tool section and got a $1.50 battery hydrometer. I popped the caps off the battery and 1 cell was reading 25%. Now mom believed me , we got a battery and the tractor is still running.
Just because it is new and high tech doesn't mean it is better.

 

[Keith Post]

Bevo when you first started talking about Cerakote I started doing some research on it.
One can use it many different ways it appears, I’m anxious to see how it holds up.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Brad_G]

GOOD NEWS!! battery charged up with an older style charger. which kind makes my 'new tech' charger pointless for it. ah technology...

I bet your newer charger will work on it now that it's been charged. It was probably just too low voltage initially.

Mom has a small tractor, the battery would be dead everytime I would go to bushhog.
We went down to a Major Auto Parts to have the battery checked. They put it on the expensive battery tester and said it was fine ( I had checked the charging circuit, but mom wanted the battery tested)
I argued with the guy it is bad , he ran it again, he said it is fine. I told them to just wait a minute, I went to their cheap tool section and got a $1.50 battery hydrometer. I popped the caps off the battery and 1 cell was reading 25%. Now mom believed me , we got a battery and the tractor is still running.
Just because it is new and high tech doesn't mean it is better.

My diesel truck has dual batteries. About a year into new batteries I was having starting issues. I disconnected and charged them both independently. Then took a load tester to them. Found one wasn't putting out the same as the other. Took it back and the parts store, they tested it and said it was fine. Installed everything and still had issues. I took it back again. Again they said it was "good". So took them home and charged/tested again. When I went back I took my load tester with me and offered to test it with them. They replaced the battery.

I'm all for new tech. But sometimes older tried and true methods still work just as well.

 

[bevo1981]

Bevo when you first started talking about Cerakote I started doing some research on it.
One can use it many different ways it appears, I’m anxious to see how it holds up.

i think i mentioned here before that companies seem to only market it towards firearms. the head guy at the shop doing my stuff is putting cerakote on a bunch of his car parts he's restoring yet their website doesn't list any items other than gun parts. at least the cerakote.com site showcases other uses but there is still a heavy emphasis towards firearms. i don't get it. so much business being missed out on because the marketing is so narrow.

i 'completed' spray can painting some of my parts but i'm hesitant to use them. i may end up taking all this stuff to get cerakote as well but i don't like how long this is taking. bike has been torn apart for over 2 months now just because of paint. i have partially installed some items but can't really complete because i've got so many bolts missing right now.

 

[Jspree]

bike has been torn apart for over 2 months now just because of paint.

It's almost like getting a bike shipped

 

[bevo1981]

painted the studs on my seats and sissy pad. this was pretty tedious as i'm pretty sure now that i made this more complicated than it should have been. as i've stated before this would have been a lot easier if i had just pulled out the studs to paint them but it didn't seem possible for me to do this without damaging the leather or messing something up. i taped up the seats in painter's tape as posted before and tried to get the tape as close to the edge of the studs as i could. this was difficult since the studs go into the seat so i knew i would not be able to completely get the bottom of the studs that slide in a little in and out of each seat. then i spray painted over them and then sprayed on lacquer. then i removed all the tape and had to touch up each one by painting the bottom with a fine paint brush using the same spray paint that i would spray into the cap to collect. so i'd paint over the bottom parts that were missed and then i'd have to go over each with with a cotton swab dipped in paint thinner to clean off any paint that happened to get on the leather around the studs. now that left the bottom painted areas unprotected with no lacquer. so i've discovered that spraying the spray can lacquer into a cup is not very effective so i still need to buy some lacquer that i can dip my paint brush in and go over each stud again to properly protect them, but this is pretty much what the final product will look like. (i took this picture before i did some more touching up)

 

[Keith Post]

I understand, I’ve watched several YouTube videos on cerakote focusing on firearms. I don’t understand why the company doesn’t focus more on other uses.
I bought Harbor Freights powder coat kit and anxious to use it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[lesblank]

Nice accent to other painted items. Going to look sharp when it all comes together. Appears you going with black with copper accents. Are you going to paint the engine fins copper to continue the theme or black them out?

Don't know how far you are taking the theme. They make bolt head covers in copper color. I've used chrome ones before and work pretty good.

 

[bevo1981]

leave them alone

i'm having about 80 bolts ceramic coated, but thanks for the suggestion

 

[Boog]

@bevo1981 I am in favor of the black/copper idea myself. So few bikes with this color theme out there.
I fell in love with the bright green and copper on a custom bike at a show once. Then the owner said how much it cost and I thought holy bank buster, I could buy three bikes with just the paint and powder coating cost he told me of. (His paint was something exotic but his bike is a show winner in its class).

Are you looking to make this a show bike?