OK. My buddies and I are wondering about Bump Starting a GS1200 with a dead battery? With no electrical power to the fuel injectors will it start? With a charged battery it should start but just not sure about a dead battery. Anybody know for sure? If not, maybe on longer trips a guy should think about a short set of jumper cables to take along!
Today's AGM batteries will go from being able to start the bike to stone-dead in 12 hours... even when the bike sits on a Battery Tender 24x7. AMHIKN. I've never tried to jump a bike with a dead AGM battery but I have doubts if it could be done. I'm guessing the dead battery would be giant current sink. Anybody know? The smarter move before a long trip is just buy a new battery. The new battery will cost much less than cost of flatbed/hassle of trip interruption/etc.
I have an EFI quad that can be pull started when the battery is nearly flat dead... A battery at 0 volts does indeed absorb lots of amps when you attempt to jump start. With most vehicles, it can be done but requires charging for a while via the cables and the source vehicle running. Speaking of quads, it seems to me odd that a lot of ATVs and other motorcycles come with a battery of higher capacity (amp hour wise) than the R bikes...
I think he said "bump" start. Like a push start in 2nd gear and letting out the clutch. The battery needs enough juice to boot the ecu and power the fuel pump and injectors. While the headlight is on.
A couple of years ago I came upon an R1200GS parked along the side of the road. We were 50 miles from anywhere. The rider had stopped to take a break and when he went to restart, nothing. Tried pushing him down a slight grade but we couldnt get it to start.
Yes you can. I got a 1200, with a completely dead battery, started but I wouldn't call it bump starting. Here is the story. First we tried to push it but the battery was completely dead so no juice to wake the electronic system. We then tried to jump starting it off a car battery. It just made a clicking noise. We were in a dangerous environment so were were desparate to get it started. Against our collective good judgement we tied it to the back of an SUV with a tie down strap and towed it at about 25 mph. We had to engage the engine initially in 4th or 5th gear to overcome the compression and then downshift to second to get the motor spinning fast enough to fire the engine controller off of the alternator juice. We actually started it a second time this way but by pulling the bike with the dead battery behind my bike. It was a scary exercise and I don't recommend it. We were out in the wilderness of Bolivia on the Salar de Uyuni (salt flats) hundreds of miles from any large city. So we had no choice.
I've bump started (rolling down hill) my 1150. Two comments about the experience, the method should be a last resort, and that bike is really heavy to push up a steep incline!
I seem to recall some one starting their bike by soaking a rag in fuel and stuffing that in the air intake. That way the bike had some fuel to get going before the fuel pump got power. He also said that as soon as it started that way it really took off!! Anyone else heard of this or is it just another urban legend??
On my '09 the low beam lamp does not turn on until the bike starts, although the tiny little baby parking lamp does light up as does the tail light (LED on this model). So power drain is not all that great before energizing the ECU, etc., for a possible start. Not certain if pre-facelift (non-M models in fiche-speak) behave the same way. Also, at least in '09 BMW went back to SLA batteries, so partial recharge by hooking to another power source should allow for faster regeneration. After my last oh-shit-I-left-the-ignition-switch-on-with-the-highbeam adventure I started carrying a set of mini jumper cables.
On the one hand I'm glad I read this thread since my battery just died and I knew not to try to bump start it. On the other hand, I think reading this thread jinxed me and that's why my battery died.
I dropped my bike on some ice and afterward it wouldn't start. I'm guessing I broke, or dislodged. some of the plates in the battery -at least that is what my service manager told me; it was the stock battery that came with the bike. In the course of getting the bike home, I "bump started" the bike several times by rolling it down hill in second gear and letting out the clutch. Previous to rolling the bike down hill we tried using jumper cables from one GS 1200 to my GS 1200. The bike made a clicking noise but that was it.
Hey B-man, I really don't recommend this unless you have absolutely no alternative. Its easy to imaging what happens to a 2 wheeled vehicle when the trailing bike drifts to one side or another while letting out the clutch. We again used tie down staps and connected them to the rear luggage rack and a low point on the engine guard. Both bikes were GS Adventures.
I have jump started my GS using regular battery cables, it worked, if you leave it connected to the other bike long enough the clicking noice goes away and it fires up - I am assuming the clicking is that there is not enough charge yet. Remember in Mondo Enduro - they towed the one bike around 800 miles (top average speed was 55)
Hey mods! Based on this pun can we have this inmate executed???? Or worse: forced to reread every GS oil thread.... Oh wait, that *would* be cruel and inhumane.
