Shorai was generous enough to send me a battery and charger to use in my SV650 and review. Since it’s –20F outside right now and only a few degrees warmer in the garage, I will have to wait to do the install much less actually ride the bike with the battery installed. In the meantime, here are some unboxing photos!
Showing posts with label battery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label battery. Show all posts
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Dead Battery on the Ural #2
It was the coldest day of this winter at 15F, but my garage was still in the 40s for some reason. I put on my gear very methodically making sure to seal out all the usual draft areas: neck, zippers, wrists, etc.
I opened the door and went into the garage. The Ural looked ready to go. I had just ridden it two days earlier, and it ran fine. I tossed my laptop into the trunk, and closed it with a clang. I do enjoy having such a large luggage area. It really makes things easy.
I began my normal starting ritual. Remove the battery tender cable. Shift the transmission from reverse to neutral. I moved the kick starter several times to lube up the engine. Pull out the choke on the left carburetor, and then on the right side. Turn the ignition key to the run position while noticing the green and orange lights normally on the dash. Thumb the engine stop switch to on, and press the starter while squeezing in the clutch lever. “grrrr…. “ then darkness.
No headlight, no dash lights, no life it seemed was in the beast. I turned everything off and reset all the switches and tried again. Nothing. No lights. Damn. I grabbed my voltmeter and saw the battery was at 8.5v, and not the normal 12.x. Not enough juice to kick start either. Not good at all. I’m a bit sweaty now; I’m dressed for riding at 15F not for standing around in 40F. I played around some more, but to no avail.
My wife stepped into the garage to leave for work. I asked her for a ride. I’m now late. I stripped off my riding gear and leave it in a heap as I dashed out the door. Now we’re both late.
Could it be an electrical short like the last time I had battery trouble? Maybe it’s a dead battery like when I first bought my Ural? There is an HD battery in there is now three years old, and unfortunately has been deep cycled a couple times. I have a new Odyssey PC680 on order. Ural dealer isn’t going to warranty an HD battery. Sure I could have gotten another battery to fit, but I want a reliable brand like Odyssey in my Ural. They make robust, reliable batteries.
I need some free time to figure it out which I hope I will have tonight. I checked, and it looks like the R1150GS battery is the same size as the Ural. I might swap those tonight. I guess the GS might be useful after all.
I’m very thankful I have a wonderful wife who can chauffer me to work while I fix the Ural.
Related Posts:
Friday, February 26, 2010
Troubleshooting an Electrical Short on the Ural
The battery was running down while connected to the Ural. It also wasn't charging on the tender when connected to the bike. I realized I might have a short, and needed to track it down.
1) Start with everything off. The key and the kill switch.
2) Disconnect the negative cable (black) on the battery.
3) Connect the voltmeter to the positive side of the battery and the negative cable removed in step 2. It should read 0.0V. If not, then there is an electrical draw in the system somewhere. It is likely a short since everything is off. Mine read 0.52V. 
4) Locate the fuses on the bike. On the Ural there are two blocks – one near the forks the other in the side car. 
Remove one fuse at a time looking for the voltage to drop to 0.0V. This will indicate which circuit is the problem. 
After checking every fuse twice, I still had a draw. I started disconnecting other things to check them. Eventually, I removed one of the head light relays on the left side and it dropped to 0.0V. The relay looks a tiny bit corroded. It looks worse in the photo than real life. 
I cleaned it up and added some dielectric grease to keep out future moisture causing corrosion. 
I greased both relays and put them back in. 
The draw went to 0.06, so I pulled them out again and removed a bit of grease. I put too much on the first time. Then I was back to 0.0V.
The battery was at 6.78 and put back onto the charger for the night. By morning, it was back up to almost 13V. I rode to work and was down to 12.7. By the time I left work, it was still 12.7. I think the problem has been resolved.
Related Posts:
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Dead Battery on the Ural
Yesterday morning, the battery on my Ural was dead, so it spent the day on the battery tender while removed from the bike. This morning it seemed fine. The battery was at 13.1V when I left. I just chalked it up to Ural weirdness.
I rode to work without any heated gear and didn’t freeze. I was still warm from kick starting the Ural. Surprisingly, it was 1F! (before wind-chill) My new record for riding without heat.
I wish I would have put the voltmeter on the Ural when I got to work, but I didn’t. It would have been nice to know the voltage. I made sure everything was off and went in.
When I went to leave, I put the key in the Ural and gave it a twist… nothing. No headlight… no dash lights… not again. I pulled out the voltmeter with the nice SAE2 connector:
It only showed 9.01V. Not good. I tried to kick it, but it wouldn’t start. Exhausted, I went back inside to make some calls.
After a bit I came back out. I tried to connect my spare battery which I use as a backup for my heated gear to the main via the SAE2 and just ended up blowing fuses instead. I thought I could use it to start the Ural or jump it, but four fuses later I gave up on that idea. I am going to revisit it, but in my own garage where it is warm and bright.
The only thing left to do was to start removing the seat and plate to get at the battery terminals directly. I’m glad I had some practice.
Then I could jump it with my portable jump starter.
I have been thinking carrying the jump starter around a bit excessive, but then stuff like this happens. It has a nice light, an air compressor with built in gauge, AC inverter, and jumper cables.
It was 20F in the parking ramp. I was glad I put a pair of gloves in the Ural tool roll. My motorcycle gloves are a bit too bulky for this type of work.
I was able to jump it and get it started. By the time I got home it was sitting at almost 11V, so the alternator is charging the battery. I may have a power leak somewhere? The battery is on a charger now, and I will investigate later.
I added the mint tin below filled with spare fuses to the Ural’s trunk. I have a bunch of spares on my SV and WR already.
I did get a nice surprise when I got home. USPS finally delivered my business cards for the blog:
I thought it would be nice to give something to the people who ask about the Ural, how I ride year round in Minnesota, or those who just don’t believe me when I tell them I don’t have a car. I wish I would have put some FAQs about the Ural on the back, but I was being cheap. I got a few hundred of the above, in color, for about $15.
Related Posts:
I rode to work without any heated gear and didn’t freeze. I was still warm from kick starting the Ural. Surprisingly, it was 1F! (before wind-chill) My new record for riding without heat.
I wish I would have put the voltmeter on the Ural when I got to work, but I didn’t. It would have been nice to know the voltage. I made sure everything was off and went in.
When I went to leave, I put the key in the Ural and gave it a twist… nothing. No headlight… no dash lights… not again. I pulled out the voltmeter with the nice SAE2 connector:
It only showed 9.01V. Not good. I tried to kick it, but it wouldn’t start. Exhausted, I went back inside to make some calls.
After a bit I came back out. I tried to connect my spare battery which I use as a backup for my heated gear to the main via the SAE2 and just ended up blowing fuses instead. I thought I could use it to start the Ural or jump it, but four fuses later I gave up on that idea. I am going to revisit it, but in my own garage where it is warm and bright.
The only thing left to do was to start removing the seat and plate to get at the battery terminals directly. I’m glad I had some practice.
Then I could jump it with my portable jump starter.
I have been thinking carrying the jump starter around a bit excessive, but then stuff like this happens. It has a nice light, an air compressor with built in gauge, AC inverter, and jumper cables.
It was 20F in the parking ramp. I was glad I put a pair of gloves in the Ural tool roll. My motorcycle gloves are a bit too bulky for this type of work.
I was able to jump it and get it started. By the time I got home it was sitting at almost 11V, so the alternator is charging the battery. I may have a power leak somewhere? The battery is on a charger now, and I will investigate later.
I added the mint tin below filled with spare fuses to the Ural’s trunk. I have a bunch of spares on my SV and WR already.
I did get a nice surprise when I got home. USPS finally delivered my business cards for the blog:
I thought it would be nice to give something to the people who ask about the Ural, how I ride year round in Minnesota, or those who just don’t believe me when I tell them I don’t have a car. I wish I would have put some FAQs about the Ural on the back, but I was being cheap. I got a few hundred of the above, in color, for about $15.
Related Posts:
Ural Battery Removal and Replacement
I heard the battery in the Ural could be tricky to remove, so I thought I'd get some practice with it in the comfort of my well lit and warm garage. After doing it, it isn't hard at all. The Odyssey PC680 fits in the Ural.
I like to use the tools that I carry on the bike to make sure I am not missing anything. It also ensures I've had some experience using them and learned their limitations.
Tools needed:
I like to use the tools that I carry on the bike to make sure I am not missing anything. It also ensures I've had some experience using them and learned their limitations.
Tools needed:
- 17mm socket
- 8mm wrench
- philips screwdriver
- 6mm allen wrench
- includes affiliate links to support the blog
1) Remove the left side cover by gently pulling on it
2) Use the 17mm socket to remove the bolt under the front of the seat. 
3) Remove the seat by pulling it slightly forward while rotating up. 
4) Use the allen wrench to remove the four bolts holding the seat mounting plate on. 
I couldn't get enough torque for some of the bolts with the normal wrench. I put the end of the screwdriver on the wrench to extend it slightly and provide a more hand-friendly grip. 
5) Remove the plate. 
6) Use the 8mm wrench and the philips screw driver to loosen the bolt holding the battery tie down in place. 
7) The top of the battery was blocked by a cable connected to this plug, so I found it necessary to disconnect it. 
8) Use the philips screwdriver to disconnect the battery terminals negative (black) then positive (red).
9) The trick to removing the battery since there is hardly any space is to:
a) Hold the kick starter down with your foot to add an extra inch to work with
b) Shift the bottom of the battery forward and start to twist it
c) Get the bottom of the battery on the upper right side and the top on the lower left (see below)
d) Watch for snagging cables. It will just slide out with less than 1/8" all around.
e) It is a bit heavy, so don't crush your fingers.
10) Done! Reverse the steps to reinstall the battery.
This is a picture of my "original" Harley battery for reference. My original Russian factory battery was defective and replaced immediately after purchasing my Ural. 
I would use the Odyssey PC680 Battery in the future.
UPDATE:
I have replaced the stock battery with the Odyssey PC680 Battery and cold weather performance is noticeably better. To put the Odyssey batter in, I needed to remove the airbox.
Related Posts:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
