[maverhick]

@preetamkabra, the mechanic from ronit motors turned up today to check the bike and will start working on it in a couple of days. I'll post my experiences here, might be of use for folks in the future.

I was looking for a battery replacement. The aquila sports a 12v 12ah battery. I couldn't find any similar Indian replacement. There were some talks of a Exide backer battery that did 12v 14ah, but it is no more under production. Virtually most of the batteries are 12v 9ah.

Any idea where a 12v 12ah/14ah battery can be found for a reasonable price in Mumbai? I checked with bachoomotors who quoted Rs 7500 for the battery. I'd prefer a suitable replacement at a much lower price.

[james]

True Exide used to make the 12v 14ah batt for the Bulls!. I believe the Classic500 still uses the same batt so i doubt they have stopped producing it!

[maverhick]

james, the last post on this thread mentions the batteries are not available. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...f-start-4.html

But I'm going to call tomorrow and double check if the batteries are available or not. The thread I've mentioned above also says the batteries are not available. Will update after talking to some battery dealers

[preetamkabra]

@maverhick, so was the ronit motors mechanic successfull ? Have heard that the battery for Yamaha Enticer could fit and works great. Also heard that many parts of teh Suzuki Fiero are compatible (sic) with GV250

[maverhick]

@preetam - not yet. Once I got the bike all apparently fixed, but the battery drained overnight. Now I've left it at the workshop again. The main mechanic thinks a new CDI 'may' fix it. Now I'd rather be sure, but not like I have much choice here. Thankfully I had a spare CDI and have given it to him to fix and test. I should hear from him tomorrow.

The mechanic is better than the others, but I'll reserve judgement until this is completely done and the bike is in fabulous shape

[preetamkabra]

Originally Posted by maverhick

@preetam - not yet. Once I got the bike all apparently fixed, but the battery drained overnight. Now I've left it at the workshop again. The main mechanic thinks a new CDI 'may' fix it. Now I'd rather be sure, but not like I have much choice here. Thankfully I had a spare CDI and have given it to him to fix and test. I should hear from him tomorrow.

The mechanic is better than the others, but I'll reserve judgement until this is completely done and the bike is in fabulous shape

Hey mate,
What's up with your aquila. Has it been successful for coming on road?
Mine is running cool.but will need some repairs to the silencers.
A bit of oiling also needed post monsoon.but derth of mechanics. Btw, how much is ronit motors is charging you? Will give me an idea to reserve certain amt from my wages.

[maverhick]

Originally Posted by preetamkabra

Hey mate,
What's up with your aquila. Has it been successful for coming on road?
Mine is running cool.but will need some repairs to the silencers.
A bit of oiling also needed post monsoon.but derth of mechanics. Btw, how much is ronit motors is charging you? Will give me an idea to reserve certain amt from my wages.

I was using the bike for a while. The major issue is overnight battery discharge. You can place a fully charged battery in my bike, ride it for 30 mins and leave it overnight and the bike will discharge whatever battery you can feed it. They haven't been able to exactly nail down how this happens though.

I'm working with the mechanics at ronit motors, so don't receive any official bills. But their servicing charges etc have been reasonable. But let me isolate this one problem and see how much they bill me for. Do you need me to ask pricing for any specific work?

[mayankk]

why not leave the battery disconnected overnight, if its not too inaccessible, till the time you get it fixed.
or , an inline switch would take about 10 minutes to fix

[maverhick]

Battery is not very accessible, but the inline switch makes sense. But the concern for me really was to be able to fix it once and for all and now that a reasonable mechanic is available, let me see how this goes.

On Saturday the mechanic put in a newly charged battery, rode the bike for 30 minutes, left the bike overnight and found the battery again drained by morning. Last I heard even he is pulling his hair to figure this out -and this after going through every bit of wiring and apparently fixing them.

Double checked that no point on the battery is touching the chassis.

Double checked after switching the bike off, no electricals work

Checked the charging system - works right. Charging range is between 13.5V to 16.5V - which is the correct range as per manual.

What else could we be missing?

Originally Posted by mayankk

why not leave the battery disconnected overnight, if its not too inaccessible, till the time you get it fixed.
or , an inline switch would take about 10 minutes to fix

[preetamkabra]

Originally Posted by SRK

Not able to PM you mate.

I can remember there was some mechanic by the name of Johnny who was recommended by many. Don't know if he is still into the business.

Where do you stay in Bandra (PM me, may be I could help you out with some contacts. )

Hey SRK,

Can you please share the contact details with me? Will come in handy just in case !

Cheers

[SRK]

Originally Posted by preetamkabra

Hey SRK,

Can you please share the contact details with me? Will come in handy just in case !

Cheers

Hi,
Actually there was a guy who could have helped as he had some experience on working with some bigger bikes but haven't been able to get in touch with him. Seems he has left Mumbai and won't return.
Other than that there is guy called Khan in Bandra. He most of the times works on Bullets and likes may be he can help.
He has a shop near Pali Hill, Bandra (west).

[preetamkabra]

@mavrhick: What is the status of your bike condition and performance!

[maverhick]

Some idiot of a mechanic (previously) had stuck in a 100-110W bulb into the bike. That coupled with two horns might have been the reason for the discharge.

The bulb was replaced to a 35W and I've disconnected the horns for a week to check if there is any battery drain. As of now, looks like it is good

The bike is performing really well. I also put in a new CDI unit and two new pirelli tyres. One more week I am going to test the bike without a horn, then remove both the horns and install a single horn and then test another week.

I am thinking this is the home run fix for the bike. It's well

Originally Posted by preetamkabra

@mavrhick: What is the status of your bike condition and performance!

[maverhick]

A point to add for the mechanic (salman) at ronit motors. Since I gave him the bike back because it was still discharging, he kept working at it to identify the issue and has only charged me for the additional spare parts used and nothing extra for service. Trustworthy, ethical mechanic. Now that is rare

[preetamkabra]

Congrats Mate. Nice to hear that your bike is up and running. Always a good experience riding it. Today brought it to office and almost all my friends wanted to see and experience it. Anyway, If you don't mind, would you be able to share the contact details of Salman from ronit motors so that in case need arises, I can dorectly get in touch woth him. I am always for the preventive service rather than the corrective one. Hence, if you can help, will be appreciated.

As regards 110W bulb in headlight! Thats overkill man. Did the previous owner / mechanic thought that the bike was a part of search and rescue ops in dark jungles? :-D.
Anyway, now that you have been able to solve the problem and started using the machine, Am happy. Share more of your experiences.