[Snehal Sekhar]

For the first time in my ownership, the Baron refused to start on Sunday. I was planning to go to Vellore Fort on Sunday and so on Saturday, I filled in air and petrol at the local fuel station. Got all ready early Sunday morning, but the Baron just refused to start. It showed signs of cranking up the first time I pressed the start switch, but nothing after that. Tried several times and it was just dead. Dejected, I went back to my room and hit the sack again.

Since I haven't been riding the Baron as frequently as it would like to be ridden, I guessed that the battery might have given up on me. Surprisingly, it did work the previous night when I went in to fill air and fuel though.

Anyway, called Bison Harley to find out if they have a battery to replace and they didn't have one. They said that they have placed orders for them and it should take 25 days to a month to receive the new stock.


I called up Domons Customs and spoke to Kaushik who said he'd be able to arrange for a battery within a couple of days. I also enquired about changing both the front and rear brake pads. An approximate quote of 9K was given to change the brake pads. He said he'd send over one of his mechanics later in the week to pick up the bike.


Later in the day I just tried starting the Baron again and, surprisingly, the Baron started in the first attempt. Not sure what could be the reason that it didn't start earlier in the day.


I've decided to get the brake pads replaced and Domons Customs offered to get that done at my doorstep. I also asked if putting in Steel Braided Brake lines were required and was told that his existing Street 750 customers were happy with just a change in the Brake Pads and asked me to first give that a try first.

They'd bring the required tools and replace my existing pads to new ones and they'd also do a general check up of the Baron to make sure that everything is all okay.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Snehal Sekhar

I've decided to get the brake pads replaced and Domons Customs offered to get that done at my doorstep.

Please get the battery voltages checked too - you don't want it to die on your during a busy schedule.

[Snehal Sekhar]

I desperately need to pick up a battery tender. I've misplaced the one I got from Tusker on one of my rides and need a replacement.

Bikenbiker has one manufactured by Deltran. Now the only problem is I'm not sure which option to select. They have three options: 800 ma, 1.25 ma and 5amps.

This is the link to their site: https://www.bikenbiker.com/products/...attery-charger

When I called Bison Harley yesterday, they said their tenders are retailing for close to 5K and the 800 ma tender from Bikenbiker retails at 4.2K. So would that be what I should be looking at?

I'm just avoiding the pain of riding through traffic to pick one of these up and would love to get one from the convenience of my home and have it delivered.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Snehal Sekhar

So would that be what I should be looking at?

How about this Bosch one?

Bosch C3 Battery Charger https://www.amazon.in/dp/B004TS1IB4/..._AG-1Bb633YJTX

Has been on my wishlist since long. A friend is using it however and confirms it can charge both car batteries and bike - it detects the voltage to the supplied. The reviews section has some good comments from Harley owners too.

[Roy.S]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

How about this Bosch one?

I have one of these which I use to charge the 14ah battery on my infrequently used classic 500. Its a must have accessory for the occasional biker/ driver. More often than not, battery shops will tell you that your dead battery is a write off and they tried so hard to recover it but you need a new one. The Bosch charger spares you a trip to your local battery guy and his shenanigans.
Keep in mind that the C3 charger will sometimes fail to charge a completely dead battery but the higher model (C7) has the ability to do that. However, I find the C3 to be good enough.

[shan_ned]

Originally Posted by Roy.S

I have one of these which I use to charge the 14ah battery on my infrequently used classic 500. Its a must have accessory for the occasional biker/ driver. More often than not, battery shops will tell you that your dead battery is a write off and they tried so hard to recover it but you need a new one. The Bosch charger spares you a trip to your local battery guy and his shenanigans.
Keep in mind that the C3 charger will sometimes fail to charge a completely dead battery but the higher model (C7) has the ability to do that. However, I find the C3 to be good enough.

The normal battery chargers that we get in the market can be used ONLY for preventing a battery from becoming worse - Preventing desulfation. They cannot revive a dead battery which got heavily sulfated beyond a point (and that cannot be de-sulfated). There are high end battery chargers which can revive those dead batteries (based on the degree of sulfation) .

Any way, I recommend using battery charger (trickle chargers) on 24/7 basis. It must be noted that it is only a preventive exercise for not allowing the battery loose its capability. In case if the bike is ridden on a daily basis for a good distance, then chargers are not required.

@Snehal - 800 mA is more than sufficient for charging a motorcycle battery.

[Snehal Sekhar]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

How about this Bosch one?

Bosch C3 Battery Charger https://www.amazon.in/dp/B004TS1IB4/..._AG-1Bb633YJTX

Thanks buddy! Since Amazon is my preferred place to purchase most things, this was the first thing I saw when I searched for Battery Charges. The only issue with this is the connector. I have a battery charger adaptor permanently fixed to my battery and the connector looks like this:



The Bosch Battery Charges only comes with Alligator Clips which I will have to clip on directly to the Battery. Want to save my self all that trouble and wanted something that would be compatible to what I already have and so felt the Battery Tender selling at BikenBiker to be apt.

Originally Posted by shan_ned

@Snehal - 800 mA is more than sufficient for charging a motorcycle battery.

Thanks Nedu! That's what I just ordered now.

[Haroon]

Have you checked your battery terminals. Either if they have come lose or more likely if they have accumulated corrosion, that can also be a culprit. It will have to be cleaned with a mixture of baking soda and warm water and once dry you have to apply some petroleum jelly or vaseline there.

Coming to battery charge. Firstly you have to take one of those hand held volt meters and check the power of the battery (all battery shops have them). They also have a load tester that shows if the battery is good enough. If its a regular sealed battery, if the voltage shows 12.0 or less volts, it means that there is only about 20-25% life remaining and chances to revive that battery is very very minimal. Ideally it should show from 12.9 and above when resting. Max it goes to 14.4 etc (only when the bike is on and its being charged by the bike's dynamo). The battery shops have a higher output charger and sometimes with about 3-4 hours on that charger your battery could sometimes be brought back from the dead! But again with these higher output chargers the battery can be deep-cycled only a limited no of times before they completely go dead.

As for all the other Bosch or Battery Tender or Harley chargers, they are trickle chargers that maintain the battery at a specific level when the bike is not running for long periods of time and you still want to maintain the battery at optimum level. Btw, I have 2 Harley Chargers and they do a very good job on my non-Harley bikes They also come with that quick connect pigtail as you already have.

Another important accessory to have on your long trips is a Micro-starter Power bank similar to the one below. It can even jump start 6 cylinder cars and can be a life saver when you are stuck deep in some corner of the country.

https://www.amazon.com/Anti-Gravity-.../dp/B0766HQX59

[Snehal Sekhar]

Originally Posted by Haroon

Have you checked your battery terminals. But again with these higher output chargers the battery can be deep-cycled only a limited no of times before they completely go dead.

Thanks Haroon! Whew!! That's so much more to a battery, isn't it. I haven't checked the battery terminals and now since you've mentioned it, I better get that checked first. I'm planning on another solo overnighter this month and before that, I'll need to check the battery. Will take it to the nearest battery shop this weekend to check if there's still enough juice or not. I hope the battery is good to go for another couple of months before the time comes to change it, but let's see what the battery wala says.

[Shome]

Quick question, when you say a bike is not running for long periods, what intervals are you guys talking about. Riding once every 2 weeks will be classified as long intervals, correct?

[shan_ned]

Originally Posted by Shome

Quick question, when you say a bike is not running for long periods, what intervals are you guys talking about. Riding once every 2 weeks will be classified as long intervals, correct?

Yes. 2 weeks is a long interval. In fact some of the owner manuals will suggest you to disconnect the battery if the motorcycle is going to remain idle for 2 weeks or more. Even if the motorcycle is idle for more than a month, it can crank easily, provided the battery is healthy. Having said that, it is safe to have a battery charger connected in such situations.

[Snehal Sekhar]

A quick update on the Baron.

I received the Deltran battery tender last Saturday and I got the battery charged on Sunday little realising that the tender was specifically for Lithium Ion batteries. A good wise friend from the Forum saw the picture of the tender I had posted on our WhatsApp group and made me realise my stupidity.
Anyway, not sure if the tender did its job or not but when I started the bike this morning, the Baron cranked up with one push of the starter switch.

I had to take the Baron to Domons Customs since those good folks refused to come home even after me pestering them. The mechanic gave a quick look at the brake pads and tyres and said that the pads would last another couple thousand kms and the tyres were good to last another 7-8 k kms. That was good news especially since they are still stock and have lasted me this long. So, not replacing the brake pads now but when the time to replace them comes, I'll be taking the sintered or the semi sintered route.

Left the bike with them for a general check up and also asked them to check on the battery as well. He said that the clutch bearings would need to be replaced since the clutch was unusually hard.

Estimated Invoice Domons.pdf

An estimate of Rs.5,639.99 was quoted but lets see what the final figure turns out to be once I get the Baron back.

[Snehal Sekhar]

Originally Posted by Shome

Quick question, when you say a bike is not running for long periods, what intervals are you guys talking about. Riding once every 2 weeks will be classified as long intervals, correct?

Yes, 2 weeks is a long interval for not riding a bike but my Baron has seen worse. There were times I used to ride every weekend, then it was every other weekend and then once a month and now over the last year it's been once in 2-3 months. Surprisingly, the battery still hasn't given up on me even though I never disconnect the battery during its long hiatus.

[Snehal Sekhar]

Got the bike back from Domon's Customs this afternoon. Paid a total of Rs.5,640.00.

The break up is as follows:

HD Service Labour - Rs.2,000.00
Clutch Overhaul - Rs.1,000.00
CGST - Rs.270.00
SGST - Rs.270.00

Clutch Bearings - Rs.507.81
Clutch Cover Gasket - Rs.508.47
Engine Oil - Rs.720.34
CGST - Rs.181.69
SGST - Rs.181.69

The SA asked me to come after 4 K kms for a regular service. He only topped up the engine oil this time and did not replace the old oil since it had run only 2K since the last change and the oil was still good.

The battery is still good and didn't require a replacement, but there was a minor wiring issue that happened when I got the battery tender adaptor fixed that was causing my Bolt mobile charger to actually drain out the charge on my phone instead of charging it. They rectified it and we did a test. The Bolt charger was now charging my mobile without any issues.

The mods that I plan on getting during my next service are:

1. LED Head Lights since the stock lights are average and don't have sufficient coverage and brightness for night riding. He quoted 13K but I didn't get any details on the lumens and brand.
2. EBC - Double-H Sintered Brake Pads. He quoted around 9K for both the front and rear pads.

With these mods, I am hoping that the Baron gets more capable at quick stops and the headlights have more throw of light to make night riding easier.

[Snehal Sekhar]

The Ride to Hampi finally

After the ride to Pune a couple of months ago, I hadn’t ridden any place. Having a 2 day leave for Thanksgiving was just what I needed to plan for a ride to Hampi. I had booked a 2 day stay at Mayura Bhuvaneshwari in Kamalapur for the 22nd and 23rd. Left home on the morning of 22nd and took the Ananthpur-Ballari route to Hampi. The roads were good just until you reach Ballari. From there until Hampi, there’s roadwork going on and the condition of the roads are bad. The onward route saw me ride 392 kms. On the return leg, I took the Hospet – Chitradurga route which was just 360 kms. A good 30 kms shorter and better roads. There is road work going on from Hospet until Chitradurga, but the roads are much better.

The onward route map



The return route map



Some random pics from this ride.