Push starting a VFR1200F sucks

After 10,710 miles the OEM Yuasa sealed wet cell battery in my 1200F has failed for the last time and I had to push the bike to get it started on my way home from the gas station.
I just purchased an AGM battery from Battery Stuff.com, http://www.batteryst...es/sYTZ14S.html
I will let you know how it works out after a few starts & stops.

First of all sorry about your troubles.
Second - that's awful early for a battery to fail. Esp. an OEM one.
And third - Were you able to push-start it?

The 1200 battery is also AGM (wet cell is also correct) but should last far longer than this. Either it was a faulty battery or was allowed to go flat at some point in it's life.

While the new battery will have an initial charge be sure to give it 1.5 amp charge for a good 10 hours

Another thing is that people need to do a full charge on any new battery........ and new bikes have new batteries in them.

All new batteries are fully charged........... but if left sitting in a car/bike..... or the shelf of the selling store it will need to be topped off.

Fuel injection needs power to pump and inject.
You must have had just enough power left to get the bike running.

A year and a half out of a regularly used so called AGM motorcycle battery? :ohmy: Insufficient to say the least. :mad:
The ETX20L Big Crank AGM battery in my CBX has been there for 5 years with never a problem holding or supplying juice but, when I went to www.batterymart.com to buy an AGM replacement battery a couple of months ago, they did not list the VFR1200F and I was not going to bother looking there again for my VFR. I have ordered what I need and know it will be good for a long time to come.
If this battery lasts me a couple of years, I will be happy with it because $72.00 shipped priority mail for an AGM is pretty good.
I could have bought one of those Shorai lithium batteries but, I have not heard enough about them yet to sink that kind of coin when I know cheaper AGM batteries do work well for many years getting my money's worth out of them, at least my Battery Mart AGM batteries have worked well for me over the past 8 years.
http://www.batteryst...200cc-vfr1200f/

Luckily you had a manual gearbox, those of us with the DCT would've been in trouble, I'm guessing the slipper clutch didn't slip too much then.!!

Cheers, Smithy

[image: View Post]ausmithy, on 03 January 2012 - 08:09 PM, said:

Luckily you had a manual gearbox, those of us with the DCT would've been in trouble, I'm guessing the slipper clutch didn't slip too much then.!!

Cheers, Smithy

Lucky!!! Before I got a battery tender, left the bike for about 6 weeks without riding it. Wouldn't even turn over let alone start. Wheeled her out to push start when it hits me....DCT!!!! Had to run jumper cables from my truck to start her!!! :rolleyes:

[image: View Post]fotodadi, on 04 January 2012 - 12:38 AM, said:

Lucky!!! Before I got a battery tender, left the bike for about 6 weeks without riding it. Wouldn't even turn over let alone start. Wheeled her out to push start when it hits me....DCT!!!! Had to run jumper cables from my truck to start her!!! :rolleyes:
My VFR has only gone one week straight without getting ridden for at the very least 30 miles since I got her and that was the week that my GPS drained the battery dead. I had just gotten my CBX back on the road with a new engine and was riding her every where to get the motor broken in and totally neglected my VFR the whole time.
It has been some 5 years since I had any kind of down time from my motorcycles and that was 8 weeks down because of a wreck, corrective surgery on my wrist and healing time. I start to flip out if it is raining for more than 2 days in a row from going stir crazy, I need to ride every day to be happy.

The new AGM battery should be here tomorrow, I sure hope so because riding my 41 year old Honda CL350K-3 Scrambler every place I need to go chasing parts is taking way too long to get from point A to points B, C & D then back to A again.
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CBX ya say??? how about a pic or ten? I'm still working on mine.

Gotta love that 6cyl sound :smile:

I had one or 2 of those 350 "scramblers" too....good old days

A bunch of these did sit on showroom floors for a long time. Plus add the time from bike assembly, waiting to be shipped across sea, being on a boat, getting organized once on US soil, then making it's way to the dealer you bought it from.

[image: View Post]cruzinaz, on 04 January 2012 - 09:10 PM, said:

CBX ya say??? how about a pic or ten? I'm still working on mine.

Gotta love that 6cyl sound :smile:

I had one or 2 of those 350 "scramblers" too....good old days
One picture sure but, if you want to see 10 pictures or more you need to go look at my Photobucket. :wink:
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http://s34.photobuck.../CBX/?start=all

[image: View Post]rangerscott69, on 04 January 2012 - 09:27 PM, said:

A bunch of these did sit on showroom floors for a long time. Plus add the time from bike assembly, waiting to be shipped across sea, being on a boat, getting organized once on US soil, then making it's way to the dealer you bought it from.
Mine sat on the showroom floor for 6 weeks until I came in with cash and bought her.
I think the battery dying was my own fault forgetting to unplug or turn off the GPS when leaving my bike in the garage for a week to come and find the battery stone dead. It took a charge in 5 hours and started the bike no problem for almost a year and then it has failed a couple of times in short order because of the flashers.
New battery was charged to my paypal account yesterday which means it'll be tomorrow or Saturday before the thing gets here.
I have to use my CBX to chase parts over at Hollywood Honda then to Reseda, North Hollywood Honda and then back to Studio City. I hate putting miles on her like that but, I have no choice.

I bought a battery for $30 shipped on ebay, has been going strong, installed last April and its not given me one problem thus far. Before this I wouldn't run anything BUT a Yuasa, now, I see no point. And I've taxed this thing, leaving the keys and light on for hours several times. Its a champ for the price.

Hey Fastspider,
Doesn't the warranty cover the cost or pro rated cost of the battery?

Glad to hear you can push the lardy beast when you have to. Maybe you should get used to it. Sign of fun things to come. 800 anyone?

[image: View Post]czman, on 05 January 2012 - 05:41 PM, said:

Glad to hear you can push the lardy beast when you have to. Maybe you should get used to it. Sign of fun things to come. 800 anyone?

Heh, looks like czman wanted one but knew he could never afford it. :laughing6-hehe:

[image: View Post]czman, on 05 January 2012 - 05:41 PM, said:

Glad to hear you can push the lardy beast when you have to. Maybe you should get used to it. Sign of fun things to come. 800 anyone?
Yea wow! Been there, never did that! Finally jumped her off from a car (800)!

The new battery got here today and is in the bike now hooked up to the Tender for shitz & giggles anyway.
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Batteries are not covered under warranty other than a manufacturer's warranty and the old battery was past it's one year date.

If this bike is anything like my V65, push starting is not going to work. I tried to bump-start my V65 on a hill (in 3rd), the over-running clutch kicked in and the engine stopped turning (freewheeled). I had to call for jumper cables. :sad:

This is why I love my Shorai LFX (LiFePO4) battery. The chemistry of the battery is totally different and they don't die like lead acid does. Sure they can die in other ways, but their shelf life is ridiculously huge.

[image: View Post]MSGTR, on 08 January 2012 - 08:31 PM, said:

If this bike is anything like my V65, push starting is not going to work. I tried to bump-start my V65 on a hill (in 3rd), the over-running clutch kicked in and the engine stopped turning (freewheeled). I had to call for jumper cables. :sad:
Pushing it did work because I got home under power and did not have to get a flatbed ride.
The new battery got here last week and the bike seems to be better all the way around, I am very happy with it and will be riding the VFR again today.

I've been told fuel-injected engines could not be push-started because there's no power to the injectors. And not to jump a motorcycle battery with an auto battery and not from a tow truck. I'm sure the genious' on this site can clear this up for me. Anyone?

[image: View Post]MaxSwell, on 12 January 2012 - 04:55 PM, said:

I've been told fuel-injected engines could not be push-started because there's no power to the injectors. And not to jump a motorcycle battery with an auto battery and not from a tow truck. I'm sure the genious' on this site can clear this up for me. Anyone?
I am far from genius but, if there is enough juice in the battery to make the fuel pump work, push starting the bike is no problem as long as you personally have enough juice to push a 591lb+ bike but, a stone dead battery means you are ATFO and have to either get a new battery or a tow truck.

Never jump start a motorcycle off of a running auto but, jump starting a motorcycle off of an auto battery that is not being charged is no problem.
Never jump start off of a tow truck. {Unless you have your own jumper cables and can easily use just one of the trucks two - four 12 volt batteries.}

[image: View Post]fasterspider, on 12 January 2012 - 05:42 PM, said:

Never jump start a motorcycle off of a running auto but, jump starting a motorcycle off of an auto battery that is not being charged is no problem.
Never jump start off of a tow truck. {Unless you have your own jumper cables and can easily use just one of the trucks two - four 12 volt batteries.}

Always wondered why! Thanks!!