Jolt Country

All right, the bike I am gonna look at (and buy assuming it doesn't kick my ass) is a 2006 Honda Shadow Spirit 750cc with around 10,000 miles.

I will post pictures and stuff as soon as I have them.

I did get the motorcycle. I will post pics soon.

(Not of the bike, but of my casket.)

Mid life crisis?

Awesome! Gonna be like Easy Rider!

Was the dead pool on Jonsey still open for bets?

lethargic wrote:Mid life crisis?

No, sir! I have always wanted a motorcycle. I feel that it would be a fun, positive experience for me.

OK, I don't quite get what happened to my motorcycle. I drove it today and it was fine. I parked it in my garage. I went out for the day. The key was not in the ignition.

I came home and it appears like the battery is dead.
Is it possible to drain the battery when the key has been removed?

(I am happy that my first motorcycle experience was exactly like my first arcade game experience. Scared to death of it and nothing works.)

Also, so, for whatever reason my bike would not start. I kept trying. I believe I drained the battery completely.

How much of a goddamn abortion is it to "recharge" the battery? I have a lot of reading to do. I am glad I made this base.

Well, let's see.

My first guess... does the 750 have a gas switch that you turn on and off? If it's off and not getting fuel, it won't start. It'll just turn over and over but never start.

Also my bike will not start if the kickstand is down. And also there's the kill switch button, but mine won't even turn over if that's "off".

Motorcycle batteries die every spring because people don't start them in the winter. So typically they jump the battery, it starts, they ride it around for a day, the next time they try and start it, it's dead again. You should be able to test it with a meter to see if it has a charge. If not, well, time to meet your local Honda dealer. Should be $50 or so, maybe less.

Flack wrote:My first guess... does the 750 have a gas switch that you turn on and off? If it's off and not getting fuel, it won't start. It'll just turn over and over but never start.

Yessir. It does have a fuel switch - checked that and we are good.

Also my bike will not start if the kickstand is down. And also there's the kill switch button, but mine won't even turn over if that's "off".

Yeah, checked both of those things as well.

Motorcycle batteries die every spring because people don't start them in the winter. So typically they jump the battery, it starts, they ride it around for a day, the next time they try and start it, it's dead again. You should be able to test it with a meter to see if it has a charge. If not, well, time to meet your local Honda dealer. Should be $50 or so, maybe less.

Gotcha. The seller did say it has not been running in a year. He probably jumped it, got it to my house and that was that.

He probably drove it for 25 minutes to get to my house, though. Should that have been enough for the alternator to give it a charge?

I also suspect it is the battery. Well, it's the battery NOW because I used up all the juice, haha.

In 25 minutes of riding, an alternator should charge a battery assuming the battery is good and hold a charge. Once a battery had been dead long enough, it can't really be recharged.

The thing that's "concerning" is that if the bike was turning over, it should have had enough battery to start. As long as I have the gas on, on my bike I press the starter (with the clutch in, the bike in neutral and the kick stand up) and it goes "whir-whir-whir-vroom". Literally like 1-2 seconds. That's why I was asking about the fuel.

Many bike owners buy trickle battery chargers for the winter. Basically it drops 1-2 volts the whole time it's on, enough to keep the battery charged and alive.

Does your bike have a manual choke?

Ice Cream Jonsey wrote:

lethargic wrote:Mid life crisis?

No, sir! I have always wanted a motorcycle. I feel that it would be a fun, positive experience for me.

It just concerns me because I always see you making lists of things you need to do and the lists don't get finished. I'm hoping "buy helmet" isn't on one of those lists.

Just to confirm - with the key out, there is no way to run anything that consumes power, is there? Because in a car it can happen since people can't open your car and turn your headlines on.

I have to think that if it were possible to drain a motorcycle's battery without the key that people would be draining batteries on motorcycles by turning the headlights or whatever on all the time.

You are correct. Key off = no battery usage.

lethargic wrote:Mid life crisis?

In a way yes, in a way no.

I have stability where I work for the first time in my entire adult life. I wanted a motorcycle and pinball table. I took steps to get both.

That said, while I'd like to actually believe that the sensation of the wind through my [s]hair[/s] helmet and sense of freedom is why I am getting the motorcycle, perhaps it is something else entirely.

I left it charged for an hour. It started right up. If I had known it would start, I would have gone to bed early, so I could have gotten up early to register it.

No idea why it wouldn't start to begin with, but in a way, I am glad this motorcycle has a mystery.

I want to wake up early and ride it around the block.

That's what she said?

Update! Well, it didn't work and then did work today.

I spent the night at my girlfriend's house two nights ago. When I got home yesterday I tried to start the motorcycle but the battery had again drained.

What the FUCK.

I left it charged overnight. I unplugged it from the charger and was able to drive it around my neighborhood.

But I am going to leave it not charging while at work today. I expect that the battery will be drained. I will then have to get it fixed after CAX.

Sounds like a dead battery to me.

I came home from work (without charging it while at work) and it started.

So, well. Huh.

I don't feel comfortable riding it anywhere I can't easily walk it back I GUESS.

Having driven it twice tonight, I fucking love motorcycles.