Man, oh man, I about tossed my Hawk away today. My wife was even on board, telling me to go ahead and trade it in! She even seemed disappointed when I came home today and started looking for new parts for my Superhawk! Anyways, I've not had it out for about a week and the darn thing would not start. What really got my goat was the battery died after about 5 cranks. Well, I haven't had a motorcycle since my CB700sc Nighthawk but I tend to remember getting more cranks out of it before it died.

I do understand that it was four little guys instead of two major sized pistons but is the turn over that much different to cause my battery to die so quick?

Longer version: When I bought the bike last October (friom a dealer) I rode it solid the fist 5 days. I went back to the dealer to get a tank bag and hit some slow traffic. I didn't think anything about it, stopped at the dealer, did some shopping and blah blah blah. When I went out to go home the thing would not even turn over. So, I walked back into the service department feeling like an idiot and wondering how I was going to make the 15 mile journey home.....I asked the service guy for some help. I explained that I just got the bike from his dealer 5 days earlier and he gladly pushed the bike bake into the shop. He came out about 5 mins later and told me that one of his guys was testing the battery. About another 5 mins and he tells me the battery was a bad unit and they swapped it out with a new battery. Problem solve, right?

Well, I rode it well into the winter. Once the really cold weather hit I had some starting problems again. I figured it was just me since I hadn't been starting bike in the cold for a long while and it is a big v-twin. so I bought a battery tender /charger and every time I would yank the battery out and charge it up then try again the next day.And, it would always start up when the battery was fresh. So, I just chaulked it up to a finiky bike.

Well, it is for sure getting warmer out and I am riding much more frequently (meaning even in bad weather now). On the way home from work one day I ran into a 6 mile back up with basically inch by inch travel. It was hell on the clutch hand, but I enjoyed being on the bike so much, I didn't really care! I get out of the jam up and drive about 4 miles home at about 70 MPH.

Next morning, the darn thing would not even turn over once! I mean, the lights barely came on in the gauges and it would barley even click. No way was it going to crank all the way over. Again, I hauled tyhe battery out, charged it up and away I rode the next day.

Now, back to paragraph 1...

So, what is the darn deal, another bum battery? Something else could be broke (E.G. regulator or so)? Forgive me, it's been awhile sine I was working on motorcycles and when I did it was motocross or dual purpose bikes. Nothing as intimidating as ripping into a V-Twin! :P

 

A battery of the AGM type such as the Deka will be better than a normal wet battery when left to sit around a while. If you are not riding your bike regularly then this could be a good option for you. Letting a normal battery go flat will stuff them, they don't like it.

Having said that, it seems you may be having charging problems, which on the VTR could be your regulator. Check to see that the system is charging at 13.5 -14 volts. Your local shop should be able to do this for you easily.

I am guessing you have a 98 model. You will note that the regulator (under the rear seat fairing on the RH side) is just a black box. The later models had cooling fins on them, as they get too hot and burn out. If it is stuffed get a later model one and you should be right.

Another option is aftermarket. Some other members may be able to assist you in where to go, I am in Australia so I am no help!

 

anyone ever heard of predator batteries? i remember an autoshop teacher of mine back in socal telling my class there is simply no better battery out their for our bikes....just a thought i wanted to throw out there, as i have done no research myself on them.

 

sorry if this sounds stupid but was it predator the actual brand or could he have meant the battery out of a polaris predator ATV? i did some quick looking online and couldnt find anything aside from the ATV battery. I'm pretty young and new to the moto world so maybe some of the more seasoned guys would be apt to remember if its a brand no longer being made?

 

i'm pretty sure it was a brand. i remember he showed us some brochure that had pictures of cop bikes writing tickets while leaving the lights on and the engine off.....this was 5-6 years ago though. so i figure if its not on googles first page then they could be gone or bought out???

 

AKohler, please help me! My 98 SuperHawk has become impossible to cold crank! I have a new (June 08) Yuasa battery, correct for the bike (those later batteriesYTZ sound good, too) and a new starter motor. Bike has always been indoors, no corrosion. I cannot get that bike to crank without brutally using a charger-helper. Finally, I can get the bike to start, and once it is warm, it cranks like crazy! Starts right away!
What the hell is the problem? BTW, should I go to a late style (YTZ) batt. next time?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.