Is there a trick to getting the battery out? I can pull it out partway but then it hits the little fuse box and gets jammed.

All I've done is open the "lid" on the box the battery slides into. Is there something else I need to remove?

 

It should slide out along the same angle that it's sitting at. You might need to jiggle it a little bit.

The battery is heavy as hell.

 

Man, I've been trying for like an hour. As soon as it hits that fuse box there's just no where for it to go. Guess I'll keep trying.

 

There was NO way in hell mine was coming out without popping off the fuse box. Get a small flat head screwdriver. There is a little "clip" on the underside of the fender (The side where all the dirt goes that gets slung up by the rear tire). loosen the clip, and tug on the fuse box. Once it's off, you can then pull the battery out. The battery is still a PITA to get out, even with the fusebox out of the way. You just can't get a good grip on it. If you wanted to, use the end of a coat hanger and put it through the NEGATIVE (!!!) side of the battery and use it to pull it out enough to get a hand on.

 

Got it! Thanks! That was a PITA. It didn't help that it's about 8 degrees out either.

 

Own a ZX12 if you want to know the meaning of what a PITA it is to access/remove a battery (or most anything else on that bike for that matter ) I guess modern bikes like that are a miracle of packaging though...

 

I can get my battery out without moving the fuse box. Here is what I do:

I grab the batterty with my left hand, thumb towards the front of the bike, fingers towards the back. Then I pull up until it hits the fuse box. I then take my right index finger and push down hard on the fuse box (towards the back of the bike). I then pull up on the battery like I'm giving birth my most beautiful and wanted first born child. The batter will come out given this appropriate level of force.

It goes back in much easier.

 

It's hard to give birth to something when you can't feel your fingers

 

a lot of times with superhawks, the battery cannot be removed, much like an inexpensive watch that needs a new battery. The bad news is your bike is junk. the good news is I will buy it for parts. take $1000?

 

you don´t have to press the fender or crawl under the bike.Just look closer on the rear side of the regulator - there´s a small "tongue". If you press this tongue with a screwdriver, the regulatores becomes unlocked from the fender and here you go...it´s a matter of seconds!

 

The worst (that I can think of right now) is the VS1400. When you drop the battery from the bottom you have the kind of pick up the bike a little while you are laying down next to it so that you will have enough clearance to slide it out.

 

With the zx12 (haven't owned it in almost 2 years so I may miss a step) you have to take off the plate around the fuel filler, remove the "tank" (the airbox cover) then remove the frame plate that houses the battery. You may also have to take the seat off too, which I don't think popped off like the superhawk does but bolts on. Everything has a ring of bolts around them, and it's just a real pain. After doing that a couple times I mounted a plug that hung out so whenever I had to charge the battery I could just walk up to the bike and plug it in. I was smart enough to take it off and put it on the superhawk...now I don't even have to take the seat off to throw the charger on. Working on the zx12 was an exercise in patience as everything is packaged so tight. But it's still the most amazing bike I've ever ridden.

 

+1 on the plug idea, I have the plug from my battery minder hooked up all the time for the off season charging.

 

we have deep zero temperatures in winter so I have to remove the battery out and store it in warm conditions (central europe)