Battery connetion during long pause

Hi all,

This is my first post, I have seen in the manual that you should disconnect the negative jumper in the battery if you will leave the bike standing still for some time.

In a few weeks I will be out for at least one month, so I was wondering what is the minimum time from when you enter that "long period".

Thanks in advance for the help.

Soarezito said:

Hi all,

This is my first post, I have seen in the manual that you should disconnect the negative jumper in the battery if you will leave the bike standing still for some time.

In a few weeks I will be out for at least one month, so I was wondering what is the minimum time from when you enter that "long period".

Thanks in advance for the help.

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Welcome, Soarezito

For me, it would be 3 weeks/month if I were to leave my bike unridden, and not hooked up to a battery tender/charger.

If I'm not going to be riding for at least 3 weeks or more, I see no reason to leave the battery hooked up and the clock draining the battery.

Now since I put mine on a Battery Tender Jr. during the periods I am not riding it (longer than 2-ish weeks), I don't touch the battery connections.

if it's a one month i would leave it alone,connected and shut off switch(the red one) is on off position(as manual says)

Thanks for the help.

For me, 1 month is ok to leave the bike as it is.
If it was 3 months or more, then I will consider to disconnect battery and even take it out to put it on a Tender Charger.

VE258 said:

if it's a one month i would leave it alone,connected and shut off switch(the red one) is on off position(as manual says)

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I'll admit I haven't read the manual but why would the engine stop switch need to be off assuming the ignition switch is off. There shouldn't be anything going to the engine stop switch without going through the ignition first. Am I missing something here?

VE258 said:

if it's a one month i would leave it alone,connected and shut off switch(the red one) is on off position(as manual says)

Click to expand...

gpd211 said:

I'll admit I haven't read the manual but why would the engine stop switch need to be off assuming the ignition switch is off. There shouldn't be anything going to the engine stop switch without going through the ignition first. Am I missing something here?

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Same question I had. That might make sense on a dirt bike that had a battery system but no ignition key switch. You might want the kill switch off to shut down the ignition module. But on the NC, with the key switch off, I don't think the kill switch would have any effect on battery drain.

Greg

I have left the bike in cold for 4-6 weeks (inside garage) and she starts right away.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

The answer is really quite simple, just Ride! Don't need no battery tender.

Thanks for all the insights on this issue.

Now a really rookie question: what is the purpose off the kill switch? Is it like an emergency stop or it has other usage assuming that the ignition key is off?

If you go down, your engine is still running, gas is going on the ground, you can't reach or turn the ignition key, the kill switch is a good thing. Another one of those experience things?

Its just another way to shut off the bike quickly but whether to use it or not and why is widely debated. The main thing with the kill switch is that it is NOT a replacement for shutting off the ignition switch. Here in the US in the MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) Basic Rider course they teach you to always use it to shut off the bike before shutting off the ignition. Their theory is that you don't have to remove your hands from the grips to do so, ergo it's safer lest you take your hands off the brake or clutch and the bike lurches or rolls forward. Personally I never use it but that's just my preference.

I'd like to add to the kill switch information.

Using the Kill Switch on a DCT model has been known to cause issues. Such as locking the transmission in 1st gear, and battery power alone is not enough to move it to neutral. This makes the engine unable to start. And causes an error code.

After I got done with the MSF course, I never touch the kill switch on all my rides. Use the key, shut it down normally.

Ok thanks for this info.
Personally I never use the kill switch, and allways wonder what was the added value under normal circumstances.

Old Can Ride has a point there, in an abnormal situation when you cannot get to the key there is another option to kill the engine. That safety statement has also some logic behind it I think, and it might be usefull also very rarely.

So to resume, it is there for you to use it exceptionally as a safety feat and not on a every ride basis.

My version is the standart, MT, no abs, and I was surprised with that issue with the dct version that is a major fail from Honda.

OriginalRocket said:

Using the Kill Switch on a DCT model has been known to cause issues. Such as locking the transmission in 1st gear, and battery power alone is not enough to move it to neutral. This makes the engine unable to start. And causes an error code.

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The DCT issue is shutting engine off in gear, kill switch OR key.

I accidentally bumped my kill switch at 70 mph. Spent some time on side of road troubleshooting why it would not start with help from another biker before I noticed kill switch off. Bike still in 6th gear. Key on and off multiple time and rocking bike to go through gears through 1st to neutral to get going. Thankful for full face helmet to cover my red face.

Good point fuzzy, us DCT must remeber to put into neutral before turning engine off. I'll admit, at first, I forgot a few times, luckily I've not had this issue. And now I remember click neutral before power off.