Got off work yesterday and got on my Hurricane to ride home. Turned the key on, Choke all the way on, Pushed the start button. NOTHING! Well the Head light turned off. I push started it. Rode it home and plugged her into the Battery Charger.
Got home today and the Charger is flashing at me. BAD BATTERY! Off to the shop to get a new one tomorrow. Hope that is that easy to fix.

 

Sounds like it might be a bad cell Indy? Was the battery a wet cell type?

Did you check the battery cables weren't corroded - or indeed done up tight?

Hope that it only the battery - don't want to be missing any riding time!

Cheers, SB

 

If you can wait a couple days and have some extra $$, take this opportunity to get yourself a Lithium battery! Last year I ordered a Shorai Battery-LFX14L5-BS12 and I absolutely love it. With the RR stick coil mod, bike now turns over twice and starts IMMEDIATELY every time I ride, even after sitting around for a couple weeks. Sat through last winter without maintenance and was ready to go this spring. Save you some weight, too!

Aaron

 

^^^

Good tip with the Lithium idea, remember lithium batteries are best charged
with lithium specific chargers when out of the bike.

So Indy , ........ see what happens with such a long break in riding

Check your R/R voltage output when the new battery goes in as sometimes
if a bad battery has been in there quite sometime it can take the R/R out
in the process & inversely sometimes a battery dropping a cell or boiling
off electrolyte is indicative of a bad R/R

 

+1 Aaron

I did the same thing. Because its not lead/acid, you can even let it discharge without the fear of it freezing. I put one in 2 of the bikes last year. They gotta be 1-2 lbs lighter (maybe 5 lbs with my Stratoliner and more than 1/2 the size). Shorai gives you a pile of foam pieces to make up for the smaller battery. Shorai also have the port on the battery to balance the cells if they get out of whack to prolong the life where others don't.

+1 NEVER use a battery charger or tender that desulfates with them. You can use a regular charger and remove it when charged.

I believe a true Lithium Ion charger will take the battery all the way down and back up to balance the cells better. I can't remember off hand but I think instead of 6-2v cells they have 3-4v cells that can drift down over a long period of time, or if they get discharged often.

They come fully charged and you drop them in the bike and be done with them.

 

I put a Shorai in my 1000RR and it starts way faster now. The Shorai doesn't like really cold weather, so if you do a lot of riding in the winter it might be something to think about.

Also, if you have an alarm system and you store the bike for months during the winter you might pull the battery. I didn't do that at first and after 2 months my Shorai was drained. It was so low it would not even attempt to charge with a Battery Tender Jr., which the Shorai website says is safe to use on it. They replaced it for free under warranty. I also bought one of their dedicated battery chargers so that it will never happen again.

Here's a comparison of my OEM battery to the Shorai:

OEM battery: 4 lbs, 8 oz
Shorai Battery: 1 lb, 1 oz

 

I still have a lead/acid battery in my DRz400 witch has electronic speed/odometer/trip and stuff. It will drain in 2 months without a tender.
My Stratoliner is OK even with the electronic stuff it has.
MY 1kF sits 8-9 months in winter just fine and fires up in the spring. It doesn't have the electronic stuff running.
I have a solar tender with leads running all over the garage. Two winters ago I had 6 bikes on the wires. Last year just the DR due to getting rid of bikes and going to the Shorai on the others.

You should have seen the difference in size with the Strat, wow! I actually had to put blocks of 2x4" down in the well because I didn't want to use that much foam. I think I even put a piece of 1x4" behind it and then added the foam.

 

Running
All it was, was the battery. Thanks everyone for the tips.

 

Still think you've got one of the best looking MK1's in existence Indy

 

Here is the Battery that I bought.