Hi all,
Wondering if there's anything I can do to remedy the problems I'm having starting up my 1990 F-L in this cold weather (below freezing sometimes). My bike's not being used much at the moment as our street is pretty icy. She's outside but under a plastic cover.
The other day I thought I'd start her up a bit to ensure the battery was OK, but after a few minutes of trying, with choke, without choke, the battery started to fade and I had to jump-start from the car - she started immediately.
I have a new Motobatt sealed battery that has been working real well until now. I bought this because my previous new battery - a Chinese one - was useless; it only just started the bike on a full charge - anything less and I needed a jump start. Do I need to hook up my Optimiser to the Motobatt? I thought sealed batteries didn't lose much charge over time.
Thanks.
Here's to warmer weather!

 

G'day. Since it started immediately from the jump start, it must just be the battery. See what the battery manufacturer says trickle charging. The cold really lowers the effective power in a battery and, because bike batteries are so small, they don't have much thermal mass and just get really bloody cold.

Hope it warms up for you soon mate!

 

Sub zero weather take all batteries out of stored machines
and leave somewhere sheltered with a moderate
above zero temp ........they'll like you for that !

What we do here in Maine

 

If all else fails and you cant get a trick charger, just have someone push you or roll down a hill and pop the clutch

 

Hi there mate, I live in Brighton and so I know exactly what you mean about the temperatures!!

I keep my bike in a garage, under a pile of blankets, not heated but it'll be a damn sight warmer than under plastic. She's also hooked up to an optimate the whole time as well and in this weather she's not too keen to start.

If I was you I'd do as Sprock suggested and remove the battery and hook it up to your optimiser until it warms up enough to ride.

 

Sure, you can bump it as long as it starts (still need full choke) and the battery has some juice left. If not, you'll just be at the bottom of a hill. LOL..
And remember not to do it in first gear and keep the revs up if it starts.

And +1 on bringing batteries in during freezing temps, especially with these bikes being as hard to start as they are. You need all the power you can get.

 

Thanks folks and a happy new year to all!

 

No worries and same to you mate!

 

K Trout is right. Even with a fully charged battery, it takes a few tries to get mine to fire up in cold weather. I make sure the choke is ALL the way open. The choke lever is firm, so it's easy to think its all the way open when its not. And that small amount makes a big difference!