I'm having issues with my 954 starting without being absolutely fully charged via a battery tender.

A number of months ago I watched a YouTube video about a fellow who enlarged the battery area to accommodate a higher Amp Hour/ CCA battery but I can't find it now.

I was under the impression he stated a later version of the CBR had an enlarged molded plastic compartment to allow a larger battery.

Has anyone else had this issue? I tried searching CBR954RR Battery Replacement and maybe I just missed it.

Brand new plugs have been installed. Started this morning fine, charging system on the bike is functioning, but later on this afternoon before the battery tender had it fully charged it would not start. Ended up jumper starting with my car and it started right up.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

 

It does sound like you need a new battery and / or your charging system is faulty, just because it appears fully charged does not mean it is holding a charge properly.
You should not need a larger battery as there are many thousands of bikes working ok with the existing battery capacity.
Do you have a local garage that can do a load test for you, many will do this free of charge.

 

Sounds like a bad battery to me as well.

 

Thank you for your thoughts. They have led me to provide some additional information.

If I start the bike and drive it. Upon stopping and shutting off the bike it will start right back up. I previously ran some tests whereas I checked to see if it started 1. As soon as I shut it off. 2. 15 minutes later it started. 3. 30 minutes later it started. 4. 45 minutes later it started but after that it would not start.
Since it starts right up after I ride it for 15 - 30 minutes I'm thinking the charging system is working correctly but I can confirm that by running tests. I believe the charging system was tested previously and met specs but I can re-test.

I'm beginning to think there may be some type of high current drain on the bike when it is turned off. I'm going to run some tests today. One will be to check the power drain without the key turned on. (Page 16-6 of the service manual) The specification is 0.2ma max. If this is a fairly large drain it could account for the problem.

The other thought I had is that the starter is failing and, while working, is drawing way too much current. A high current draw from the battery could pull down the voltage, possibly to a lever where the ignition system fails to function.

The battery is fairly new. It is 12v, 8.6amp/hr and 250 CCA.

Anyway, thank you for taking the time to pass along your thoughts.

 

What's the voltage before, during, and after cranking each time?

I still think the battery is toast.

 

Thank you for your comment about the battery.
Yesterday I ran some tests. First the battery drainage test. It turned out to be 1.27 ma vs. 0.2 ma. I verified it was due to the instrument cluster/ clock by pulling the fuse upon which it dropped to zero. While out of spec, 1.27 ma is very small compared to the battery capacity.
Next I checked the charge voltage that I suspected was okay based upon previous testing. With test probes at the battery terminals at idle the voltage was 14.51 v and at 5,000 rpm it was 14.59 indicating the voltage regulator seems to be fine as well as the charging system.
Without the key on I had a voltage of 13.08 v and with the key on it dropped about 0.5 volts.
Ran a series of tests measuring the before and after voltages at 1. Soon as I stopped the engine. 2. 5 minute restart. 3. 15 minute restart. 4. 30 minute restart and at 45 minutes it did not start. The voltages continued to drop after each attempt.
As a result, yes, the battery was very suspect even though it's not that old.
Took it to O'Reilly's, Autozone and Napa to compare their test results. All indicated a bad battery.
Since the lead acid batteries' voltages drop as they discharge I did some research on Lithium-Ion batteries and learned the voltage is constant to a point even though their charge reserve drops.
I've decided to purchase a Li-Ion battery.
Really appreciate the help by people in this forum.

 

Good luck with the swap, let us know how it went.

 

Okay Al, will do. The swap should happen sometime late next week.