BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

Ive been maintaining the battery in my 2004 r1150ra with a deltran battery render junior, using it to charge the battery when the bike's been sitting for a while (winter). The info on the Jr. is conflicting, some say it doesn't work with the gel battery in the '04 1150r, others say it's not optimal but okay to use it. Yesterday, after charging the battery with the Jr. overnight and getting a green light.......bike would not crank.....no power. I got a buddy to give me shove and started it by popping the clutch in second.....ran about 65 miles and turned it off figuring it had to be charged......wrong.....after lunch, battery lacked juice sufficient to crank........so, in the middle of downtown frederick, found a hilly street, buddy and I puched bike to the top, he stalled traffic and gave me a shove and she fired up.

Two questions. Did the Deltran Battery Tender Junior fry my battery. Again its whatever battery comes with the 2004 r1150r........bmw does say you need their special charger which looks to me like a more expensive deltran charger. I've had the Jr. for a while and it says it works with gel batteries.

second......can I safely jump start the bike, with the fried battery, and not risk zapping the electrical system, abs computer...etc......once she's started bike runs like a panzer rolling into warsaw......but all the complex electrical stuff makes me worry about grounding...etc......I understand you have to take the fuel tank off the bike to change the battery.....this idea intimidates me.....as I am a hopelessly incompetent wrench........I'd rather pay the dealer tariff, if I can get the bike there.......

d......note I have one outlet on the left hand side and wonder if I could safely use a cigar plug jumper cable, if I can find one.......(I have the cigar plug adapter for the beemer outlet). I also see wunderlich has a BMW battery jumper which has alligator clips on one end and what appears to be a BMW plug on the other. There are also double cigar lighter end cables available......but these say you "charge the battery" for a time.

Problem is, with the defunct battery which won't hold a charge, am I jumping the starter, e.g. making it crank with the juice from the donor battery, or am I simply trying to"charge" my unchargeable battery with the "jumper" cable.....

This certainly shows how ignorant one can be......the cables I've mentioned seem skinny and their descriptive literature says you plug them in for a while and wait till the receiving battery is "charged." This doesn't sound like what I mean by "jump starting," and my battery doesn't want to recharge.

any advice would be appreciated by this electrical ignoramous.

badger

Badger, I once emailed the folks at Deltran regarding a similar issue. They replied within an hour. Also, their web site has a FAQ page that might answer your question.

Badger, The 04 has a jump start lug, under a rubber cover left of the "cigar" plug outlet, on the starter case. Just pull the rubber cover off it, then look for a simular lug under the TB on the left cylinder. Those lugs are there just for jump starting, at least that was what the dealer told me when I bought my 04R. That should be the easiest and safest way to jump start your R.
Don

Badger

Bite the bullett and buy a new battery. The tank is not that difficult to take off. First time it took me 45 min. Can do it now in 10 or less. Be careful when disconnecting the fuel lines. The disconnects can be problematic if not handled with care. Make sure you line them up evenly before snapping them back together. Wouldn't hurt to grease the o-rings with a little silicone grease (just a little) when putting them back together.

Not sure of an accurate answer about hazards of continually jumping or push starting the bike with a bad battery. I personally wouldn't do it. Besides that---it looks kinda sad pushing a BMW! That's the stuff you expect out of the "other guys".

I bought an Odessy sealed battery from an earlier post. Buy them new on ebay for under $70 delivered to your door. To me seemed like the way to go.

Good luck!

Wayne
03r

You shouldnt hurt anything by push starting your bike. The battery is just not strong enought to turn over the motor once started the charging system will run the bike.

If you want to recharge your battery put it on a charger not a tender......a tender just keeps the battery topped off so to speak. It just keeps the voltage up. With a charger you should be able to bring the amperage of the battery back.....if you can not then it is time for a new battery.

As far as Odyessey goes I would steer as far away from them as possible........on my "other guys" bike I went through four of them and got one ride out of each. I thought I had all kinds of electrical problems turned out I just had a poo battery. Put a differnet battery in and havent had a problem yet.


Scott