4thGenVFR750F Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 Hello All, I just bought my first motorcycle and I am having an issue. It's a 1995 Honda VFR750F. I have been riding it for about a week no more then 30 minutes at a time around town. I just took it out to some country roads and the highway for little over an hour. I stopped to pick up a pack of smokes before I went home. I got on tried starting it and the lights dimmed and the starter barely turned. So I had to push start it to get it going. What could this possibly be? Also, the battery is about 1 ½ old. The previous owner bought new and rode the bike once then it sat for a year. So I don't believe it be bad already. Thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Grum Posted July 18, 2017 Member Contributer Share Posted July 18, 2017 Sorry to hear of your issues. From what you are saying it appears you have a dead battery. Having a new lead/acid battery sit for over a year doing nothing will more than likely destroy it. When you get your new battery make sure you confirm it is being charged correctly on the bike. If you plan on long periods without use then invest in a good Battery Charger and Maintainer. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4thGenVFR750F Posted July 18, 2017 Author Share Posted July 18, 2017 4 minutes ago, Grum said: Sorry to hear of your issues. From what you are saying it appears you have a dead battery. Having a new a battery sit for over a year doing nothing will Kill it. When you get your new battery make sure you confirm it is being charged correctly on the bike. If you plan on long periods without use then invest in a good Battery Charger and Maintainer. Cheers. Thank you very much for your thoughts I will try that and check the charging system. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer mk2davis Posted July 18, 2017 Member Contributer Share Posted July 18, 2017 Make sure you charge your battery before you check your recharging system. It seems that maybe your stator or RR is shorting out when it gets warm. Simply buying a new battery can mask the initial issue. Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted July 18, 2017 Member Contributer Share Posted July 18, 2017 My 2cents is a dead battery. If you can, have it load tested at a garage. Follow and inspect the wiring and connectors: From the altenator on the LHS a cable runs through the V to the RHS. There you will see a male/female plug for the 3 yellow wires. It then runs towards the RHS tail piece (yes you have to remove it in one go as per the workshop manual tgat is in the Downloads section) where it plugs into the voltage regulator (it turns AC into DC). That plug must be fully in, donot ask how I know :-) ) From that same plug, red and black wire run towards the starter relais which sits between the front of the battery and rear of fuel tank. It is a red/green plastic thingie. Once you have confirmed through load testing or a new battery, wr can test the AC output of the altenator, assuming you have (access to) a multimeter. Red NACA's are the best! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer auggius Posted July 18, 2017 Member Contributer Share Posted July 18, 2017 Yeah it's probably the battery. Try jump starting it from a car battery (car engine not running) and if it starts it's the battery. If not, then time to do more troubleshooting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrelman Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 be sure to separate the plug from the starter relay and check for melting, discoloration, burning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4thGenVFR750F Posted July 19, 2017 Author Share Posted July 19, 2017 17 hours ago, mk2davis said: Make sure you charge your battery before you check your recharging system. It seems that maybe your stator or RR is shorting out when it gets warm. Simply buying a new battery can mask the initial issue. Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk Thanks for the advice mk2davis. By the way what is RR? I'm a newbie sorry. Don't quite know all the acronyms. However since it's now my daily rider I had to push start it this morning to get to work. Funny thing happened though after I got off work. I was getting ready to push start it but tried the electric start first and it fired right up. Then when I got home I turned it off and back on again with no problems. WTF! I don't believe it's the stator since it was just replaced by previous owner by a shop with paperwork to prove it. Is it possible they forgot to connect some important wiring? Either way I will see if it will start tomorrow fingers crossed. Thanks in advance for your guy's help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4thGenVFR750F Posted July 19, 2017 Author Share Posted July 19, 2017 Thanks to all of you for your advice. I will do all that was suggested until I find the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Grum Posted July 19, 2017 Member Contributer Share Posted July 19, 2017 3 hours ago, 4thGenVFR750F said: Thanks for the advice mk2davis. By the way what is RR? I'm a newbie sorry. Don't quite know all the acronyms. However since it's now my daily rider I had to push start it this morning to get to work. Funny thing happened though after I got off work. I was getting ready to push start it but tried the electric start first and it fired right up. Then when I got home I turned it off and back on again with no problems. WTF! I don't believe it's the stator since it was just replaced by previous owner by a shop with paperwork to prove it. Is it possible they forgot to connect some important wiring? Either way I will see if it will start tomorrow fingers crossed. Thanks in advance for your guy's help. The RR is the Rectifier Regulator Unit. Converts your 3 phase AC from the alternator to DC and regulates the charge supply to battery and electrical services. Are your battery connections clean and tight? as well as earth connections? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspanglish Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 If you have a new stator and can test your battery to make sure it's ok or simply replace the battery then you can check to see with a multimeter or a voltmeter how much charge is getting to the battery if the system is only providing 13 volts or less at the battery terminals with the bike idling then either your new stator or your regulator / rectifier is broken. Same thing if the readings at the battery terminals with the bike running at 5000 RPM with the high beams on are seeing more than 15.5 vaults or even more than 15 volts it means your regulator is not regulating and the extra voltage is cooking your battery. If the former case is true and the voltage seen at the battery terminals while the bike is idling is too low for example below 13 volts or even below 14 volts it is possible that the regulator is ok but that your new stator is broken or some connectors or wires have suffered overheating and are creating resistance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcrwt644 Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 A multi meter is your friend in this situation. Like it was mentioned, test the charging system through the battery terminals. You can first test the battery to ensure you have enough voltage initially. Should be above 12 volts. The reason your electric start worked that one day after sitting is the battery probably recouped enough juice to fire. Also, I don't know what your riding history is, but you may look into replacing those tires. They look to be Shinkos, and altho I'm sure some out there would say they're ok, I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them. Dunlop, Pirelli, or Michellin would be my choice. Pricey? Yes, Worth my life? You better believe it. I prefer the Dunlop Q3s, but I ride fairly hard and prefer the feel of the Dunlops. Not hijacking, just saying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slovcan Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 3 hours ago, mcrwt644 said: A multi meter is your friend in this situation. Like it was mentioned, test the charging system through the battery terminals. You can first test the battery to ensure you have enough voltage initially. Should be above 12 volts. The reason your electric start worked that one day after sitting is the battery probably recouped enough juice to fire. Also, I don't know what your riding history is, but you may look into replacing those tires. They look to be Shinkos, and altho I'm sure some out there would say they're ok, I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them. Dunlop, Pirelli, or Michellin would be my choice. Pricey? Yes, Worth my life? You better believe it. I prefer the Dunlop Q3s, but I ride fairly hard and prefer the feel of the Dunlops. Not hijacking, just saying. Good advice for the charging system. Yup, I say Shinko's are OK. I've used them before. I have Michelin 2CT's on my VFR and Pilot Road 3's on my Trophy. I already have a set of Shinko 009 Ravens like on 4thGenVFR750F's bike waiting for when the Pilots wear out on the Trophy. Yokohama tires were always great tires. That's what Shinkos were - Yokohama. The Koreans can make great tires. They bought out the Yokohama motorcycle tire business lock, stock, barrel, molds and recipes years ago. Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4thGenVFR750F Posted July 22, 2017 Author Share Posted July 22, 2017 So I have been riding my VFR to work for the past week and the problem seems to have gone. I was thinking that maybe it was because I had been keeping the RPM below 4500. I had only been riding harleys most my life. That's why such a low rpm. Hahaha. I think I didn't have enough rpm to charge the battery. Does that sound possible? Since Tuesday I have been shifting at about 7000-8000rpm and cruising at about 5500. So I think that was the issue. Any thoughts on that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer airwalk Posted July 22, 2017 Member Contributer Share Posted July 22, 2017 Only needs about 2000 for adequate ac output, you may have other sorta "intermittent" issues. They can be rr &/ or wiring ( often connectors)... heat is a factor, hence the on again off again charging performance mount a voltmeter where its easily visible if you want a heads up on the systems ongoing output if you're curious & patient the electrical section here is almost required & invaluable reading Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4thGenVFR750F Posted July 22, 2017 Author Share Posted July 22, 2017 16 minutes ago, airwalk said: Only needs about 2000 for adequate ac output, you may have other sorta "intermittent" issues. They can be rr &/ or wiring ( often connectors)... heat is a factor, hence the on again off again charging performance mount a voltmeter where its easily visible if you want a heads up on the systems ongoing output if you're curious & patient the electrical section here is almost required & invaluable reading Thanks for your help. I do think it has something to do with heat. It was about 101 degrees in Central California today. We have had about 15 straight days over 100 and we topped out 110. I can't wait until winter! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer trjerm Posted July 24, 2017 Member Contributer Share Posted July 24, 2017 By the way, nice looking 95, what did you have to give for it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4thGenVFR750F Posted July 26, 2017 Author Share Posted July 26, 2017 On 7/23/2017 at 10:22 PM, trjerm said: By the way, nice looking 95, what did you have to give for it? I traded a Springfield M1A scout Squad rifle. They run about $1800 new. The bike was laid down on the right side at about 25 mph. So I am think about getting fairing from airtech and getting them painted with factory paint. They run about $160 bucks!! The best part is that the bike only has 20700 miles on it!!! So I tested the stator and it's fine the battery is good. I ran a diode test on the rectifier and for a negative result so I ordered a new one and if my troubleshooting was correct I should be good to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcrwt644 Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 I have a good right upper and a manageable mid if you are interested. Pm me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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