[webertiger]

Hey all,

Did a new rider dumb thing a day ago. Had a nice day in South Carolina and took the bike out for a few hours. Was in a rush when I got back home, left the key in, and drained the battery. I haven't had a chance to do anything about it yet but I do have time for a quick note to you guys so I'll have some ready answers when I tackle the problem.

1- Where is the battery? Is it hard to get to?
2- Can a jump it with my car?
3- I haven't gotten one of those battery tenders- do I really need one? Could I hook one up for a while to charge the battery back up?

I guess those are all of my "I don't know what I'm doing" questions. Thanks for any help.

 

[StoneFree]

Hey all,

Did a new rider dumb thing a day ago. Had a nice day in South Carolina and took the bike out for a few hours. Was in a rush when I got back home, left the key in, and drained the battery. I haven't had a chance to do anything about it yet but I do have time for a quick note to you guys so I'll have some ready answers when I tackle the problem.

1- Where is the battery? Is it hard to get to?
2- Can a jump it with my car?
3- I haven't gotten one of those battery tenders- do I really need one? Could I hook one up for a while to charge the battery back up?

I guess those are all of my "I don't know what I'm doing" questions. Thanks for any help.

The battery is buried behind the engine and is extremely hard to get to. If I recall correctly the cover comes off on the right side and that might give you access to the positive post so you can charge the battery but it's been so long since I tore my Street 750 apart I don't recall exactly. Anyway, the battery is located just behind the vertical post where the swing-arm attaches to the frame, just above the swing-arm, and it's underneith all of the electrical components that are under the seat. It is the worst location for any battery on any Harle-Davidson motorcycle when it comes to access.

I would advise against trying to jump start it. I would suggest just finding access to the positive post on the battery (and any good ground) and charge the battery.

Yes, absolutely get a battery tender pigtail that you can plug into whenever you park the motorcycle even if it's just for over night. Even though it will cost an arm and a leg I suggest you have a dealer install the pigtail. Getting to both posts on the battery is not for the weak of heart. It is extremely had to do and virtually all of the electronic components under the seat must be removed to access the battery.

 

[PatLav]

The battery is buried behind the engine and is extremely hard to get to. If I recall correctly the cover comes off on the right side and that might give you access to the positive post so you can charge the battery but it's been so long since I tore my Street 750 apart I don't recall exactly. Anyway, the battery is located just behind the vertical post where the swing-arm attaches to the frame, just above the swing-arm, and it's underneith all of the electrical components that are under the seat. It is the worst location for any battery on any Harle-Davidson motorcycle when it comes to access.

I would advise against trying to jump start it. I would suggest just finding access to the positive post on the battery (and any good ground) and charge the battery.

Yes, absolutely get a battery tender pigtail that you can plug into whenever you park the motorcycle even if it's just for over night. Even though it will cost an arm and a leg I suggest you have a dealer install the pigtail. Getting to both posts on the battery is not for the weak of heart. It is extremely had to do and virtually all of the electronic components under the seat must be removed to access the battery.

I installed one of these: EKLIPES EK1-110B Black Cobra Ultimate Motorcycle USB Charging System. Includes 2,000 ampere EZ jump start battery harness that allows you to jump start your vehicle simply by plugging in from harness to harness with the EKLIPES Universal Bike-2-Bike jump start kit. You can connect a battery tender or jump start cable with this kit. I also now have a 12volt and USB power outlet on my handle bars.

Getting to the battery is a chore. The first step is disconnect the battery ground post on the left side of the bike, so you do not short out stuff in the process. to pull the battery you need to remove the fuse and breaker panel on the right side. You will need a Torx screwdriver bit to do this. I have a shop manual and the entire process is described well.

Jump starting your bike without this is really not an option, you can not get any sort of cable to the battery to do the jump.

 

[StoneFree]

I've gutted the entire battery area and it was a chore. What I highly recommend to anyone purchasing a Street 500/750 is that they include a requirement for the dealer to install the battery tender pigtail as a condition of purchase. Some dealers do this automatically on all new motorcycle sales but others do not. They will install the pigtail for free if a buyer asks for it as a condition of sale.

 

[Obtuse]

Hmmm, my 750 came with the tender pigtail already installed. Bike also came with a battery tender. I wasn't aware it was optional, I thought the charging pigtail was part of the factory wiring.

 

[Obtuse]

When you say you "left the key in", do you mean with the key turned to ACC or just inserted in the bike. I leave the key in my bike all the time (it's in my garage), and it does not drain the battery.

 

[Beauty and the Beast]

Hmmm, my 750 came with the tender pigtail already installed. Bike also came with a battery tender. I wasn't aware it was optional, I thought the charging pigtail was part of the factory wiring.

Mine came with the tender pigtail already installed too which I love because by purchasing two adapters (one USB and one 9V), I am able to have my phone plugged and charging as I ride, or use my heated gear with the 9V adapter when I am riding in the cold). I thought it was standard on these bikes.

 

[webertiger]

Yeah, let the key in AND turned on.

Thanks for all the replies, guys.

 

[StoneFree]

Mine came with the tender pigtail already installed too which I love because by purchasing two adapters (one USB and one 9V), I am able to have my phone plugged and charging as I ride, or use my heated gear with the 9V adapter when I am riding in the cold). I thought it was standard on these bikes.

No, it doesn't come that way but good dealers always install the battery tender pigtail. You had a good dealer.

 

[stude]

I've gutted the entire battery area and it was a chore. What I highly recommend to anyone purchasing a Street 500/750 is that they include a requirement for the dealer to install the battery tender pigtail as a condition of purchase. Some dealers do this automatically on all new motorcycle sales but others do not. They will install the pigtail for free if a buyer asks for it as a condition of sale.

That is some good advice.

 

[Woodtoolgy]

Could the bike not simply be push started? I've left the keys in my Honda Rebel dozens of time, its not big deal but with the summer hours, I don't have the headlight beam reflecting off everything to tell me I've left it turned on...

I simple push it, jump on, and pop 2nd gear...

Could this not be done w/ the Street? or maybe find someone to push it while I operate?

Thanks
Joe

 

[stude]

Could the bike not simply be push started? I've left the keys in my Honda Rebel dozens of time, its not big deal but with the summer hours, I don't have the headlight beam reflecting off everything to tell me I've left it turned on...

I simple push it, jump on, and pop 2nd gear...

Could this not be done w/ the Street? or maybe find someone to push it while I operate?

Thanks
Joe

Being fuel injected, you need power for the fuel pump, ecm, and fuel injection system, in addition to the ignition system. If your battery was low and not totally dead, you maybe could get away with push starting it. With a dead battery, I doubt you could push it enough to bring voltage up to power everything. You would probably have to tow it with something for a good distance.
You can try it though, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

 

[StoneFree]

Being fuel injected, you need power for the fuel pump, ecm, and fuel injection system, in addition to the ignition system. If your battery was low and not totally dead, you maybe could get away with push starting it. With a dead battery, I doubt you could push it enough to bring voltage up to power everything. You would probably have to tow it with something for a good distance.
You can try it though, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

I would never recommend trying to tow start a motorcycle. It can be dangerous.

 

[webertiger]

Update- I'm not super mechanical and I haven't had a ton of free time (we're closing on a new house at the end of the month) but I was able to take the bike apart, attach a pigtail to the battery, charge it up, and we're running again.

Now I need to change the oil- I'm over the 1000 mi mark. I'm just going to do it myself. It's something I've done on my cars many times before.
What will be different/difficult?
What would the HD service department have done that I might not?

Thanks for all the battery help, everyone.

 

[PatLav]

Update- I'm not super mechanical and I haven't had a ton of free time (we're closing on a new house at the end of the month) but I was able to take the bike apart, attach a pigtail to the battery, charge it up, and we're running again.

Now I need to change the oil- I'm over the 1000 mi mark. I'm just going to do it myself. It's something I've done on my cars many times before.
What will be different/difficult?
What would the HD service department have done that I might not?

Thanks for all the battery help, everyone.

Your owners manual has many things to lubricate and check, just go down the list. The trickiest is the belt tension. The shop manual has much more information. Run your engine a bit to warm it up prior to draining the oil, per the manual. Changing the oil requires you to remove the cowl around the radiator to get to the oil filter. The oil filter is small and a normal Harley wrench will not fit.

When you pick up the filter at Harley be sure to get an o-ring for the oil drain. I bought the Harley oil, oil meeting the spec maybe cheaper elsewhere.

 

[StoneFree]

I would also recommend using pure multi-grade synthetic oil matching the Harley oil specifications. Synthetic oil is far superior to conventional oil and is also superior to a blended oil. It does cost more but it really is worth the cost because "oil" is the most important single thing in ensuring the longevity of an engine.