Hello Cornish, welcome to the club.
Does the bike have an alarm fitted?
Kevin
West Miss branch
This is in response to the following:
[i][size=150]Hello from a returning member & charging advice needed[/size]
by Cornish » Mon Nov 19, 2012 3:40 pm
Well, hello everyone, i’ve finally managed to get another Ducati, a stunning 1098s which is a dream to ride and own!
I previously had a 749s which I loved, yet as my 1st bike, really wasn’t the ideal one to start with!
So having rejoined the club and getting my head back into Ducati ownership one thing that has come up is one of the niggily issues I had with my previous one…battery power when left alone for a week!!!
I don’t have power in my garage and having come back after being away for a week I have tried to start it and it doesn’t “catch” and fire up into life! I have charged the battery after getting it out from behind the numerous fairing bolts and even managed to jump it from a spare Honda battery I have. I’ve set up a trickle charger on the roof and connected through to an Optimate lead today so hope that’ll sort the problem.
Is this going to be a recurring issue for me as I would’ve thought the “newer” bikes wouldn’t suffer from this issue?
Also, where is the local meet for members based in Surrey (Walton-On-Thames) area please?
Anyway it’s not going to put me off owning the best bike in the world (IMHO)!!!
Yup its got a Datatool 4 alarm on it, yet when I was using the bike every week before going away it was fine, I know they do take a draw etc. yet wouldn’t expect it to drain in just a week of non-use, or does it?
Could do, if the battery isn’t in the best shape?
I’ve never had an alarm fitted to a bike, so I’m not speaking for experience, but they are a bit wheasy even when the battery is fully charged.
My 2010 Multi sounds like it’s not going to go if it’s left for a week or more.
Me thinks this is one for the technical area then…
I’m thinking of adding a couple of “jump leads” to the battery terminals so IF needs be I can use a booster to jump it as it’s not a weekend toy for me, I want to ride daily when I can!
I have split the technical part of this topic from the “introduce Yourself” forum
Hi
My ST4s, which does not have an alarm fitted, has a brand new battery but if left for much more than a week tends to be a little reluctant to start.
I find this a particular problem on the newer Ducatis but it is sort of understandable as they are big high compression engines that need a lot of power to turn over so if the battery is not perfect it does not want to play.
My older bikes tend to last 2 or 3 weeks without an issue and will still start. I did have a 1995 900SS that had a datatool alarm and it would last about 10 days before the battery was unable to start the bike. I tried disconnecting the alarm and it definitely made the battery last longer.
My solution is that on every bike I have wired in a permanent optimate connector and I have a number of optimate chargers that I can switch around as needed especially through the winter months when few of them get ridden.
The idea of wiring up “jump leads” is interesting but needs to be done carefully - make sure the correct size wire is used and ensure they are very carefully secured as if they chaff and the insulation is damaged there is a big fire risk.
I do have a optimate lead attached, yet the challenge is no power at the garage itself, so I can’t actually use a mains powered charger. I was thinking about having a “booster box” charged and run it off that and recharge that weekly to cover myself. Yet ultimately I’m hoping the solar panel trickle charger set up I’ve now down will sort the problem as it’s connected via the optimate lead so all sorted there, i’ll report back tomorrow as I will try starting it tonight.
You advice re the “jump lead idea” is a solid one, I’m conscious of not cocking it up of course, so I was going to have them prepared at a workshop using a spare starter motor set bought from Ducati themselves. Getting them connected at the battery end and then having them “capped” at the other end to ensure they’re water/tamper proof is top priority for sure!!! I’ll let you know how this progresses as an idea if the solar trickle solution does work.
I used a solar panel to keep a car battery topped up when I was away for several weeks and it seemed to do the job so hopefully it will work for your bike.
My ST2 has always been stubborn starting even after checking all the connections, upgrading to better wires cleaning connections, keeping optimate on etc. Eventually have given up on the Yuasa battery and fitted a MOTOBATT sealed BATTERY REPLACES CB16AL-A2 Item Number MB16AU DUC Motobatt Type.
One heck of a differance. ST2 has done 84K miles and this is the best its ever started
Well clearly the rainy weather isn’t helping yet the solar panel trickle charger hasn’t worked as when i went out at 0600 to start it, nothing and it was dead again, so I’ve bitten the bullet and taken Cheshire Cats advice and bought a new Mottobatt one which says it has 20% more starting power, so i’ll update you all next week when I’m back and see what the difference is. Fingers crossed it will sort the problem and all will be well again!
Thanks for the advice guys, the forum as always has the answers
The only issue with the motoblatt battery is the small bracket that holds battery in place doesn’t so I was going to make a bracket but heavy duty Zip ties work just as well. These bateries are all over ebay but best buy was form mad for bikes.
Thanks Cheshire Cat, i’ve actually bought it from Busters for £45 delivered, so I will be able to fit it when back on Tuesday evening.
Interesting the fitting is not exact, hmm, one would’ve hoped it would be an identical replacement.
I’m desperate to get it sorted as it’s not a trophy bike for me and it not firing up does put a damper down on things, in fact the misses found out and said “hold on wasn’t the reason you got rid of the last Ducati you had…,” so I’ve got to get it sorted!
I had a chat with MD Racing and talked about the connecting jump leads idea I had and they’ve got a solution used for race bikes, installing a booster cable connection, then click in the booster box and Bob’s your uncle. So I may look at that if the new more powerful battery doesn’t work!
I guess that another approach could be to fit an isolater switch which would stop anything draining the battery. This would remove the need for a booster battery.
My experience is that Hi’ comp’ big twin motors kill batteries, despite the factory changing starter motor to crank ratio from the 999’s onwards it’s still going to put a strain on the battery…
I’ve no experience with the Motoblatt ones, but several years ago a club member recommended to me the Hawker Odyssey 545 which he’d used for some time/years on his 851/888SP2 or SP3, so I bought one on his say so…
7+ years later it started to let me down, despite being used all year around/for 10’s of thousands of miles in my tuned Hi’ comp’ (around 12-1) ratio 851/916cc motor.
I chose the PC545 because of it’s lack of weight, but a lot of “BIG” engined Ducati owners choose the PC680 that from all accounts is totally bullet proof.
I’ve just picked up today (I had it shipped in from the States) a Ballistic EVO2-LiFe PO Battery $$$'s very expensive, but it weighs 2.2 lbs/1Kg and has 410 CCA’s “Mega” starting power for any size battery let alone one this small/lightweight… It’s almost stunning but things have moved on soooo much in the last few years.
I’ve fitted the MottoBatt and it’s a revelation compared to the original battery, I didn’t start the bike for two weeks (been away with work) and it started 1st cycle on the starter, result!!!
Thanks for the advice guys, maybe next year I may treat myself to a Ballistic EVO2-LiFe PO Battery, you never know.
Reading all the correspondance on this topic, I agree with what Cheshire Cat and Steve R. state.Be carefull with any booster cables and a big battery to start your bike.The surge in current will and can buckle your plates in the battery ( Lead -acid ) type. I know because it’s happened to me in past years,having over 20 years experience of the niggles with starting 851’s and 916 derivatives. They are high compression motors and do take a heck of alot of current to start,especially a stone cold motor. From my personal experience, I have optimate leads on my bikes and charge them up once every couple of weeks when not in regular use. your 1098 has alot smaller battery than a 916,more modern technology etc,etc , but the facts are still the same. Best option is to rip out the alarm system,they cause nothing but trouble,and nobody takes any notice of them anyway.Hope this helps.
I’ll let you know how this progresses as an idea if the solar trickle solution does work.
