[Stefan F800GT]

Hi everyone,
Happy to join this great community!
I bought my bike in late 2021.
I live in Montreal, Canada and winters get very cold, like -25 degrees, and on occasion colder.

I was recommended to always keep my battery charged, unplugged from the bike and to start my bike once a month during the winter.

I asked a friend a favor when I left a few weeks on vacation so that he could come and start the mortorcycle.
He did just that, replugged the battery to the bike, restarted it for 20 mins and then unplugged as before. All seemed fine.

When I came back from vacation, I wanted to do the same and replugged everything, with battery at 100%, but when I plugged it all together, I noticed there is no power.
I read a few blogs wondering if there was a fuse box and it seems it doesnt have any.

Could anyone let me know if I missed something?

Thanks for the help!

 

[MGD109]

Welcome to the Forum

Just to clarify.

You are removing the battery from the bike to charge it. Then replacing the battery to start the bike?

Are any of the dash lights on when ignition is switched on and it's only the starter motor that is failing to turn or is it completely dead no dash lights/side lights when ignition on?

 

[FrankV]

I don't see why you should start the bike every month. Starting the engine without getting it really on operating temperature (30 min. ride or more), is not very good for the engine......
Just keep the battery charged at 100% ('intelligent' charger is recommended). And you do not need to unplug it from the bike, just leave it where it is, unless the bike is stored in a place where it gets (far) below zero.....

BTW, I think the battery is gone, have it checked.

 

[Stefan F800GT]

Welcome to the Forum

Just to clarify.

You are removing the battery from the bike to charge it. Then replacing the battery to start the bike?

Are any of the dash lights on when ignition is switched on and it's only the starter motor that is failing to turn or is it completely dead no dash lights/side lights when ignition on?

Thanks for the question.
I was recommended to remove the battery in the winter and use an intelligent charger. The reason is to not impact electrical system during the charge.
The battery is new, its simply to maintain it.

There are no lights in the dash. There seems to be no connection? Can there have been a short circuit?

 

[Stefan F800GT]

I don't see why you should start the bike every month. Starting the engine without getting it really on operating temperature (30 min. ride or more), is not very good for the engine......
Just keep the battery charged at 100% ('intelligent' charger is recommended). And you do not need to unplug it from the bike, just leave it where it is, unless the bike is stored in a place where it gets (far) below zero.....

BTW, I think the battery is gone, have it checked.

Thanks for the follow-up.

I was recommended to remove the battery in the winter and use an intelligent charger.
The reason mentioned was to not impact the electrical system during the charge.
The battery is new from August 2022. Its simply to maintain it.

I have been reading that there is no fuse box, so wondering
There are no lights in the dash. There seems to be no connection? Can there have been a short circuit?

 

[ccramerusc]

I'm with the others. Starting the bike monthly is useless and unless it is actually run at operating temps for a while, condinsation will build up and not cook off. That will lead to water in your oil. Better to leave it dormant for a few months.

As for the battery... If leaving the bike outside in Montreal in winter, I would also remove the battery and bring it inside. I would put a charger on it for a day or two every few weeks. That will keep it healthy.

You can also keep a charger on it outside in the cold without harming the electoral system. This would waste a lot more electricity. You either need a direct to battery connection (which I recommend) with any smart trickle charger, or a much more expensive compatible charger that plugs into the port on the side of the bike.

As far as your current situation, if you have no lights on your dash when you turn the key on, then you likely have one of 2 problems. Either it's not connected properly, or your battery is dead. What's the resting voltage of you battery and what temperature is it?

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[Stefan F800GT]

Hi everyone,
Happy to join this great community!
I bought my bike in late 2021.
I live in Montreal, Canada and winters get very cold, like -25 degrees, and on occasion colder.

I was recommended to always keep my battery charged, unplugged from the bike and to start my bike once a month during the winter.

I asked a friend a favor when I left a few weeks on vacation so that he could come and start the mortorcycle.
He did just that, replugged the battery to the bike, restarted it for 20 mins and then unplugged as before. All seemed fine.

When I came back from vacation, I wanted to do the same and replugged everything, with battery at 100%, but when I plugged it all together, I noticed there is no power.
I read a few blogs wondering if there was a fuse box and it seems it doesnt have any.

Could anyone let me know if I missed something?

Thanks for the help!

I'm with the others. Starting the bike monthly is useless and unless it is actually run at operating temps for a while, condinsation will build up and not cook off. That will lead to water in your oil. Better to leave it dormant for a few months.

As for the battery... If leaving the bike outside in Montreal in winter, I would also remove the battery and bring it inside. I would put a charger on it for a day or two every few weeks. That will keep it healthy.

You can also keep a charger on it outside in the cold without harming the electoral system. This would waste a lot more electricity. You either need a direct to battery connection (which I recommend) with any smart trickle charger, or a much more expensive compatible charger that plugs into the port on the side of the bike.

As far as your current situation, if you have no lights on your dash when you turn the key on, then you likely have one of 2 problems. Either it's not connected properly, or your battery is dead. What's the resting voltage of you battery and what temperature is it?

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

Thanks for the additional information.
I use the NOCO Genius 10 to recharge / repair my battery. Its a green light there and the battery is new since August.
As far as replugging the wires, there are basically 3, which is quite simple. I rewired the same as when I took them off and used a wrap to make sure not to mix the wires.
Unless I missed something so onvious, I am still puzzled.

 

[MGD109]

I was recommended to remove the battery in the winter and use an intelligent charger.
The reason mentioned was to not impact the electrical system during the charge.

Possible damage to the bikes electrical system by an intelligent charger trying to recover a failed battery and pulsing a higher than normal charge voltage has been discussed on the forum. Most forum members (myself included) charge with a lead directly attached to the battery and have not had a reported case of damaging the bikes electrical system. If it is still of concern BMW offer an intelligent charger that can be plugged into the accessory socket, Optimate 4 (IIRC) can also be used the same way.

I have been reading that there is no fuse box, so wondering
There are no lights in the dash. There seems to be no connection? Can there have been a short circuit?

You are correct there is no fuse box.

I understand that if the battery was connected in reverse (unlikely I know) it will sound the horn alerting the owner and hopefully getting them to disconnect immediately.

If you had short circuited the battery the big sparks would have alerted you.

First thing I would do is simple voltage check at the battery terminals with ignition off. I know it's just come off the charger but eliminate the obvious and cheap first, don't obsess if it's 12.3 or 12.5 volts if it's over 12 the dash lights should come on with the ignition. Still with ignition off if the battery has healthy voltage at the terminals I'd trace the live wire from the battery to where it meets the starter relay and check voltage between there and earth, should be the same as at the terminal if it's lower it would point to poor connection between battery terminals and the cables to earth/starter relay.

After that it gets a lot more complicated.

 

[therex2002]

Hello, I’m from northern Minnesota (also gets cold) got my 2007 ST in February 2021. I was excited to play around with it and tried starting it in March 2021. No dash lights or power but could hear the fuel pump kick on very briefly. After using the knowledge on this site and doing a bunch of troubleshooting found that below freezing that’s just what it does. Gets above freezing starts perfectly every time. This may be your issue too if I untreated garage.

 

[sparkyCGFL]

Just curious… Have you tried using a jump starter directly to your battery? If that cranked your bike up, you can certainly eliminate the starter as the problem.
FWIW, my 2007 F800s began eating batteries on a regular basis when my dash instrument cluster started to go bad and then went completely bad.
I changed from the stock battery after seven years to the SHORAI lithium iron battery. After the instrument cluster started to go bad, it would drain and eventually kill the battery when I was out of town for a few months. I normally ride several times a week. I got rid of the instrument cluster completely and bought the Shorai smart charger. I have had no problems since.

Stay safe