[YTWTX]

my 2007 tdub is good on oil changes and maintenance and it has been the perfect commute bike. the last 3 days we have had 32 degree waether and it seems like my battery is too cold to kick over the engine. I tried push starting it, but I haven't got that down quite right. bike is kept outside and covered. do I need a battery tender? what about oil viscosity? I run 20w50 for winter per yamaha tech here in town. I need my ride back. please help

 

[RodneyReed]

my 2007 tdub is good on oil changes and maintenance and it has been the perfect commute bike. the last 3 days we have had 32 degree waether and it seems like my battery is too cold to kick over the engine. I tried push starting it, but I haven't got that down quite right. bike is kept outside and covered. do I need a battery tender? what about oil viscosity? I run 20w50 for winter per yamaha tech here in town. I need my ride back. please help

Definitely switch to 10w40 on the oil, maybe lighter than that if it's stays that cold all the time. Keeping the bike indoors would be the best, but if that's not an option see if you can put the bike behind a fence or something to keep it out of the wind as much as possible during storage. Battery tender would help, you could set it up with a quick disconnect that you can access without removing the seat. Then plug it in when you're not riding.

 

[wvbobsmith]

I have found that the bike turns over easier when it is in neutral vs. the clutch pulled in. I'm certain someone can explain this, from a mechanic's point of view, better than I can. I beleive that stiff(cold) oil contributes in the clutch as well as in the crankcase.



BS

 

[PalmStateCrawler]

You can get a battery tender jr on amazon.com for $20

 

[jbfla]

... bike is kept outside and covered. do I need a battery tender? what about oil viscosity? I run 20w50 for winter ....

10W40 oil and a fully charged battery is essential in cold weather.



Keep a battery tender connected when not riding. Lots of chargers available. I've had good luck with Deltran's 800ma Waterproof Battery Tender:



http://www.ebay.com/itm/Deltran-New...692?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27c110af54



But any automatic, low amperage tender is better than none.



jb

 

[Bagger]

my 2007 tdub is good on oil changes and maintenance and it has been the perfect commute bike. the last 3 days we have had 32 degree waether and it seems like my battery is too cold to kick over the engine. I tried push starting it, but I haven't got that down quite right. bike is kept outside and covered. do I need a battery tender? what about oil viscosity? I run 20w50 for winter per yamaha tech here in town. I need my ride back. please help

Y, I have battery tenders on everything I own with a battery. Good stuff.

20/50 is pretty think stuff for winter, 10/40 would be better.

Anything you can do to help the bike stay warm. Even as simple as cuddling up to a wall that's a heat boundry, is wind blocked etc.

If you have access to power for the battery tender, you can get yourself a stick on heater like thisclick

if you choose to use this type of heater, a windblock is a good idea.

I have this set up and it works very well. I park the bike on the screened in front porch, plug it in and have few problems.

Good Luck.



Bag

 

[Rainman]

Hey Bagger, your link doesn't work...well, it kind of works, but I don't think thats what you were going for.

 

[bcscammell]

I have found that the bike turns over easier when it is in neutral vs. the clutch pulled in. I'm certain someone can explain this, from a mechanic's point of view, better than I can. I beleive that stiff(cold) oil contributes in the clutch as well as in the crankcase.



BS

It was explained to me that as the clutch plates excert pressure on each other over a period of time the oil is squeezed out of the discs and a sort of suction is formed. Even though the clutch is pulled in the clutch plates are still sort of glued together. When the clutch is pulled in and the starter is engaged the clutch is not releasing, trying to turn over the gears in the transmission and adding extra drag. When the transmission is placed into gear for the first time it sometimes has enough drag to stall the engine. If you want to see if this is happening next time you start the bike, try this.Put the bike in gear, pull in the clutch and hit the starter. It will feel like the bike wants to slightly jump ahead and then breaks free and then cranks normally.

 

[bcscammell]

my 2007 tdub is good on oil changes and maintenance and it has been the perfect commute bike. the last 3 days we have had 32 degree waether and it seems like my battery is too cold to kick over the engine. I tried push starting it, but I haven't got that down quite right. bike is kept outside and covered. do I need a battery tender? what about oil viscosity? I run 20w50 for winter per yamaha tech here in town. I need my ride back. please help

Like everyone is saying , use a thinner oil when temperatures drop below zero( celsius). An example, my pickup truck would not start with 10w40 oil at 40 degrees below, when the only change was going to 10w30 oil the truck started reliably all winter long. Oil viscosity really does make a difference.

 

[Dark Sol]

It was explained to me that as the clutch plates excert pressure on each other over a period of time the oil is squeezed out of the discs and a sort of suction is formed. Even though the clutch is pulled in the clutch plates are still sort of glued together. When the clutch is pulled in and the starter is engaged the clutch is not releasing, trying to turn over the gears in the transmission and adding extra drag. When the transmission is placed into gear for the first time it sometimes has enough drag to stall the engine.

My 2009 ninja 500 did this every cold start, nearly stall and many times did stall. yet my Rebel 250, Nighthawk 250, TW200, and CB919 have never done it once regardless of temp - winter or summer. I guess we know who makes sucky bikes!

 

[bcscammell]

My 2009 ninja 500 did this every cold start, nearly stall and many times did stall. yet my Rebel 250, Nighthawk 250, TW200, and CB919 have never done it once regardless of temp - winter or summer. I guess we know who makes sucky bikes!

I had a 1992 Yamaha TDM 850 that would stall almost every time it was placed into gear when cold. The Yamaha mechanic said it was normal with bikes that had strong clutch springs as they caused the oil to squeeze out and cause the suction in the plates. It made sense and never caused problems. My 2011 TW 200 does the same thing.

 

[PalmStateCrawler]

$20 battery tender- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CITK8S?ie=UTF8&force-full-site=1

 

[qwerty]

20W oil is definately a problem. 10W would be better.



http://www.walmart.com/ip/Schumacher-SpeedCharge-Battery-Maintainer-and-Charger/13005742 works well and comes with a remote plug.



2007 = 4-year old battery. Might be time for a replacement. Tdub has a Chinese AGM and it works well, starts right up hot or cold.

 

[srs713]

Yes, lighter oil in the winter,



And check your battery fluid levels.



One or more cells could be low and the battery seems ok, but will work much better with the right levels.

 

[cdsdave]

I ride until the snow gets too deep but if I let the dub sit too many days without starting it then I have to jump it off my car battery since it cranks so hard in the cold weather. My stock battery now has 4 seasons on it and I hope to get one more season out of it. Seems like 5 years on these little batteries is about all they will go, especially in the colder climates.

 

[phelonius]

2007 bike, is it still on the original battery? If so you should be happy that it made it this far.

You could move to Hawaii or get a new battery, your choice.

 

[Shellmoney]

BikeMaster TRUGEL BATTERY BM MG7C-A for $59 on Amazon dot com.



Probably worth $59 to not have to jump the bike.

 

[Stromper]

Lastly battery power drops a lot when cold. The available cranking amps are way down.



If we have electronics then many just plumb go to sleep when the voltage is below 9V, you get no spark not weak spark.



Oil companies i don't know but you can see vastly different viscosities in 10 wts at like 30 degrees

 

[skeetsoffroad]

I am a firm believer in battery tenders, no better product. As for oil, I run 0w40 in winter in mine. It works well and always starts. I keep it in a unheated garage. Its a good idea to maybe change to the next hotter plug, and maybe see when your valves were adjusted last.