crf250 Rally

[Hugh]

Greetings Gary,

Sorry, as you say I thought that it was a photo of the seat

From that snippet I could not hear anything untoward but perhaps one needs to feel for any vibration at the same time. Could you let the engine idle for longer if you make another video?

TTFN

Hugh.

[garyboy]

OK, Hugh .. I will try to do a longer video tomorrow..
My mechanic says there's nothing wrong with the engine, but it's noisier, and does not rev so freely. Power feels down too, but is it all my imagination? lol.

[Magnusson]

Picked up my Rally from winter storage this morning. Went to a motorcycle show in Utrecht. On the way back the check engine light came on. Killed the engine using the kill switch, checked oil, etc. Bike wouldn't start again until I used the ignition switch to turn it off and on. Rode it to the dealer, it was closed, so I rode it home.
I'll try to read the error code tomorrow, and clear it. Hopefully it has something to do with having the battery disconnected for 4 months and/or old fuel.

[garyboy]

I doubt that a serious engine fault has developed while sat in a garage for 4 months, more likely that there is a bad connection somewhere, most likely to the battery.

I had not used my Rally for nearly a year, and the battery was Not disconnected and the tank had old fuel nearly a year old .. and it started first time. Of course it is FI and so no jets to gum up with the 'evil' E10 ?

Let us know what the code is, tho I'm not aware of the intricacies of this. Remember that you can Google the code.

Perhaps just using the bike a few times, switch off and on a few times, alone may solve itself .. hopefully anyway.

[garyboy]

Probably electrical connection somewhere, I just remembered that Noraly's abs light came on when she was like 8000? metres up in the mountains.. it was only a wet mucky sensor and she had to just carry on anyway, in the icy cold.

Perhaps a clean, and a general spray with wd40, especially at electrical contacts will solve it. Maybe check the battery is charging too, and it's connection good, grease connectors with vaseline? or whatever?

[Magnusson]

Update. I forgot to mention that while the check engine was on, the kill switch on the side stand didn't work.
Yesterday I didn't have time to look at the issue. This morning there was no check engine light, and the engine ran smoothly. So it fixed itself. Battery connections look fine. It did feel a bit sluggish when starting so maybe I'll look at replacement batteries.
Anyone recommend Lithium batteries, brand/type? There is undeniable weight savings, but what about reliability?

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

Lithium batteries advantages:

High power-to-weight (and size) ratio
Will provide maximum cranking power until they go flat
Hold a charge for ages

Disadvantages

High-price-to-power ratio
Need a dedicated charger...a conventional charger will fry them
Need to be 'woken' at low temperatures...leave the ignition and lights on for a few minutes before attempting an engine start at low ambient temperatures to warm the battery up
When they go flat, see above...hero to zero in no time at all.
If they catch fire, there's no putting them out.

[garyboy]

the lithium battery in my Ebike is great ... but for motorbikes I prefer oem type batteries ... wouldnt think the weight saving is much, and I guess, more reliable and safer?? ... but I am old fashioned lol.

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

It's a fairly painless way to shed a couple of KG without upsetting the functionality of the bike or making technical/engineering changes.

[Magnusson]

Lithium batteries advantages:

High power-to-weight (and size) ratio
Will provide maximum cranking power until they go flat
Hold a charge for ages

Disadvantages

High-price-to-power ratio
Need a dedicated charger...a conventional charger will fry them
Need to be 'woken' at low temperatures...leave the ignition and lights on for a few minutes before attempting an engine start at low ambient temperatures to warm the battery up
When they go flat, see above...hero to zero in no time at all.
If they catch fire, there's no putting them out.

I've read about charger type issues. It seems illogical to me. The charging system in the bike is conventional charging system, and has no extra features for Lithium batteries. Why would that not fry the batteries?

I was reading that there are Lithium batteries that have reserve power function. If you leave the lights on, and "drain" the battery, you just press a button on the battery, and it'll give you enough power to start the bike. Of course that requires some extra credits from the wallet.

Apparently most current Lithium batteries are not directly connected to the bikes electric system. Instead there is a two-way DC/DC power converter between them. This makes them more reliable.