Emergency Jump Starter

[aviationfred]

   I have had 2 occasions since installing the 1297cc Big Bore kit where I was far from home and had the engine stall with a heat soaked motor and then behave immediately as if it had a dead battery. The first time was last July during an Iron Butt Saddle Sore 1000 attempt and then most recently this past Saturday in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Both times the volt meter was indication good voltage of 14.3-14.5 and the oil temp gauge was reading about 200*F. Once the engine stalled, the battery immediately showed around 10 volts with the ignition on and would drop to 4 volts when the starter button was pushed. Randy at RPM had mentioned to me during my engine build that this could happen, specially during the hotter summer months. Both times, I had to rely on the good will of someone with a set of standard jumper cables to get me on my way.

After nearly being stranded, I have purchased a Personal Power Supply/Jump Starter. After I purchased mine on Monday, I was informed that RPM has one very similar for sale in the accessories section. Here is the link http://www.rpmracingca.com/proddetail.asp?prod=Acces%3ALightningUltraSlim

The one I chose is the Antigravity XP-3. To test it personally. I intentionally let the 1200's battery drain down to where there would be one engine revolution and the starter solenoid would start clicking. A good sign that the engine would not start. Right at 11.0 volts on my multimeter. I hooked up the Jump Starter, turned it on and attempted to start the bike. I have never heard an FJ starter turn so fast before while starting the engine. All I can say is WOW, this thing really works. This has the power to jump start up to a 5.7 Liter V8 car or truck all in a size slightly larger than a cell phone.

This will now reside in my saddle bags at all times.

Fred

[moparman70]

they work great for bikes and waverunners --- only thing they are not so good at is diesel p/ups --- but for all else they do the trick.

Bikes I get 2-3 attempts before it pups out -- Cars -- usually good for 1 or 2 depending on battery condition you are jumping

[aviationfred]

I did some further testing using the 1300. This is the bike that I mainly purchased the Jump starter for. With 109cc's larger displacement and 10.5:1 compression ratio. On a hot start it takes a bit more oomph from the starter to get the motor to fire up. I got the bike warmed up with an oil temp at 200*F. I purposely allowed the battery to drain down to 9 volts. I connected the jump starter and hit the starter button.... No start... I pushed and held the BOOST button and pushed the starter button.... Immediately fired up and stayed running.

Normal Cold Cranking amps for this unit is 200. The BOOST feature bumps it up to 400.

Here is a YouTube video that has a good demonstration of a few Jump start packs. The Ballistic brand unit is a spitting image to the Antigravity XP-3 that I have. I would wager a bet that it is the same but with different packaging. Also included in the video is the Jump start unit that can be purchased from RPM.

https://youtu.be/OMUOT2Z0FbM


Fred

[Zwartie]

Great idea Fred! My '92 has a 1314 kit and ever since the top-end was redone 4 years ago it has not liked to start when the engine is heat-soaked as you described. I thought it was a bad battery, starter, grounding, etc. I believe it is just the nature of the beast. I purchased a similar jump-starter / power pack this weekend at Princess Auto. It will also be great for keeping phones/tablets charged up on long trips.


Zwartie

[yamaha fj rider]

I see anther use for this and Fred is the perfect person to test my idea. Flat tires. I carry a small plug kit and co2 infiltrator. Will this power a small compressor? Fred has a small compressor and can test to see if this will fill this rear tire to a place it can be ridden on. Inquiring minds want to know. Fred will you test this for us?

Kurt

[Pat Conlon]

Good question Kurt. I would be surprised if it did....

A question for Randy:
http://www.rpmracingca.com/proddetail.asp?prod=Acces%3ALightningUltraSlim

I see where your Lighting Pak has 12000 mA-h battery, where Fred's has a smaller 8000 mA-h battery, but does the RPM Lighting Pak have the same BOOST feature that Fred talks about?

Thanks Fred....There's a Memorial Day sale coming up at RPM....  Pat

[FJ1100mjk]

I see anther use for this and Fred is the perfect person to test my idea. Flat tires. I carry a small plug kit and co2 infiltrator. Will this power a small compressor? Fred has a small compressor and can test to see if this will fill this rear tire to a place it can be ridden on. Inquiring minds want to know. Fred will you test this for us?

Kurt

If I am reading this correctly, the scenario would be that you have both a dead battery AND a flat tire? Fixing the flat tire first, then jumping the bike? Usually, you're running the compressor off of the bike's battery anyways. Correct?

[aviationfred]

I see anther use for this and Fred is the perfect person to test my idea. Flat tires. I carry a small plug kit and co2 infiltrator. Will this power a small compressor? Fred has a small compressor and can test to see if this will fill this rear tire to a place it can be ridden on. Inquiring minds want to know. Fred will you test this for us?

Kurt

I feel confident that the Jump starter would be able to power my small compressor long enough to air up my 180/55/17 rear tire. The jump starter battery pack may get very hot, and I would be reluctant to even try it as an experiment. Here is what I would do in the event that I was to need to air up a tire while on the road. First is to make repairs to the tire. Once done, connect the compressor to the FJ's battery and air up the tire. The bike does not necessarily need to be running (don't want to heat soak the big bore engine). Once the tire is inflated to an air pressure that is able to be ridden on or even inflated to 35-40 psi, give an attempt to start the bike and verify that you did not drain the battery too where it won't start. If it starts, all is good. If it will not start.... Now is where the mini Jump Start pack comes into play. Use it to jump start the bike and away you go on your ride.

This is the compressor that Kurt mentioned that I have. http://www.aerostich.com/aerostich-mini-compressor.html

An additional use for these little jump start packs that can be related to the Rally season that is now kicking off. Riding all morning in and out of cell phone towers, your phone will be using more battery life. A stop for lunch shows your phone is nearly dead. Bring the jump starter in with you and use it to charge your phone while you eat. Most have 2 USB charging ports, so you can charge someone else's phone or your Sena communicator and still have enough back up power to jump start a bike if needed.


Fred

[yamaha fj rider]

I see anther use for this and Fred is the perfect person to test my idea. Flat tires. I carry a small plug kit and co2 infiltrator. Will this power a small compressor? Fred has a small compressor and can test to see if this will fill this rear tire to a place it can be ridden on. Inquiring minds want to know. Fred will you test this for us?

Kurt

If I am reading this correctly, the scenario would be that you have both a dead battery AND a flat tire? Fixing the flat tire first, then jumping the bike? Usually, you're running the compressor off of the bike's battery anyways. Correct?

I was thinking, if you could run the compressor off of the jump starter. There would be no reason to remove the seat, luggage or things secured to the bike. Like some of the bikes showing up at or leaving the rallies. Think, Beverly Hillbillies. The only thing missing was granny.

Kurt

[yamaha fj rider]

Good question Kurt. I would be surprised if it did....

A question for Randy:
http://www.rpmracingca.com/proddetail.asp?prod=Acces%3ALightningUltraSlim

I see where your Lighting Pak has 12000 mA-h battery, where Fred's has a smaller 8000 mA-h battery, but does the RPM Lighting Pak have the same BOOST feature that Fred talks about?

Thanks Fred....There's a Memorial Day sale coming up at RPM....  Pat

Great idea Pat.

Kurt

[yamaha fj rider]

I just saw one of these on Amazon, that has the compressor built into it.

https://www.amazon.com/JF-EGWO-Compressor-Rechargeable-Portable-Flashlight/dp/B01JOVHR8S/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1494958947&sr=8-12&keywords=battery+booster+with+compressor

Kurt

[racerrad8]

Pat,

     I do not believe it has a "boost" feature however I have used it so far to jump start a 6.0 Liter Ford diesel and then used it to run an electric trailer lift on a 12v deep cycle battery that was completely dead. They have discontinued teh 12000 mA-h pack and the new pack is 6000 mA-h with a lithium cobalt oxide battery. They also have dropped in price from $109.95 To $79.95 and also come with a case, a car & wall charger and a plug that has 3 different kinds of charging adapters to charge phones, cameras, radios, etc., along with the flashlight, and the ability to press the button and have the light bars tell you how much juice is left in the power pack.

LIL LIGHTNING LITHIUM JUMP START PACK ULTRA SLIM They changed the look of it a bit as well it is all black now but I can not seem to get the pictures working properly on the website.

Robert - RPM

[FJ1100mjk]

Like some of the bikes showing up at or leaving the rallies. Think, Beverly Hillbillies. The only thing missing was granny.

Kurt

That would be me. Just call me Jed.

[ribbert]

...... There would be no reason to remove the seat, luggage or things secured to the bike. Like some of the bikes showing up at or leaving the rallies. Think, Beverly Hillbillies. The only thing missing was granny.

Kurt

Yes it happens, and only seems to happens on trips when you're loaded up. I've needed the compressor a few times in recent years. Given the tight schedule of the trip below, I would have missed this years rally if not for having one with me.






At the time, ideas for easier access to power were racing through my head but once back on the road I decided it didn't happen often enough to worry about.

I would highly recommend that anyone on a trip, or at least someone in your riding group, carry a compressor. When you need one, you really need one.

I stopped taking my centrestand on trips (in my luggage) when chain maintenance was no longer required but that proved to be a problem a couple of times with rear tyre issues. I'm going on a 5000km / 7 day trip into remote country next week and need to hedge all the bets. I think I'll take my stand with me, Murphy's Law suggests that will improve my odds of not needing it.

Noel

[Pat Conlon]

Noel, do you need the center stand to dismount the back tire?

If you just need to rotate the back tire to plug a tire puncture (or lube a chain) I use a Snap Jack.
Much easier to carry than the center stand.
http://thesnapjack.com/

I carry CO2 cartridges for tire fill. Need 4 for the back and 3 for the front, so I carry 8.
Years ago I had a bad experience with a compressor running down my battery.