One day one photo - 15: Motorbike problem rectified with a rectifier

Regulator rectifier - the solution to my Monkey woes 

This little component is called a regulator rectifier. Before today I had no idea what it was, but I think it may be the answer to the issues I have been having with my motorcycle - thanks to the people at FWR Motorcycles in Kennington, South London. I had been phoning around different outlets to see if they had in stock a good quality battery for my Honda Monkey - according to many it should have been the Yuasa YTZ5S. The guy took the time to get more details about the problems I'd been having and said that they would certainly be able to supply the battery, but they would make sure to check the bike over to see if there wasn't any underlying problem. It's true that a tracker drains the battery on a vehicle, but it doesn't drain it that much. Also if I kept on changing battery, it is hard to say that I keep being supplied with dud batteries. 

So I arranged to take the bike in to be looked at. Unsurprisingly, I was late arriving at the workshop because the bike wouldn't start - despite having been plugged into the trickle charger that morning. The only thing I could think to do was to start the bike while the trickle charger was plugged in! It gave a very tentative start, but at least the engine was running enough for me to be able to ride the Monkey the 7 miles to get to FWR. After checking the bike, within minutes they managed to pinpoint the problem. The Regulator rectifier was faulty. I don't know much about the mechanics of a bike, but this little device serves to stop the battery from being overcharged while the engine is running. Normally the voltage would be between 13 and 14 volts, and the regulator rectifier serves to keep it within those parameters. 

But if the rectifier goes the voltage goes up and up and just burns out the battery. So you end up with a weakened, even dead battery. Apparently, when the engine of the Monkey was running the voltage was going to 16V. That would explain why the battery was just getting flatter and flatter every time I was using it. 

I think that if I had gone to some other mechanics they would have just changed the battery, sent me on my way, and I would still be having Monkey issues that would just be so disruptive to my everyday schedule. So I really appreciate the guys at FWR identifying the underlying problem. Hopefully, life with my Monkey will be back to normal from now on.

One day one photo - 14: AA motorcycle breakdown service to the rescue....again!

Technically this would be a post from yesterday, but it was the early hours of this morning by the time the AA motorcycle breakdown guy was able to help me out and get my motorcycle started. 

I really don't know what's going on with it. I rode it to band practice, after having left it on a trickle charger for most of the day.

In the two hours from when I parked it up, attended band practice and returned to it to restart it the battery had gone flat. I couldn't get the machine started. 

There I was, at around 10.30 at night at a loss to know what to do as other band members were getting in their cars to go home. I felt rather embarrassed to tell them of my predicament, especially as I didn't want to burden them with my situation. What could they have done? I don't know if they would have had jump leads for the bike. Some of them were older folks so where would they find the strength to roll the bike and jump start it? 

So I just casually said goodbye as though nothing was amiss, while quickly googling how to bump start a motorcycle. The car park was on a slight gradient so I thought it could work.

After the church car park had emptied I then began to wheel the bike and get it into position. A couple of local youths who saw me with the bike commented on how nice it was. They asked if it was broken down and did I need any help. But I just told them I was waiting for a friend. You just never know who you're talking to at that time of night.

Sadly my efforts to bump start the bike were a bit feeble so I had to give up and call the AA. Thankfully he was able to find me as I had hidden myself and my Honda Monkey around the corner in a cul-de-sac. 

On starting the bike, the first thing he said was "you need a new battery". That's interesting, I replied, "this one is barely a month old!"

He suggested that the battery was not a very good quality, and the fact that it had had to be jump started a few times will have weakened it.

Given the time of night and the fact that if I stalled the bike while riding it home I wouldn't be able to restart the bike, the AA man decided to follow behind in his truck for the short journey home by way of being on standby. Jolly kind of him.

I really must say I'm at a loss as to what to do. I have changed the battery already, I have changed the tracker (which it was thought was draining the battery too much), and I constantly have the motorcycle charged up when not in use now. It's frustrating to not know how to fix the problem, and I find starting the motorcycle quite stressful knowing that even within two hours of leaving it parked the battery will have gone flat. 

I was too tired to think exactly what to do next when I got home at almost 1 o'clock in the morning. I was just glad to have had the possibility of being rescued late at night. 

One day one photo - 1: Optimate trickle charger - my new best friend

Through September I usually like to post one photo from my day and giving a snapshot of the life of 2wheel chick at this time of year. Some of the things are fun, some are banal and irritating, and some moments are lovely and heartwarming.

Here goes with today's photo:

Trickle charger to the rescue of my motorbike battery

You may or may not know, dear reader, that I got into motorcycling last year. I now have an A1 motorbike licence, so ride a Honda Monkey 125cc - a minimoto, which is actually quite cute. When I bought the bike, just over a year ago it was fitted with a Datatool tracking device - a useful add-on in case the Honda Monkey is stolen.

However, I have been having quite a few problems since I changed the battery. I am not sure if it's the new battery, which may not be as good as the previous one, or if it's the tracking device. Three times I have had to call the breakdown service to start the bike as a result of the battery going flat. Initially, the battery was replaced as the mechanic thought it was a dud. But it seems that the Datatool may be the problem. Yesterday the battery went flat after five days of not riding the motorbike. After riding the Monkey around for two hours the voltage was back to 13.8. But then today the bike failed to start. The battery had gone flat after barely 24 hours! Annoyingly I only discovered this when I was starting the bike so that I could go to my fencing class. So that ended up being jettisoned. The tracking company helpline, Scorpion was closed for the day, so weren't able to do anything until they reopen on Monday. So in the meantime I am using the trickle charger while waiting for Scorpion to sort out the problem. I will have to use it regularly now. In fact the guy from the breakdown service says that he has the trickle charger permanently plugged into the bike whenever the bike isn't in use. Thank goodness for Optimate. While it's good to have this safety net of the trickle charger it seems strange that I should have to use it when the bike won't be left more than a couple of days unridden. I will still see what other solutions Scorpion can provide, as well as getting a better battery.