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Like most motorcycle mechanics, I do an awful lot of battery work. Now that it's "wake up your bike" season for the northern half of the United States, I thought I'd suggest four quick safety tips that might prove useful to you if you're a DIYer bypassing the shop and getting after things yourself.
Tighten your connections
Especially for those of you on Wisconsin tractors, snug up those terminal fasteners every now and again. I recently worked on a battery (see the photo below) that was so badly damaged that it spurred me to write this article.
Route your battery maintainer wires correctly
Each year I see hastily run or reconnected float charger leads that have bent ring terminals, wicked corrosion and cracking, and most often, poorly chosen routing paths, often posing a fire risk. This includes the harness' endpoint: Don't let it flop or get in the way of a moving swingarm or chain. Use a cable tie and secure that thing. And replace them from time to time; a little corrosion or stress cracking can cost you a few bucks for a new lead or you can let it go and it'll cost you a lot of bucks for a new motorcycle and garage.
Negative off first and on last
This is always the order so you don't accidentally short the positive post against the chassis. (Except on positive-ground machines. If you don't know what you have, and your motorcycle is not very old and very British, you probably have a "normal" negative ground setup.)
Especially in the tight confines under a seat or a side cover, it’s reeeeeal easy to touch a wrench to the chassis even if you're trying not to. Ask me why one of my cheap-o 9/16-inch wrenches has a big pockmark in it.
Watch the saddle
Especially if you have a high-quality aftermarket saddle with a steel pan, be sure the battery is strapped down. I've seen both stacked leads from tons of add-on junk and unsecured batteries jump up and short out. Don't tap the battery directly for power, especially because it clutters the tight area under the seat and often reduces the amount of space between the battery and the saddle itself. I've seen this so bad that installation of the seat itself shorted the battery!
So what's a rider to do to put a phone charger or toasty heated gloves into play? If you need to create additional circuits, plan them and put them in a place that makes sense. Use a fuse block and run it to a convenient area where you've got a little space to work.
And if you’ve switched to a different size of battery, don't let the new one float around in its cavity. Track rats, I am looking at those of you who might have opted for a lighter and smaller lithium ion battery. Add some foam spacers to keep things snugly in their place.
Be safe this spring. Enjoy warm weather, not warming licks of flame coming from your motorbike.
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