Just picked up a yamaha....what is it?

[OliverB]

Good choice on the oil! Yep, no need to spend the extra dollars.

When you buy a battery, if price is not an object, get an AGM maintenance free type. The AGM batteries will hold a charge on standing for a much longer time and have better construction to withstand vibration and thumping our batteries are put through. NAPA carries a line of AGM batteries and they have a full year warranty unlike many others that only have a 6 month warranty - including the AGM from Walmart and Sears.

If you will be riding the bike a good bit after dark, consider upgrading the lower watt sealed beam headlight to a modern reflector that takes a replaceable H4 bulb - if not already done on yours. I use SilverStar Ultra H4 for a nice bright white light. Our headlight reflectors are a weird size and not readily available. The reflector can be purchased from: http://store.candlepower.com/ca631quheleu.html Since the H4 bulb will put a little more strain on the charging system, replace the tail light bulbs with LED type. Doing this saves about as many amps as you increase by using the H4 bulb. I bought mine from this ebay seller in Hong Kong but he currently does not have any listings: warden_jp2008 ( 2581) LED bulbs are tricky because they don't emit light in the same pattern as filament types. The "off-the-shelf" ones in auto parts stores are not satisfactory in our old design tail light reflector.

 

[ray08pv]

i've got a friend who gets a 10% discount at autozone out at school, so i'll probably get one there, if they carry AGM i'll look for that brand. I'm still debating what i'm going to do with the lighting, i was thinking of going LED with everything but the headlight, and using a hella offroad light sitting around the garage for that. i dont plan on riding at night often, as the bike is going to be my class commuter.

i tried to crank it with the kickstart, no luck, but the kicker feels weird, atleast compared to my dirt bike's. it goes almost 3/4 of the way down before i feel any resistance, like nearly horizontal, whereas my kawi, i've got resistance if i move it maybe an inch from top position. is this just how these bikes are with 4 stroke motors or do i have a bad kicker gear?

 

[drewpy]

AGM is an accronimn for Applied glass mat, its not a brand. just look for the AGM or Gel on the battery

 

[ray08pv]

Came home this weekend to do a little more work on the bike, bought a battery on the way home, and charged it while i worked on removing and cleaning the tank. The fuel filter had popped off the petcock and was just floating around. i drained the tank and scrubbed whatever rust i could by using hot water and steel shot as an abrasive. To make sure i got all the moisture out, i hung several large dessicant bags from a copper wire and suspended them in the tank overnight. Once everything was back together and the battery charged, i gave it a crank and it started right up.

i'm planning on giving it a paintjob over the winter, give the brakes and tires a good once over, and it should be good for the road.

 

[OliverB]

Drewps, thanks. Should have cleared that up. The AGM versions are the more expensive in each battery line. AGM also known as "Acidified (or absorbed) Glass Mat". It still uses liquid acid but the acid is absorbed by a glass mat (like a sponge) and will not spill out. AGM batteries can be safely shipped with acid installed, the liquid acid type cannot. An AGM battery IS NOT the same as a Gel Cell battery - two different types of technologies. AGM batteries discharge on standing at a slower rate than liquid acid batteries - good for cycles/scooters - and usually have a higher cold cranking amp rating.

 

[ivor]

Hi mate, my kickstart is just the same, I don't know if it's wear or not, bl**dy annoying though !
Good luck with your progress

 

[lhaolpa]

You can get a pretty good battery from Bike Bandit at a good price.I got one for my dirt bike,a small 6v,but they had a good price on bigger ones as well.lha