Hi,
I guess I know (or think I know) the answer to this before ask it, but thought I'd dive into the wealth of knowledge on the forum to make certain.
I recently replaced the battery on my 2015 R1200GS after 3 years of reasonably faithful service. I don't ride every day (weekends mostly) so it does sit for a couple of weeks at a time between rides. I was using an Optimate charger through the accessory port, but the dance to get the thing to connect was just too painful, so I returned to tails directly attached to the battery.
Had some phantom computer/electronic issues and slow starts, so replaced my original with another BMW original battery. That was expensive but it works.
So, now my wife's bike (same model 2015 GS) had a hard time starting on the weekend, and then when we stopped for gas five minutes down the road, it was dead. Dash would come on, but no sign of kicking the starter over.
So I went for the trusty jumper cables (an old set I've had for years, from back in the day of second hand cars) and a quick removal of the covers, clip on the cables, and the bike was running perfectly.
Long lead in to a short question .......
Why can't I make up a cable that runs between the two connectors on the charging tails from each bike to connect them and jump one of the bikes?
My guess is that the cables are too thin and can't carry the amps required to start a bike, BUT
I see these new battery pack devices which say they can jump start a car, and they have very light weight cables and clips.
So, are the old fashioned bulky jumper cables really necessary, or are they a one size fits all solution that works for bikes with relatively small batteries all the way up to trucks with huge ones?
Meanwhile - I'll be calling the dealer today to see what a new battery will cost and swap it over.
I guess I know (or think I know) the answer to this before ask it, but thought I'd dive into the wealth of knowledge on the forum to make certain.
I recently replaced the battery on my 2015 R1200GS after 3 years of reasonably faithful service. I don't ride every day (weekends mostly) so it does sit for a couple of weeks at a time between rides. I was using an Optimate charger through the accessory port, but the dance to get the thing to connect was just too painful, so I returned to tails directly attached to the battery.
Had some phantom computer/electronic issues and slow starts, so replaced my original with another BMW original battery. That was expensive but it works.
So, now my wife's bike (same model 2015 GS) had a hard time starting on the weekend, and then when we stopped for gas five minutes down the road, it was dead. Dash would come on, but no sign of kicking the starter over.
So I went for the trusty jumper cables (an old set I've had for years, from back in the day of second hand cars) and a quick removal of the covers, clip on the cables, and the bike was running perfectly.
Long lead in to a short question .......
Why can't I make up a cable that runs between the two connectors on the charging tails from each bike to connect them and jump one of the bikes?
My guess is that the cables are too thin and can't carry the amps required to start a bike, BUT
I see these new battery pack devices which say they can jump start a car, and they have very light weight cables and clips.
So, are the old fashioned bulky jumper cables really necessary, or are they a one size fits all solution that works for bikes with relatively small batteries all the way up to trucks with huge ones?
Meanwhile - I'll be calling the dealer today to see what a new battery will cost and swap it over.
