CBR 125 Battery Trouble

TheDonUK · World Chat Champion Joined: 20 Feb 2006 Karma :

A mate of mine has just got into biking, did his CBT, got his first bike, an 04 or 06 CBR125.

Being new hes stalling quite often, so hes using the electric start alot and generally not riding that much, the other day he found his battery to be dead...

My question is it usuall for a little bike like that to loose its battery charge from lets guess at 10-20 starts a day, or could it be the charging system?

His bike is new enough that it, annoyingly, has no manual light switch so when you turn the key on the lights come on, which i imagine is not helping a weak battery...

On monday ill take him back to the dealer get them to run a multimeter/voltmeter and see if its anything obvious.

Oh and the bike bump starts fine so its not machanical, from what he tells me it sounds like a flat battery, the problem is hes not confidant enough now to go for a long ride to charge it, because if he stalls at the lights or something hes fucked, and blocking traffic...

Do CBR125's have any common electrical reg/rec issues?

Any advice is appreciated and will be passed on to him.

Cheers.
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[Current Bikes - GSXR-750 K5 & C90-97 ] [Previous Bikes: Runner 125, YBR 125, GS500, Bandit 600, Hornet 600, ZX6R-99, C90-99, R1-99, XT600E-04, GSXR-750 K4, CRF250L '16]

Gaz-t1esto · Borekit Bruiser Joined: 24 Apr 2008 Karma :

As a cbr 125 06plate owner myself, I can totally understand his problems. My Battery is forever dying and not recharging, And I am more or less running for 20 meters and giving it the good old bump start once or twice a week. I dont think the battery on them is very good. I am currently having issues with condensation in my tank and carb problems. Cbr 125 doesnt appear to be all that reliable. I dont fancy wasting my money on a new battery to do the same and im happy running down my street for now to get it going but it might be worth his while checking his battery power before enquiring about a replacement.

Get him to leave it running in the garden for half an hour one day if he doesnt fancy going out a long ride. have him rev it a good few times too to heat engine up before he sets off on rides. I have found that once im going, if i rev it a few times and ride for a few minutes, if i cut out bike, it starts fine with elec start fine for a few days....best of luck buddy.

G

stirlinggaz · World Chat Champion Joined: 22 Jul 2007 Karma :

hi,
using the electric start up to 20 times a day WILL flatten the battery, as the electric start requires a fair bit of juice to work..
to re-charge the battery it has be revved over 5000rpm, therefore letting it idle will NOT charge it up., just foul plug.
the rectifier/regulators are not particularly prone to failure on these bikes, but being a honda, who knows?
get the multi-meter out & test it at idle & then test it at 5 or 6000rpm with the lights on.
or just take the battery off the bike, charge it up properly & then test it. (may just need a new battery, there only about £25)
if its just short runs, its probably not getting a full charge,& any electrical add-ons like alarm,heated grips will be draining the battery further.
& get an optimate or similar.
cbr is actually a pretty reliable bike, hence why its such a good seller, especially if maintaned properly.
cheers,
GAZ

TheDonUK · World Chat Champion Joined: 20 Feb 2006 Karma :

Thanks for the advice,

Im going to take my cheap unopened Lidl battery charger to his tomorow, how long does a battery take to charge, as i understand mine doesent turn off when full?
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[Current Bikes - GSXR-750 K5 & C90-97 ] [Previous Bikes: Runner 125, YBR 125, GS500, Bandit 600, Hornet 600, ZX6R-99, C90-99, R1-99, XT600E-04, GSXR-750 K4, CRF250L '16]