Fury Won't Start In Cold

[Twitch]

So, I will try to include all relevant information here.

I bought a 2010 Fury brand new off the showroom floor in May of this year, 2012. When I bought the motorcycle, I was assured that I would have no problems starting it in the cold. Throughout the last few months, some strange stuff has been happening that I kind of ignored, and I know I shouldn't have. Every so often, my trip / clock would reset. Along with this, if I didn't let the engine light dissapear and immediately tried starting my bike, it would bog down and I would lose all lights / odo, and my trip would reset again. I would then have to shut it off for 10 seconds, flip the switch again, wait for the light to go away, and then hit the starter. The bike would then whir over lazily a few times, and then finally start.

Well, a few nights ago, it finally got down below 20 degrees, and I went to leave work, let the engine light go away, and went to start it. It turned over once, and died. Tried it three more times before it would stop turning over completely, and the starter would just click.

I took the battery into my local Honda dealership. They charged it, tested it and said it was fine, and said that I should not expect to be able to start it in these temps, and that even daily riding is not enough to keep the battery charged. I ride my motorcycle EVERY day, at least 10 miles each day on the highway.

What I don't understand, is I came from a Honda Shadow 750, which was carborated. It started all the way until -10 just fine if it had a good battery in it.

So, Honda refuses to troubleshoot it because it's 'normal'. Is being unable to start in temps under 20 degrees farenheit normal for this bike? Is there anything I can do to get it to perform better and actually work? I spent $10,000 on this beauty so it would be my daily driver / main means of transportation. It is entirely useless to me if it cannot perform in Missouri winters, lol.

[Steveo]

That seems strange that they would tell you that. I've had trouble starting my bike when it's hot, but never when it's cold.

[2Dirty]

Did you ever put a test meter at the charge port to see how many amps your battery is putting out when cold? Maybe something like a 12-cell ballistic battery would be better. I heard a rumor Honda batteries last only a year. I've only had many for a few months & garage kept, so I don't really know.


Sent from my iPhone using Motorcycle.com Free App

[intruder]

Hi I think this is caused by the dealer by not charging the battery often enough when it was on the showroom floor,these batteries comes ready charged with the bike. This is a symptom of a battery that can maintain volt bot can not sustain prolonged ampere draw.Best bet is a new battery,if OEM or another AGM battery is your choise be sure NOT to tricle charge because it will kill these glass mat batteries.They need charge over 1 amp. but not more than 5 amps.

Frank

[Wildman]

What if you took your smartphone and take a recorded video of what your bike does when starting it in the cold and take it to a reputable Honda dealer.

Its under warranty so the dealer should troubleshoot it and bill Honda for the service.

[StPeteAPB]

It's your battery. Replace it.

I took my battery into the dealer and they told me it was fine, too.
When I took it back later, a second time, they broke out a more substantial tester that acts just like the starter putting a load on the battery. Lo and behold, the battery was bad ... shocker (no pun intended).

There are a lot of battery threads on this Forum, btw. Check out what others have said, too.

I got a new Tru-Gel battery and I also have a Battery Minder. The combination of the two should ensure I have this battery for a longer time than my first TWO! I replaced the dealer-supplied one at the one-year mark and the replacement from Batteries Plus the next year. I'm hoping this Tru Gel does the trick; one battery per year is ridiculous.

[macxpert]

All the BS that comes from dealers could fill a book. The battery is at least 2 years old and has sat around since the bike was made uncharged. The surprise is it holds a charge at all.

Take your bike to an autoelectrician and get them to call the dealer, true the battery is not covered under the warranty but the dealer should have put a new one in before it was sold to you.

[Twitch]

Well at this point it sounds like a battery replacement is certainly in order and I doubt the dealership will replace it on warranty, so I need to shop for a good replacement. I have been looking at batteries and the only one that everyone seems to recommend is the ballistic 12 cell lithium ion one. Will this suit my needs or is there a cheaper battery that will work just as well?

[Clueless]

Originally Posted by macxpert

All the BS that comes from dealers could fill a book. The battery is at least 2 years old and has sat around since the bike was made uncharged. The surprise is it holds a charge at all.

Originally Posted by Twitch

Well at this point it sounds like a battery replacement is certainly in order and I doubt the dealership will replace it on warranty, so I need to shop for a good replacement. I have been looking at batteries and the only one that everyone seems to recommend is the ballistic 12 cell lithium ion one. Will this suit my needs or is there a cheaper battery that will work just as well?

The warranty on the battery started the day the bike was sold, so it is still under warranty, oh nevermind I work at a dealership, so what I say is probably BS.

[Twitch]

Originally Posted by Clueless

The warranty on the battery started the day the bike was sold, so it is still under warranty, oh nevermind I work at a dealership, so what I say is probably BS.

I would love to have them replace it on warranty, but the problem is getting them to admit it is a bad battery or that something is wrong in the first place. :-(