How to drain gas tank without making a mess? | Page 3 | GTAMotorcycle.com

How to drain gas tank without making a mess?

My plan this week is to bypass and connect bike to car battery as suggested (as opposed to just buying a battery and wasting money.)

If that still doesn't work......might go the professional route; I'm in over my head when it comes to anything beyond oil changes and basic adjustments. Doesn't help that the 05 RSV1000R doesn't have a Haynes manual (there is a service manual, but it leaves out tons of details) so I'm waddling blind. And the bike is nowhere near stock.
 

Might not seem like it, but you are making progress. Relax is right on top of things +1.
I would follow @Relax suggestion's. The shop will charge large. and be slow around this time of year.
One step at a time - its sounds like you have a battery charger. Take out the battery and charge it. Bring it in for a load test. At 12.8 volts off the charger - Your battery is weak at that voltage (off the charger volts). A good reading off the charger would be 13.-13.2V minimum (as other posters have stated). Yes, your battery could be done with 12.8V off the charger.

With a load test you will know for certain the battery's condition, and if you should replace it. Done.
Now.... go to step 2. Best luck. perseverence pays

edit- if it turns out the battery needs replacing...please study the + and - when swapping out any battery. crossing it wrong is really really bad- and is a not so uncommon newbie mistake.
 
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12.8 volt from a battery at rest is fine, good even.
2.2v per cell is the theoretical max that you can get out of a lead acid battery. A brand new, freshly minted, fully charged battery.... that starts to degrade the moment you put acid in it.
12.8/6 cells (we know all 6 cells are working, the max we can get from 5 cells would be 10.1v) means each cell is producing 2.13333333v . If the battery is healthy, all is well.
To see if the battery is healthy we need a load test.
Seeing how the biggest load this battery is ever gonna see is the starter, let's use that.
Fully charge the battery, charging rate no more than 10% of the output (it's marked on the battery) overnight.
Let is rest a while, 1/2 an hour. Voltage should be 12.7 or greater.
Put the battery in the bike, hook up cables (usually at this point I would measure voltage from the pos battery term to engine block, and engine block to positive side of the solenoid. both should be battery voltage).
Voltage should remain the same, till you turn the bike on, then it should drop a VERY small amount, less than a tenth of a volt (maybe more if the headlight comes on).
Hit the starter and watch the voltage. It should remain above 80% or 9.6v for 10 seconds. Any less and the battery is toast.

... another thing that will make the solenoid bounce like that is a bad ground at the starter. Put a booster cable between a good connection on the starter body to the neg battery.
 
12.8 volt from a battery at rest is fine, good even.
2.2v per cell is the theoretical max that you can get out of a lead acid battery. A brand new, freshly minted, fully charged battery.... that starts to degrade the moment you put acid in it.
12.8/6 cells (we know all 6 cells are working, the max we can get from 5 cells would be 10.1v) means each cell is producing 2.13333333v . If the battery is healthy, all is well.
To see if the battery is healthy we need a load test.
Seeing how the biggest load this battery is ever gonna see is the starter, let's use that.
Fully charge the battery, charging rate no more than 10% of the output (it's marked on the battery) overnight.
Let is rest a while, 1/2 an hour. Voltage should be 12.7 or greater.
Put the battery in the bike, hook up cables (usually at this point I would measure voltage from the pos battery term to engine block, and engine block to positive side of the solenoid. both should be battery voltage).
Voltage should remain the same, till you turn the bike on, then it should drop a VERY small amount, less than a tenth of a volt (maybe more if the headlight comes on).
Hit the starter and watch the voltage. It should remain above 80% or 9.6v for 10 seconds. Any less and the battery is toast.

... another thing that will make the solenoid bounce like that is a bad ground at the starter. Put a booster cable between a good connection on the starter body to the neg battery.

well, I have to disagree on 12.8V RIGHT OFF THE CHARGER as a good reading. I will call it an unreliable indicator of battery condition due to the fact that this 12.8 reading came immediately after coming off a charger. Leave the battery for an hour or more, and you will find the the voltage will be less than 12.8V - and 12.8 is already a borderline good voltage for a battery at rest. Only my opinon. Get a load test done, costs nothing.

Right off the charger is not an accurate rest voltage.

I do like your 9.6 volt or greater starter cranking voltage - and it is a more accurate determination of the batteries condition.
 
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Thanks for the info and support guys. Will report back after this weekend.

I'm simply gonna use a car battery to start the bike lol, if it works I'll get a new battery.

What I'm a little confused about is why this RSV is chewing through batteries (2 within 3 years) whereas my 08 GSXR went through 1 within 6 years (last 2 years were track only, so I rode it two times a month) and I only took it out during winter to charge so it can't be from a "lack of riding" comparison.
 
Thanks for the info and support guys. Will report back after this weekend.

I'm simply gonna use a car battery to start the bike lol, if it works I'll get a new battery.

What I'm a little confused about is why this RSV is chewing through batteries (2 within 3 years) whereas my 08 GSXR went through 1 within 6 years (last 2 years were track only, so I rode it two times a month) and I only took it out during winter to charge so it can't be from a "lack of riding" comparison.

Taking your battery in for a load test will tell you if your battery is still good or not. Its free. It hasn't been determined if your battery is good or not.
Your battery's rest voltage hasn't been accurately determined. I understand you don't want to buy a battery if its not needed. Step one, check and determine if you need a new battery or not. If you do, buy it. Car battery is fine for testing - You will need heavy gauge wire to hook it to your bike- or booster cables. booster cables are large and awkward in the small confines of a bike - be careful not to short out to ground. Very careful. If you need a new battery why not do it first? Easier and safer than mucking about with booster cables or what not -
I would keep it simple and determine first if I needed a new battery or not....

Bitzz and others have also mentioned checking and cleaning your grounds to frame and engine. +1. It could simply be that.
 
@boyoboy

Stupid question: what do you mean by grounds to frame and engine? Do you mean the literal wire from the + terminal on the battery to where ever it goes? And how do I clean it? Just tag a clean cloth and remove whatever residue I find? (I'm assuming water is a bad idea)

Also, I should have mentioned earlier....

My bike is stored at my parents for winter. My dad apparently found out I didn't charge the battery, so he ripped the "Do not remove" part of the battery and put distilled water in lol; when he found the battery it was at 2.3v though. I'm gonna need a new battery after learning this; I was wondering how it was holding a charge despite me neglecting everything from August until now.

What's important to me right now is....can this thing actually start? The last time I rode it was in August 2018, and it died mid corner on a hwy ramp when I got on the power. So this is a continuation of that.
 
... another thing that will make the solenoid bounce like that is a bad ground at the starter. Put a booster cable between a good connection on the starter body to the neg battery.

The last time I rode it was in August 2018, and it died mid corner on a hwy ramp when I got on the power...

These are quite possibly related.

Maybe it's time to take the bike to a mechanic? Frekeyguy?
 
Drop it off at my house, I'll fix it up and ride it a bunch over the next few months and then give it back to you in good running order and ready for October winter storage.
 
@boyoboy

Stupid question: what do you mean by grounds to frame and engine? Do you mean the literal wire from the + terminal on the battery to where ever it goes? And how do I clean it? Just tag a clean cloth and remove whatever residue I find? (I'm assuming water is a bad idea)

Also, I should have mentioned earlier....

My bike is stored at my parents for winter. My dad apparently found out I didn't charge the battery, so he ripped the "Do not remove" part of the battery and put distilled water in lol; when he found the battery it was at 2.3v though. I'm gonna need a new battery after learning this; I was wondering how it was holding a charge despite me neglecting everything from August until now.

What's important to me right now is....can this thing actually start? The last time I rode it was in August 2018, and it died mid corner on a hwy ramp when I got on the power. So this is a continuation of that.
 
the (+) terminal (usually red) is the positive.
the (-) terminal (usually green) is the ground.

the battery (-) terminal (ground) is attached to to the frame and engine by wire or cable. Different components, such as the starter, ignition coils, and more use the engine or frame as their ground to complete the circuit. If the grounding wires/cables are rusty/ corroded the circuit will have a high resistance that will hinder or even stop the electrical circuits flow of electricity. So we clean them up with sandpaper/wirebrush etc. - make the connections clean and tight.
 
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Agree @fltsc, the bike dying during a ride may be related to a bad ground. would fit well.
reply/quote - got them messed up folks...
 
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Taking your battery in for a load test will tell you if your battery is still good or not. Its free. It hasn't been determined if your battery is good or not.
Your battery's rest voltage hasn't been accurately determined. I understand you don't want to buy a battery if its not needed. Step one, check and determine if you need a new battery or not. If you do, buy it. Car battery is fine for testing - You will need heavy gauge wire to hook it to your bike- or booster cables. booster cables are large and awkward in the small confines of a bike - be careful not to short out to ground. Very careful. If you need a new battery why not do it first? Easier and safer than mucking about with booster cables or what not -
I would keep it simple and determine first if I needed a new battery or not....

Bitzz and others have also mentioned checking and cleaning your grounds to frame and engine. +1. It could simply be that.

The biggest problem with taking your battery to get tested is most shops that will do it for free don't actually know how to test it properly.
 
@boyoboy
What's important to me right now is....can this thing actually start? The last time I rode it was in August 2018, and it died mid corner on a hwy ramp when I got on the power. So this is a continuation of that.

So it's never been able to start since that time it stalled?
 

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