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Old May 14th, 2020, 08:10 AM   #1
jacobobb
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Bike Died Mid-Ride

Picked up a used 2011 Ninja 250 last fall. Been riding pretty much all through the winter when it wasn't too cold. Got ~3000 miles over 6 months. Everything was going smoothly, and I've really been enjoying learning to ride on this bike.

About a month and a half ago, I pulled into a gas station 6 miles into a ride, filled up and it wouldn't start. Bump started it and it wouldn't rev past idle, so I had to tow it home. Figured the battery was old and dead, so I bought a new one. Charged it up and dropped it in and continued riding normally for about 700 miles over the next few weeks.

Yesterday, I was 40 miles into a ride in the middle of nowhere and it just died going 50mph up a hill. Tach drops to 0, no dash lights, and it's idling/ sputtering. Coast into a driveway and toggle the ignition. Nothing. No dash lights at all, won't crank, no power at all. Queue second tow home. It can't be the battery-- it's brand new!

At this point, I figure it's either the VR/R or the stator. I really hope it's the VR/R because I can probably replace that myself. Stator is out of my skill level.

Do OEM voltage regulators fail often in these bikes? How about the stator? I know some bikes are infamous for blowing regulators, but I haven't found anything on this bike.
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Old May 14th, 2020, 08:45 AM   #2
jkv45
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jacobobb View Post
Picked up a used 2011 Ninja 250 last fall. Been riding pretty much all through the winter when it wasn't too cold. Got ~3000 miles over 6 months. Everything was going smoothly, and I've really been enjoying learning to ride on this bike.

About a month and a half ago, I pulled into a gas station 6 miles into a ride, filled up and it wouldn't start. Bump started it and it wouldn't rev past idle, so I had to tow it home. Figured the battery was old and dead, so I bought a new one. Charged it up and dropped it in and continued riding normally for about 700 miles over the next few weeks.

Yesterday, I was 40 miles into a ride in the middle of nowhere and it just died going 50mph up a hill. Tach drops to 0, no dash lights, and it's idling/ sputtering. Coast into a driveway and toggle the ignition. Nothing. No dash lights at all, won't crank, no power at all. Queue second tow home. It can't be the battery-- it's brand new!

At this point, I figure it's either the VR/R or the stator. I really hope it's the VR/R because I can probably replace that myself. Stator is out of my skill level.

Do OEM voltage regulators fail often in these bikes? How about the stator? I know some bikes are infamous for blowing regulators, but I haven't found anything on this bike.
It's the battery.

A new battery can fail without warning, just like an old one.

A volt meter will tell you for sure. Anything less than 12.7 V before starting is a discharged battery.
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Old May 14th, 2020, 08:51 AM   #3
jacobobb
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Originally Posted by jkv45 View Post
It's the battery.

A new battery can fail without warning, just like an old one.

A volt meter will tell you for sure. Anything less than 12.7 V before starting is a discharged battery.
How would that happen while it's running? While it's on, the VRR should be charging the battery (assuming the stator is supplying AC power) and running the engine, so it shouldn't be drawing on the battery at all. If I had turned it off and it wouldn't crank, then sure it could definitely be the battery. It died while I had the throttle open 75% and I was moving, an hour into the ride.

I'm going to hook up a multimeter this weekend to try to pinpoint the issue, but I've never heard of a brand new AGM battery dying in less than a year.

Edit: You were partially right. The rain finally stopped, so I took the seat off to check the damage. The positive lead vibrated loose on the battery. Tightened the screw, and works good as new.

Would a lock washer on the screw keep that from happening?
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Old May 14th, 2020, 10:51 AM   #4
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Glad it was something simple. Thanks for the update.

A small Star Washer would secure it if you are concerned that just snugging it down isn't adequate.

My next guess was going to be a fuse, then connections/grounds...
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Old May 15th, 2020, 03:12 AM   #5
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Don't tighten that nut with just a screwdriver; put a socket wrench on the nut and make sure it's tight enough that it won't come loose until you want it to. The metal on those nuts is malleable enough that it feels like you can squish them to almost merge with the battery terminals themselves. A screwdriver alone can't get it nearly tight enough.
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