Today's Moronic Motorcycle Maintenance

 My downstairs neighbor scuffed up my scoot (once on each side) while
learning to operate it.  However, in the process of coaching her, I noticed
the battery was sagging, so replaced that today as well with a Yuasa YTZ10S.
It was a fun day.  Here were the activities.

a)Replaced the battery.  Never knew exactly where it was or how one gets to
it -- today I found out.  Had to use extensions and U-joints to tighten the
terminals -- the spacing was that tight.

The battery was darned expensive -- about $150.  A lot of money for a small
battery.

I wish they had torque specs on the battery terminals -- I was afraid of
overtightening the terminals and damaging the battery.  But I don't want the
connections to come loose, either.

Discovered that some rubber was missing from my battery box and as a result
it doesn't latch as it should -- ordered that today.  I assume that the
dealership did something dumb when originally installing the battery.

b)Straightened up my handlebars in the handlebars (due to the bike being on
its side twice).

c)Taped up my rear turn signal, which Janet shattered.  New part on order.

d)Removed and inspected my pegs and pivot pins for cracks (I have found that
those can crack when you put the motorcycle on its side).

e)Put the windscreen back on.  I took that off for motorcycle instruction.

I'll be coaching Janet one last time on Tuesday.  I hope the bike survives.
The good thing is you can't break a turn signal twice, and I haven't
replaced the old one yet.

DFC

 wrote:

 I wish they had torque specs on the battery terminals -- I was afraid
of

Here ya go:

http://dodgeram.org/tech/specs/bolts/SAE_bolts.html

1/4-20 (NC) Grade 2 Iron bolt  torque to 6 ft-lbs

 
 >I wish they had torque specs on the battery terminals -- I was afraid

It wasn't the bolts I was concerned about.  Because the reaction torque
comes from the battery terminal, I was afraid of damaging the battery.

However, I've examined the old battery (same model).  The terminals are is
pretty darned solid.  I couldn't imagine damaging them.

DFC

 wrote:


But you *did* imagine damaging the battery posts before you posted
your message complaining about how Honda hadn't published any torque
specs on the battery bolts.

You'd better find out what the modulus of elasticity of *lead* is, and
work out the area moment of inertia of the battery post and calculate
the torsional stress and strain upon the post so you can lay awake
worrying about fatal accidents resulting from over-torque...

 
I think what may be happening here is that I have one type of battery and
you're imagining another.

It doesn't have posts like a typical car battery does.  It has essentially a
metal tab with a hole in it that you can place a nut behind.  The torque you
apply tends to turn the battery in the horizontal plane.

Because the metal tab goes into plastic ... I just wasn't sure what I could
get away with.

Totally different design than a typical car battery.

DFC