Where is the battery?

[imagesinthewind]

So, Tom called me from work and said the battery on the 86 Royale was dead.

He claims he didn't leave the key in it or on, that he locks the forks.

 

So, I have some questions,

does this bike have an alternator or the equiv?

Where is the battery? I don't want to start taking

body panels off to find it and I have not found battery

location in the manual yet (searching on the computer

is tedious).

 

I'll be getting his bike a battery tender, as he uses the radio

every time he rides and if the BRAND NEW battery isn't holding

up there is either something draining it slowly or it isn't

charging when he rides.

 

Thanks!

PS, my 16 year old daughter just completed an MSF course this weekend. The instructor said she is the most aggressive girl he has ever taught. She did very well, passed, and I didn't even have heart palpitations watching her! Which is big for me.

[buddy]

Battery is under the false gas tank open fuel door inside you will see one bolt remove this bolt side cover forward to the dash then pick up cover to remove. real easy to work on battery

[Marcarl]

yep, that's where the thing is supposed to be, and likely is, but if he is having problems with a new battery, you best check the charging system.

[friesman]

When you have the forks locked and turn the key off it is possible to turn the key on notch farther than locked and that turns on the park lights. It turns on signal lights etc. (Dont ask how I found out about this......)

 

Brian

[Rocket]

When you have the forks locked and turn the key off it is possible to turn the key on notch farther than locked and that turns on the park lights. It turns on signal lights etc. (Dont ask how I found out about this......)

 

Brian

 

Yup, 1st postion to the left of "off" is forks locked & 2nd position to the left is forks locked & park lights on (draining the battery).......

 

So Brian, when did you try out this feature????

[bongobobny]

If he finds out the battery needs replacing spend the extra money and get a DEKA battery from member Skydoc_17. These are high capacity AGM batteries and Earl is a distributer for them and gives us an excellent price mailed right to your door!

 

That being said, yes there are things that can go wrong with the charging system. The stators have been known to sometimes go bad. The stator is the same as a car alternator. If it needs replacing I would go with a high output version such as the one Buckeye performance sells. Rick is a member here and gives venturerider members a discount. The stator is part of the motor on the left side under the cover that says Yamaha on the chrome cover in the center of the larger cover by the shifter. The smaller cover that has the shift pattern stamped on it will have to come off as well. He can gain access to the wires so he can test it first via a connector about half way up the rear down tube of the frame byb removing the left side plastic engine cover, a very easy job. Just unsnap the rubber fastener on the bottom of the cover, it says "Pull" on it, and then swing the cover up and out. That connector itself is also a source of problems as they can overheat and melt/burn. Many owners just remove the connector and solder the wires together.

 

The third part of the charging system is the voltage regulator which is on the left side as well bolted to the left inside of the frame near the rear tire. There is also an aftermarket high capacity version available. It is mentioned in the First Gen Technical Question Forum somewhere.

Trouble shooting the entire charging system is fairly easy and does not require removing any of the components, just remove the false tank cover to gain access to the battery, and the left engine cover to gain access to that connector I mentioned to test the output of the stator...

[imagesinthewind]

Thanks! Tom says this may have been what happened. He had no idea there was a second position left.

[friesman]

Yup, 1st postion to the left of "off" is forks locked & 2nd position to the left is forks locked & park lights on (draining the battery).......

 

So Brian, when did you try out this feature????

 

About 4 hours before I bought my set of motorcycle jumper cables.......

 

Brian

[Ozlander]

turns on the park lights.

 

Yep. I did that. Once.