Looking for some ways on how to jumpstart a motorcycle? You need to know this in case of an emergency. There can be multiple reasons why your motorcycle won’t start. Therefore, you have to determine the cause before you try to jumpstart your engine. This information can get you out of an emergency in no time.
You might be far away from home, and with a dead battery, you have to deal with plenty of frustration. And any repair might be costly too. It would be nice for you to keep a portable jump starter on board at all times so this won’t happen again.
In the following guide, we will explain how to jumpstart a motorcycle and get back on the way without wasting any time.
3 Ways to Jumpstart a Motorcycle
First, you have to check the lights and see that the battery indicator is on when there is something wrong with the battery. With a dead or drained battery, your head and tail lamps will be dim.
You have to check the voltage on your battery because if your battery is entirely out of juice, there is no point in jump-starting it. Using a multimeter or voltmeter, you can switch the settings to direct current and place the leads on the battery terminals.
The meter should show you some reading. For a 12V battery, it’s 12.66V at 100% charge and 12.45V at 75% charge. Anything lower won’t start your bike, especially the modern models that come with fuel-injected designs.
You can jumpstart your bike if it is undercharged but not completely dead. There are 3 ways to jumpstart your bike with zero juice, either with or without jumper cables. You can jump-start it with another bike or with a car battery. You may use a portable battery jump starter.
So, what are those three ways to jumpstart a motorcycle?
1. How to Jumpstart a motorcycle with another motorcycle
Have you ever jump-started a car? If yes, the process here is very similar, but reaching out to the battery terminals will be difficult. So, you will need jumper cables to tackle the issue of how to jumpstart a motorcycle.
You will have to make sure that both motorcycles are switched off and neutral. Now, find the terminals and connect your jumper cables.
These terminals might be under the seat. But in most other models, they might not be. If you can’t find the cables, try those cables on the chassis. This is where the cables are bolted right into your bike.
The red clip needs to be connected with the positive terminal and the black clip with the negative terminal. Now start the other bike and allow it to run for a couple of minutes. Try to start your bike in a few attempts.
Once your motorbike starts, keep both of them running for 3 to 4 minutes and allow a charge to build. Now, disconnect your jumper cables by removing the negative clip first. And ride around for about half an hour for recharging your battery.
2. How to jumpstart a motorcycle with a car
Using a car for jump-starting your motorcycles isn’t a typical thing to do. But it will get you to the nearest mechanic. Therefore, we must remind you to do it only if there are no other options available.
Doing so can surge your bike’s battery and damage it with higher amperage. It might deliver too much charge too fast, which will result in an overload. So, to pull it off safely here’s what you need to do.
You have to be sure that both your car and your bike are turned off. Now connect your jumper cable in the normal way as mentioned above. Try to start your bike but keep your car off. This way, you will crank your bike won’t affect your car battery. But your car will damage the electrical system on your bike.
Your bike should start straight away, and you will notice that it will crank more powerfully than usual. If it doesn’t begin, wait for a few moments, and try again. When it starts, take the jumper cables in reverse order and ride around for about half an hour for charging your battery.
3. How to jumpstart a motorcycle with the portable jump starter
Having a portable jump starter is always a good idea when dealing with how to jumpstart a motorcycle. As it is one of the essential tools that you need to carry for such emergencies. Using this battery pack is the quickest way to jump-start your motorcycle. And you won’t have to depend on any other vehicle.
You need to start keeping both your jump starter and your bike off. And then connect the attached cables. Turn your jump starter pack on, and then turn on your motorcycle. But keep in mind not to crank for 2 to 3 seconds at once.
If you go for longer cranks, it might burn out the battery pack. Your bike will start, and you can remove the cables (negative one first). If it doesn’t start, you will have to wait for a few moments and then try again.
After disconnecting your cables, ride your bike for half an hour to recharge your battery. And don’t fidget to recharge your battery pack to keep it ready for future needs.
Situations in Which You Can’t Jump Start a Motorcycle
- There are some safety switches on modern bikes; you need to turn them off before starting your motorcycle again. One of the safety switches is on the kickstand, while the other one is on the clutch lever. Maybe your engine isn’t starting because your kickstand is down or your clutch is pulled in. Check these things and start the engine, and it will start. You won’t be needing your ride to be jump-started here at all.
- Batteries can deplete automatically when not in use or after a certain timespan. And if you live in a hotter climate, they will discharge pretty soon. It means your battery is completely dead and cannot take any charge. You will have to replace your battery.
- There is a situation when your bike is running, and you stopped, and it went out not to start again. There may be some issue with the regulator or stator, or a broken wire is something. You will have to replace them or check them if they are correctly in place and then start your bike.
How to Bump Start Your Motorcycle?
Have you ever heard about bump-starting your motorcycle? If not, then it’s another way of starting your motorcycles without jump-starting them.
So, if your bike is not starting, but your battery is jumpable, no one around, and you don’t have a power supply either, it’s time for bump-starting your motorcycle.
If your battery cannot start, but it still has enough juice that its lights come on when you turn it on, it is time to bump. If you happen to own an EFI motorcycle, you can listen to your fuel pump start as you turn the bike on.
But if your battery is too weak that it can’t even start the pump, then bump-starting won’t work on these fuel injector bikes.
You can start by turning over your engine with your rear wheel and not your motor. You can generate some momentum by rolling it down the hill or pushing your bike.
The energy will go into the drivetrain and then into the crankshaft, forcing your engine to draw some air and fuel. It will then compress and invite the mixture within the combustion chamber, and your bike will start running.
Should You Jump Start Your Motorcycle?
The question that needs to be asked here is not how to jumpstart a motorcycle? It needs to be should you jumpstart your motorcycle.
Before you start looking to give your bike a shock, you have to determine why your bike is not starting up and make sure that jump-starting is the only solution. There can be many reasons. Therefore, you need to determine the cause.
When nothing else is wrong, then it’s time to get to work. Check to see if your bike has gas in it and make sure that its kill switch is off. If you have a carbureted old bike, then also check to see if the petcock is on.
Run a diagnostic on your spark plugs and clean them to remove any carbon residues. Also, make sure that they are adequately gapped and replace them if required.
Now, pull your motorcycles in neutral or pull your clutch in. try to start your bike in neutral and keep the clutch pulled in.
Some motorcycles come with an inbuilt safety mechanism for preventing the rider from accidentally starting the bike when it’s in gear. You can also put your kickstand up, which is another safety feature on some bike models.
Conclusion
So, did you get the answer to your question of how to jumpstart a motorcycle? Well, sure you did but be careful; you must carefully assess your bike and see if it needs jump-starting or not.
Trying it out for the first time will be exciting, but it can be nerve-wracking as well if you are left stranded in the middle of nowhere with a burned-out battery. So, check all other options and then go for the jump-starting echoes that we have mentioned above.
