Helping a Neighbor

When I came home from the store the other day, I saw two motorcycles stopped at the end of the alley: one Yamaha and one Vstar. Both of the riders were off the bikes and looking at the Vstar. The side panels were on the grass, and the tool roll was emptied out. Not a good sign.

I walked over and asked if they needed help. The Vstar stalled and wouldn’t restart. I went inside and grabbed the jumper box out of the Ural and a voltmeter. The battery was only measuring 6.1volts when it should be above 12. The owner confessed to not using a tender over the winter, and this was her first ride of the year. She only made it to the end of the block. I’m surprised it even started in the first place.

With the jumper in place, we were able to get it started. Each time we tried to remove the jumper, it would stall again. We left it on for several minutes to try to get enough charge in the bike, so she could ride it back up the block to her house. While we waited, we talked about bikes.

She was able to ride the Vstar home, and then they were going to leave on the Yamaha to get a new battery for it. The key was left in the on position on the Yamaha while troubleshooting, and it wouldn’t start either. A short push up the hill, and he was able to bump start it. We all had a good laugh about it. It was nice to help a neighbor.