Tried to start the 1098 this morning & it’s not having it. Battery showing 11.6 on the dash (definitely not enough) & 12.6 on the Optimate (which might’ve just been enough) but either way it’s not having it. It’s 2 years old & has always held the charge well on the Optimate before. Wasn’t expecting that & hoping it’s just an end of life battery issue. Any ideas anyone?
What’s your ambient temperature? Regardless of battery health, this is going to have a big impact on starting ability considering our tiny batteries. I am guessing you have aftermarket upgraded starter leads?
I do have the exact start cables fitted. Ambient temp is flipping cold. It’s an unheated garage but it’s always been fine until now.
but, at the risk of sounding like andyb, have you started it recently when it's been this "flipping cold"?
Ran it a couple of weeks back but yeah it wasn’t cold like it is now. Would the cold drop the dash voltage to 11.6 or is that just a knackered battery?
It needs more of a specialist to give you the full cream answer, but I can say, yes it would, but to what degree/what exact factors are at play here, is the true science bit that I don't know off the top of my head. Going by past experience, there is every chance that your battery is fine. I have similar bike, and i always wait for the lights to extinguish* so I can see how high the voltage will creep. It can be bordering on 12 volts during autumn/winter despite being fully charged, and at approx 6 deg C. - ish (but not this cold) it will still start. *was your 11.6 volts with lights on or off? I haven't researched this, but i'm sure it's somewhere near correct, if not 100% correct:- https://www.thoughtco.com/why-batteries-discharge-quickly-cold-weather-607889
I've had similar problems on my 1098. It's kept in an unheated garage on an optimate (cheap one without a voltage display) I started it up and ran it static up to 87degrees on the dash a week ago but when I tried to start it this week no joy. I'm pretty certain it's battery time, I think this one is over 5 years old but I'm interested in the aftermarket starter leads. Tell me more, but in words of not more than two syllables as my tech ability is about the level of putting petrol in. In fact as I once put diesel in it's not even that high.
That’s exactly what happened to mine. Was starting & running fine pre the cold snap, now it won’t start. I do suspect it’s my 4 year old battery but not 100% sure. I’ll take a look properly when the weather turns. The Exact Start cables are an aftermarket kit from a guy that used to be on this site Stuart (Exige) I think he’s on the other site now so might be worth a look up. Apart from the complete bastard of a job getting the battery box out of the bike, it’s an easy DIY job & well worth it. Always held a higher voltage visible on the dash & did seem to start easily with them which is why I’m hoping this is just a battery problem.
I'm not in any rush to sort things out until the weather turns either but if it's going to need a weekend taking it apart I'm inclined to do that before I want to be out again. I've emailed Exact Start so there may be a picture around April of the 1098 in bits on my garage floor.
