My 999 was registered in March 2005 but has the grey swing arm and 2004 nose cone.... I presume it also has the shallow sump and this would be critical if I manage to find a reasonably priced Termi exhaust !!! ...so I'm a bit concerned when you say there was a transitional period where some bikes may have had mixed parts. The bike was probably old stock that was sold at a lower price when the new model came out.
As I understand it, Lithium batteries do not like being cold. I have even read that it's a good idea to load them for a while to warm them up before attempting to start the engine in cold weather. The suggestion was to turn the headlight on for a while first. Incredibly counter intuitive because you'd think you'd want to retain all the charge you can but it might explain why the bike starts easily once warm, although other factors will also mean easier warm starting. Worth reading up on though... Also, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, so it's worth looking at the whole starting system, not just the battery. The starting system cables are reckoned to be only just adequate when new and supposedly develop extra resistance over time, so it's well worth replacing these, not just checking the connections. A kit to do this is available from the States but is pretty expensive, especially when imported. I went down that route but others on here report good result from Halfords cables. You need to be reasonably confident about soldering/crimping though because there are other cables crimped to the oem ones at the battery terminals. The american kit gets round this by piggybacking on top of the oem. The bit I have yet to do is to clean up the starter motor commutator, which is claimed to make a big difference as muck builds up over time, reducing its efficiency considerably. I'm personally keen to have the starting system as fit as I can get it, not only because it's great to have instant starting but because everybody tells me how important it is in terms of keeping the sprag clutch healthy. Iffy starting gives the sprag clutch a hard time and once that starts to fail, you've got problems...
Old Rider, the only real difference with the halfords and ebay lits is that the kits are cut to length and have replicated the OEM angled connectors. If you can find a factors that makes up leads then they can do the same. try this lot: Auto Electrical Supplies, Kit Car Parts, Auto Electrics, Marine Electrical Supplies My Ballistic evo battery was like this, the only starting problems I ever had in truth were because the bike was running flatslides, but the battery helped enormously as it would just crank and crank where the oem wet battery would have just given up the ghost long before.
The kit I got from America makes all sorts of claims about the cable they use. It is not only thicker but has an enormous number of strands and is supposedly more flexible too. It is claimed that current runs on the outside of copper strands, so the more strands, the less resistance. I have no idea if this is true or not. The terminals are made of thick copper. However, if cheaper cables work just as well, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
If you are still having issues with starting it then service the bike. Cold starting problems can happen because of TPS needs resetting, valve clearances adjusting or timing is set wrong (not as likely). My bet is valve clearances as you said it starts ok when warm. That is cause engine warms up and clearances change to closer within spec.
Having taken a quick look on the net, it seems there is something called 'skin effect' but this mainly applies to high frequency a/c and relatively thick cables, so it looks as though you are right.
go for something that's marine rated certified and you won't go far wrong. The americans are very good at stating the little know obvious through marketing but you'll probably find that most of it is just what any electrical systems engineer (design engineer that is) or technician will tell you is a stock battery lead spec anyway. The 16mm cable that IEM sell is more than adequate for what you need and cheaper than halfords. Don't be taken in by glib marketing - I could tell you that nothing other than Raychem 10603-00-0 with a milspec hermetic connector and potted heatshrunk DR25 will do as there is no risk of moisture ingress, because that's what they use on military and aviation applications, but you don't need it. All you need to ask yourself is: does it do a better job that what I've got at at the moment? The answer will invariably be yes. Ducati use shoelaces as starter leads because they're cheap on their production scale. This was the size difference between the oem and the uprated starter motor cables which I made: The cables I used were 14mm vs the 16mm that IEM sell, so their stuff should do you nicely. The only thing I would say is figure right angles connectors as the thicker leads are not as supple or pliable as your stock leads unless you go for spending a bit more than you'd probably like and then they flex like a bit of rope.
Herewith Q&A excerpt from Shorai battery site: Q. I hear that lithium crank poorly when it gets cold, is that right? A.Lithium do increase in resistance more as temperature drops, compared to lead-acid. However, they also react to cranking under cold conditions in a much better way. Lead-acid will increase resistance on each subsequent cranking attempt, until it won’t turn over. If your LFX fails to start the engine on first crank, that first crank has warmed the battery, and the second attempt will be much stronger, and so on until you get a good start. Shorai LFX are much better in cold-weather conditions than other-brand lithium starter batteries, due to our eXtreme-rate formulation with low resistance. Down to about 20 degrees fahrenheit (-7C) most users find that they can start normally on first crank. If your headlight comes on at key-ON, it is good for the batteries to flow some current before cranking in cold weather. The suggested headlight-on time before cranking depends on the temperature. If starting at 40f (5C), 30 seconds will help wake the battery and increase cranking performance. If at 0f (-17C), leave the lights on for 4~5 minutes before cranking. The result will be a better first crank, and longer battery life. Any other accessories that can be turned on before cranking can also be used for this purpose, such as heated gear, radio, etc... Maybe you should go into production...
Thank you all for your help. Today I left the lights on for a minute then started and it started second time, which is a huge improvement. I also didn't use the high idle or blip the throttle. It was especially bitter today as well so I was surprised. I'm quite handy with a soldering iron so when the weather improves I'm definitely going to take your advice on replacing leads, ect. Some very useful information here so thank you all. Got a lot of new projects to get started on!
