Starting a YZF-R125 Motorcycle with a UPS Battery

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Category: Automotive

Published on Monday, 27 July 2020 13:17

Written by Ben

Hits: 3397

Introduction

there are plenty of ways to start a motorcycle using various electrical methods that some and at least, the majority of them include a 2nd party's assitance. But what happens when there is nobody around? In this article I will demonstrate how to start a motorcycle's engine using a UPS battery.

Backstory:

It was late and I was the only one left in the office, which was usually mostly empty anyway due to COVID... mounting myself over my motorcycle and hitting the ignition switch to...nothing, motorcycle would not start. It is late, there is no one at the office that could jump start my motorcycle using their own vehicle's battery. parking lot is empty and this motorcycle cannot be manually started as far as I know. So i'm pretty much fucked. Legging it home is absolutely not acceptable but the more time passes the more it seems like a valid option.

I go back into the office to gather some 9V batteries and I only manage to find one. I reach back to my desk in order to see what can I gather, only to stare at my solution for a few minutes before I realized it was staring back at me: my PC UPS!. I mean, this is the optical solution; it has been constantly charged, has a 12V battery and its probably about 7 to 7.5 AH one.

I turn off my computer the right way (via OS), unplug the UPS and move it closer to the center of the desk space. Open it and discover my ticket home:

Wiring:

Besides the battery there was one more link in the chain that was missing – wiring. Since it's an office and not a workshop there were no exposed cut electircal copper wires just laying around. I did remember there was one Mac computer power cable that was torn and was not good for any use so..i found my wiring.

Exposing the power cable wasn't hard since there is a tool box laying around the office just in case with cutters inside:

once the wires were exposed on both ends, I took two pieces and wrapped around the battery's port.

Starting the Motorcycle:

1. turn the motorcycle switch off and leave the key there
2. position the UPS battery gently over the seat underlying part and as close as possible to the motorcycle's own battery.
3. Connect the cable that is connected to the negative port of the UPS battery to the motorcycle's battery negative port
4. Connect the cable that is connected to the positive port of the UPS battery to the motorcycle battery positive port.
5. Turn the key all the way and turn on the motorcycle
6. push the ignition button

my Yummy is alive!

After Usage:

1. DO NOT turn off the motorcycle of tamper with the key
2. disconnect the UPS battery from the motorcycle by first disconnecting the wire connected to the positive port of the motorcycle's battery and then disconnecting the wire connected to the negative port of the motorcycle's battery
3. remove the UPS battery all together from the seat area
4. gently position the motorcycle's seat back in its place (it is impossible to lock it into place though since the motorcycle's key is already in use in the ignition switch).
5. Ride home :)

Cons:

work environment disruption – the UPS battery needs to be put back into the UPS and UPS reconnected back, which is quite a hassle, but not so much.
UPS battery is quite big and bulky and it was quite challenging to gently position it over in the seat area of the motorcycle
wires were not long enough. Should've cut bigger pieces
Once the motorcycle is running - the seat cannot be locked and get back fully into its position due to the key being used in the ignition switch
Once the motorcycle is running there is no way to get rid of the UPS battery unless you either turn the motorcycle off again or hide it somewhere till the next day. It has to be taken with you, and boy it's heavy.
Exposing the wires was an annoyance

Pros:

The UPS battery started the motorcycle with no issues
A quick and easy solution for a drained motorcycle battery
No need to order a taxi or to walk home
A good lesson in resiliency

Summary

Once the motorcycle was running, it was a one riding session all the way home or to a place where either the motorcycle's could be re-charged or another jump-start solution could be found.

The UPS battery had to be carried back home with me in my back pack since the only two other options were to either just hide is somewhere till I pick it up the next day, or to turn off the motorcycle again, take the battery upstairs to the office, get back down and attempt to start the motorcycle again, an attempt which would've failed.

Since UPS units have become quite common in office spaces these days they could present a crisis aversion solution in these kind of cases. In this case though the UPS battery was housed in a UPS unit that was planned to have its battery replacement process to be very easy, with no tools.

My conclusion from this is to always carry or store jump-start cables in your motorcycle and always carry a jump-start battery, just in case. It would be a far better option than to lend somebody's innocent UPS battery.

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