Can i jumpstart a motorcycle with a car

You may need to fiddle around a little to make everything connect the way it needs to do in order to successfully jump your bike. Do NOT turn on the car. Let your bike run for a few minutes before disconnect ing the jumper cables in the reverse order of how you connected them in the first place. Hope that helps! Sources: Yuasa , Motorcyclist. Home Features Ask RideApart. May 18, at pm ET.

By : Janaki Jitchotvisut. Now let the motorcycle that had a dead battery idle, using a little power as possible low beams, no extra lighting, etc. Note: There is a big difference between cars and motorcycles. Cars have alternators. Motorcycles have generators or magnetos. Alternators do a better job of converting power at low RPM. Running a motorcycle at idle will not charge your battery, nor will going for a short ride. Motorcycles need high revs for extended periods to recharge their batteries.

Cars do not. After giving your motorcycle a boost the two smartest things you can do are recharging your battery, and testing your battery. A fast-paced ride will recharge your battery, but how long should that fast-paced ride be? But a battery charger made for motorcycles knows exactly when your battery is fully-charged. Play it safe, play it smart, and plug in your battery to a battery tender made for motorcycles.

You want to make sure that your battery is still healthy and will still last you for years to come, and not leave you stranded on the side of the road. Here are two ways to test your motorcycle battery and even the charging system on your motorcycle:. Tagged with: Battery Cars Motorcycle Maintenance. I admit to being lazy about the connection — I almost always just connect to the battery terminals on both vehicles.

I learned a lesson about leaving the car off while jumping a bike twenty years ago. Thanks for the tips. One clamp at both ends of each cable. Sorry about that and thanks for pointing it out!

RevZilla photo. So, your bike won't start and you've confirmed your battery is likely "jumpable," but unfortunately no one is around and you do not have a personal power supply on hand. Time for a bump start. If the battery is too weak to turn the starter but still has enough juice that the lights come on when you turn on the key, you can probably bump start it.

On EFI bikes, you can listen to hear if the fuel pump runs when the key is turned on. If your battery is too drained to power the fuel pump, a bump start won't work on a fuel-injected bike.

Bump starting is starting the bike by turning over the engine with the rear wheel instead of the starter motor. Generating some momentum, by pushing your bike or rolling down a hill, will allow you to put that energy through the drivetrain, into the crankshaft, forcing it to draw in some fuel and air, then compress and ignite the mixture in your combustion chamber, resulting in a running bike.

Starting at the top of a hill is the preferred method since pushing a motorcycle with enough speed to fire it up can be tough work. I recommend having your ignition on before you get rolling, but leave it in neutral since this avoids the drag of the clutch plates, helping you gain a little more speed.

Once you are rolling at no less than a jogging pace, pull the clutch in, pop the bike into second gear and plop your butt down on the seat as firmly as you can while simultaneously dumping the clutch. The butt plop is essential to prevent the rear wheel from skidding.

It gives you a burst of additional traction right when you need it most. You will hopefully hear the bike fire up so you can pull the clutch right back in and rev it a little to keep it from stalling and allow the alternator to begin recharging the battery. If it does not fire up on the first try, it may be worth giving it another shot or two to perfect your timing.

Once your bike is running, be sure your charging system is working. Typically, you should see around Check your manual to see the specs for your model specifically. Hopefully now you feel a little more prepared for the next time you hit that starter button and hear that dreaded click. As always, feel free to share your "dead bike" stories below and if you need help finding a new battery for your bike or a personal power supply to add to your tool kit, reach out to one of our gear geeks at or shoot an email to cs revzilla.

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