Battery Question

[greenwald]

Over the years, courtesy of various owner's manuals and magazine articles, I have seen advice to "always remove the negative terminal wire first, and reconnect it last," and conversely, "always remove the positive terminal wire first and reconnect it last."

My son recently purchased a new 2007 Honda ST1300 (Yeah - I tried to talk him into a BMW, but face reality, folks - those models are still price-prohibitive for a young man starting out a career. By the way, his career is as an Ozaukee County Sheriff's Deputy, which is adjacent to our Washington County rally gathering next month - hope no one meets him for the 'wrong' reasons!).

But I digress. Reading thru his Owner's Manual last night, the advice conflicts with BMW, which conflicted with Suzuki, which conflicted with H-D, etc., etc., etc.

Anyone with some electrical savey know which lead comes off a battery first, and can give me a logical reason why?

Appreciate any advice.

Ride Alert!

 

[henzilla]

one reason for removing the ground first is to avoid a tool & positive contact to the frame if you touch ANY metal while removing positive lead. Shorting out a modern computer controlled motorcycle is not a good plan.

when they suggest jump starting vehicles, you are supposed to hook up dead battery first to avoid ANY sparks and catastrophic battery failure/explosion, then the positive of HOT battery, then a connection to ground to prevent a spark near that battery...but not the negative terminal.

I was always taught as an electrician with AC circuits to make the ground up first, remove last...so I have been "hardwired" to do it in that order...until I sparked up a battery with a screwdrivwer as mentioned...

 

[henzilla]

My son recently purchased a new 2007 Honda ST1300 (Yeah - I tried to talk him into a BMW, but face reality, folks - those models are still price-prohibitive for a young man starting out a career. By the way, his career is as an Ozaukee County Sheriff's Deputy, which is adjacent to our Washington County rally gathering next month - hope no one meets him for the 'wrong' reasons!).

My son also bought a Honda Cruiser for same financial reasons...and bias against the unknown/peer pressure of BMW ownership
He too is very close to starting his municipa LEO career in Pasadena,TX...said he will be tough on traffic dummies....I WILL be careful when visiting!

 

[greenwald]

Good Advice

Thanks for the response on which battery lead to remove first, and reconnect last. Your logic makes sense to me, so there you have it: "Negative is first off and last back on."

As for our sons, may they enjoy long, safe careers in law enforcement, and terrorize any cell phone users who thought they could multi-task, but are proving otherwise!

As for acquiring Honda bikes at this stage of life, the high price of BMW's is obviously responsible for a large portion of our demographic, since BMW ownership usually must wait for one's income to catch up.

Even the new 800's carry a steep price, when compared to similar models from other sources.

I see no surge of youthful ownership of BMW's any time soon, but will continue to lobby my son about my satisfaction with our brand, and encourage him to save his pennies.

Ride Alert!

 

[Rod Sheridan]

The grounded battery connection is always removed first, replaced last.

Note that some British bikes have positive ground systems.

Regards, Rod.