How to Jump Start a Motorbike
When parking a motorcycle over the winter, it is customary to disconnect the negative battery cable from the battery to keep the motorcycle from going dead while sitting for an extended period. If the negative terminal is not disconnected, the battery will eventually lose its charge, and must then be jumped to get the bike going again. Restart your motorcycle after its charge has been lost by jumping it from a friend's with a fully charged battery.
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Instructions
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Shift your motorcycle into neutral and move it within cable range of a motorcycle with a charged battery. Be sure that the motorcycle you are jumping from has the same size battery as your own to reduce the risk of battery damage.
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Turn the ignition off on both motorcycles.
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Attach one clamp (preferably red) of the jumper cables to the positive terminal of the dead battery. Attach the other clamp of the same color to the positive terminal of the live battery.
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Attach one of the remaining clamps to the negative terminal of the dead battery. Attach the remaining clamp to the frame or exhaust of the bike with the live battery to ground the charge.
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Turn the ignition of the motorcycle with a good charge to on, and start the bike in neutral. Allow the motorcycle to run for 15 minutes.
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Press the starter button on the dead motorcycle. The motorcycle should start right up. If it does not start on the first try, you may need to replace the battery before you are able to ride. When the motorcycle starts, disconnect the jumper cables and take a highway ride of at least 20 miles to fully charge the battery.
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Tips & Warnings
Do not touch the ends of the jumper cables together while they are connected to the negative and positive battery terminals to avoid battery damage and personal shock.
