Battery almost exploded while riding!

Hi guys,

I just recently purchased a '99 VFR800 and I've been pretty happy with it thus far. On a long ride up to and back from Crystal Lake today I continually picked up the smell of sulfur. When I got the bike back to the house, I pulled the seat and found this beast smoldering and smoking underneath.





From what I've read, there are some issues with the stock charging system that need to be addressed. I haven't checked the R/R yet, but outside of a bad battery, it looks like the main culprit. Has anyone ever had this happen?

 

When Honda first brought motorcycles into the United States of America they had Yuasa
batteries that were clear see thru plastic. You could see the plates inside.
When batteries get old and have had vibration, the chemicals start building up on the bottom and finally rise to the level of the plates, and it shorts out the battery. It gets very hot.

 

Crystal Lake? Didn't happen to come across some guy names Jason, did you?

All kidding aside, far too many of us have had electrical problems with VFRs, IMO because Honda tends to use the lowest gauge wiring and connectors legally possible. You really wanna check the entire charging system for damage and include a VFRNess in your parts list...

Wire My Bike

 

I'd contact the guy you bought it from and find out where he purchased the battery. A TRU Gel may have a lifetime warranty. I know the ones at Cycle Gear are.

 

The first check any newly-purchased VFR needs--after the tire pressures--is the charging system output voltage checked across the battery terminals at 5000 rpms, where 14.5 DCV is about right.

With jeef's problem, the notorious R/R is almost certainly over-charging and needs replacement.

 

To see if it is overcharging you will need to do a test.
If the battery is a lead/acid battery and is over 3 years old , the battery "could" be the problem.

I would put in a new battery and then test the charging system to see if there is still a problem.
Then you will know if it was the battery being shorted internally, OR if it is the charging system.

 

Sometimes it's just a bad battery, happened to a Yamaha riding mate a few years back coming into a country town we were wondering why his R1 was whistling loudly, dropping into a luckly still open motorcycle mechanic who immediately pulled out the hot whistling battery placing it in the middle of the parking lot. 2 years on he has had no further issues than just the battery replaced.

 

Jason? He's not the guy that works at the cafe is he?

Oh wait, I see what you did there. I'm just old enough that I remember the movies.

Seriously, thanks for all of the replies, guys. I just picked up a new trugel from Malcolm Smith today and tried it out. I haven't checked it fully warm yet, but at idle i'm reading 13.4-13.6 volts. The VFRness is certainly in my future, as is a new R/R, but if I were to have checked out the running charge at the battery without all of this prior knowledge, I'd probably think it was OK. So I guess what I'm really wondering is if it's still safe to ride.

 

Consider the title of your thread. I'd strongly suggest the full system check before riding it again, especially since your nuts are within the blast radius.