Sh150i will not start

[aztrooper]

Ride More Honda called yesterday and said the battery had a dead cell. Also, Go Az Motorcycles where I bought it put a Bike Master Tru Gel battery in it instead of the Honda battery. Ride More Honda could not warranty it because of that. After several go arounds and having to call Honda Motorsports in California to get them involved, Go Az Motorcycles is going to bring a new battery out to the house (60 miles one way) tomorrow. They are going to check the battery before coming and it has a two year warranty and will replace it again within that time if it goes bad.

[aztrooper]

Go AZ Motorcycles finally came out and brought the new battery, which was another BikeMaster Trugell battery. They don't carry the OEM battery. We'll see how long this one lasts.

Bob in Arizona

[donlatarski]

I'm new here, but found these posts on the battery issue with the 150Sh. I'm having the same issue with mine which has only 400 miles on it. I can charge the battery and it'll hold up for 3 or 4 days. I finally took it to the dealer today and they tested it and said everything looked good. They did speculate that I just don't drive it enough to charge the battery. I only ride it about 4 miles per day and don't get up over 25mph. This is an interesting thought and they may be right. I've owned about 26 diff. bikes and this is the first to exhibit this type of behavior. I'll hook up the pigtails from my battery tender so I can charge it every few days. If this persists, I may consider selling it as I bought a new scooter hoping to enjoy a trouble free scooter life. This is pretty disappointing and I love Honda scooters and motorcycles and have owned plenty.

Don (Eugene, OR)

[robber57]

They did speculate that I just don't drive it enough to charge the battery. I only ride it about 4 miles per day and don't get up over 25mph.

Don (Eugene, OR)

No offense but this is nonsense, when i bought my sh it had been standing still for over 6 months(!) and it started in the first attempt, no hesitation, no problem.
The SH should start with about 1 rotation of the crankshaft so it takes very little effort and power to start it and 4 miles , regardless of the speed, should be enough to charge it.

"I've owned about 26 diff. bikes and this is the first to exhibit this type of behavior."
exactly! , why should this bike be different then all the other 26 you've owned?

It's a variomatic so the speed at which you drive is almost of no importance, the moment you go over 10 Mph the engine is rotating at several thousand rpm which should be sufficient for the generator to deliver enough power.
The whole idea of this bike , or any other small scooter, is to use it for small trips in and around the city, the idea that you could not use it for small trips defies all logic.

What seems to be a constant factor with people who have battery problems is the missing of the original battery.

Do you have the original Yuasa YTX7L-BS battery? and pay attention to this: any other brand battery can also be named YTX7L-BS, only the original is a Yuasa.
The trick in the SH lies in the fact that the battery is lying on its side and is not standing up, not all battery's can handle that, thats not a case of "bad quality" but just the wrong type battery.


If the battery loses power from standing still in a few days there is really no other explanation then that the battery is is dead/broken or you have a "leak" in the electrical system which can be checked easily, with ignition off there should be not more then a few "parasitic" microAmps running.

[donlatarski]

Sorry for the long delay in letting you all know what happened with my frequently dead battery. I finally took it back and left the bike with the closest Honda dealer. I didn't buy the bike from them, that place is 110 miles from here. They tested it all again and generally poked around in there, but claim they could not find anything wrong – again. They had it for about 5 days and would let it set to see if the discharging would happen on their watch. It did not.

They claim they did not put a new battery in it. I've had it home now for at least 4 wks. and even after sitting for as much as 7 consecutive days, it starts fine! I must of had a short of??? They claim also to have performed some minor factory update on the turn signals, but other than that, I don't think they did anything.

Thanks for the helpful insight into this issue. It still remains a mystery which I hope doesn't pop up again.

Don

[donlatarski]

I see my last post on this topic was Aug. 3. I thought the issue was behind me, but today, Oct. 10, 2011, the bike refused to start again. It is the same issue all over again - just clicks when pushing the starter button. I'm ready to give up on this bike since servicing is really difficult between my work schedule and the fact that the nearest dealer is 40 miles away. I've already had it in several times and they cannot locate any identifiable issues. So, it remains a mystery. I'll likely put a new battery in now and put it up for sale. This is sad since I really like it, but I have very little confidence in it. I use a scooter to get to and from work and need something I can count on.

[southerncannuck]

I hate to see you give up on your SH150I. It’s been my experience that with these scooters, any of them really, the problem is found in the battery. In the bad old days a mechanic simply added acid to the empty cells, gave it a quick charge, and sent you on your way. Modern batteries require more. It takes a few hours to get a new battery up to snuff for the initial charge/setup.

If you can, try the following. Make sure the battery is charged. Next attach a voltmeter to your battery. If you don’t have one, buy a cheap one at The Shack. It should read 12 ½ volts with the key off. Turn the key on and you should see a very slight drop in voltage. Now, the critical part. Mash the starter button (never longer than 10 seconds) and look at the voltmeter. The voltage shouldn’t go to zero. It should be closer to 8 – 10 volts. If it goes to zero, and it is charged, the battery is bad.

[bigbird]

I'll likely put a new battery in now and put it up for sale. This is sad since I really like it, but I have very little confidence in it. I use a scooter to get to and from work and need something I can count on.

I hope your problem is only a crapped out battery. Maybe the dealer never replaced your battery when he said he had.
Any Suzuki or Yamaha dealers near you?
If you do decide to sell it, and can't live without a scooter, I suggest you buy a Burgman 400 or Majesty if you can afford one. They are assembled in Japan (not Italy), and their engines are also made in Japan (not China). They are totally reliable.

[donlatarski]

Thanks for the tip on the voltmeter. I've got one here and use it all the time for various things. I'll try the suggestions after I put the battery tender back on tomorrow.

[southerncannuck]

Thanks for the tip on the voltmeter. I've got one here and use it all the time for various things. I'll try the suggestions after I put the battery tender back on tomorrow.

I’m assuming that you have a multimeter, and if you do take one of the leads off the battery (I prefer negative) and see if there is any continuity in the bike circuit (negative and positive leads) with the key off. If there is it would be an indication of a short somewhere. This is very very very unlikely, but worth looking at since your going to be there anyway.