Prompted by a mention in the "decompressor thread" about starter problems, I'll share my experience. I fitted one of Francois's kits, and it was OK. It would start the bike easily enough when it (the bike or the weather) was hot, but struggled when it was cold. It's cold here, or at least not very warm, a lot. Occasionally I would have recourse to operating the valve-lifter, spinning the motor on the button, dropping it. Often, but not always, it would fire. Two or three attempts, and it was back to the old ways.
After a screw-up involving leisure batteries and bike roller starters, and a great deal of looking through battery websites, I realised that there was more to batteries than amp-hours. There was "cold-cranking capacity". Leisure batteries, designed to deliver a relatively small current for a long time, wouldn't deliver the instant buckets of oomph a starter motor wanted.
The battery I had been using on the Vin was Francois's recommended YTX14-BS. Yuasa, I found by accident in a search, also do a YTX14H-BS, which has 20% more cold-cranking power in the same physical envelope. (C-C is rated as "EC". The YTX14 is rated 200EC, the YTX14H 240EC.) I decided to buy one.
The difference is amazing. I can start the twin easily when the temperature is below 10, and it'll stay "up" for 6 or 7 attempts, the most I've ever needed. The YTX14 was audibly dying after 3. The kickstart is used now exclusively to free the clutch (a fully wet V3) off before I start the motor. The valve lifter is used only to STOP the motor. The twin has NEVER failed to start on the button since i upgraded.
It isn't ALL good news, because it costs nearly twice as much as the YTX14 (no H), about £90, but it has been money very well spent.
After a screw-up involving leisure batteries and bike roller starters, and a great deal of looking through battery websites, I realised that there was more to batteries than amp-hours. There was "cold-cranking capacity". Leisure batteries, designed to deliver a relatively small current for a long time, wouldn't deliver the instant buckets of oomph a starter motor wanted.
The battery I had been using on the Vin was Francois's recommended YTX14-BS. Yuasa, I found by accident in a search, also do a YTX14H-BS, which has 20% more cold-cranking power in the same physical envelope. (C-C is rated as "EC". The YTX14 is rated 200EC, the YTX14H 240EC.) I decided to buy one.
The difference is amazing. I can start the twin easily when the temperature is below 10, and it'll stay "up" for 6 or 7 attempts, the most I've ever needed. The YTX14 was audibly dying after 3. The kickstart is used now exclusively to free the clutch (a fully wet V3) off before I start the motor. The valve lifter is used only to STOP the motor. The twin has NEVER failed to start on the button since i upgraded.
It isn't ALL good news, because it costs nearly twice as much as the YTX14 (no H), about £90, but it has been money very well spent.
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