[superslomo]

Rode home yesterday, put bike in garage, locked steering.

Got up to take bike to get inspected this morning, and the lights were on.

Didn't start.

I had left it in park position all night.

So... I guess I needed a battery tender anyway.:headbang:

 

[Byronw]

you lock your steering, in the garage? Why don't ya just post a sign outside your door, "Suzuki inside, my neighbors all own Harleys". It works for me.

 

[Stromin'Nroman]

you lock your steering, in the garage? Why don't ya just post a sign outside your door, "Suzuki inside, my neighbors all own Harleys". It works for me.

I've gone one step further by parking the Harley bait bike in the garage.

 

[superslomo]

Hm. Now I feel much stupider altogether.

Locking the steering is pretty much force of habit, I guess. I just didn't think of the fact that the parking position was just a hair over from there.

Tried to jump it with the car with no luck. Battery Tender acquired and running. How long should that take in all likelihood?? It's the 1.25 Amp version.

 

[Big B]

Dont lock your steering, it is dumb and unnecessary.:fineprint:

 

[NWArkie]

I did that at the office one day and never used the steering lock again. Did you know you can push start a v-strom if you have 2 guys to help push you?

 

[kamloopsal]

What's a steering lock?
Oh, I see you are all from the US - sorry! :mrgreen:

 

[aldntn]

I know from experience that thieves take what is easy, so I lock mine always.

I'm still mad at the guy that stole my CL350 in 1974.

 

[richw]

I think mine has a "Park" position which turns on the rear light and drains the battery

 

[biker128pedal]

I lock mine when I leave it at the airport. I alway look at the tail light because of reading posts like this. :mrgreen:

 

[chicago]

Hm. Now I feel much stupider altogether.

Locking the steering is pretty much force of habit, I guess. I just didn't think of the fact that the parking position was just a hair over from there.

Tried to jump it with the car with no luck. Battery Tender acquired and running. How long should that take in all likelihood?? It's the 1.25 Amp version.

If you can't start it with a car battery there is something wrong.

An advantage of rural living is that you seldom need to remove the key from the ignition. I have utilized the steering lock when I've left my bike outside overnight while traveling however.

 

[tonybrasco]

If you tried to jump start from a running vehicle, you probably blew the main fuse. Check it out and replace it with the spare one if blown, jump start from a non-running vehicle, and voila. How do I know? Been there, done that:thumbup:

 

[kamloopsal]

I think mine has a "Park" position which turns on the rear light and drains the battery

Mine too. It's a carryover from Europe, where a 'park light' used to be required to park overnight on a public street. May still be in effect somewhere??

 

[superslomo]

I did not jump it from a running car, so no worries about that. It tried to start, it just seemed to not get quite there with the battery connected to the car.

Battery tender for a while, got to 80% charged, started fine and I ran it for about 20 minutes to recover the start charge, seemed to idle fine, and didn't even need the clock reset etc.

It was indeed the parking light. It's a bit on the easy side to accidentally wind up in that position, but in some ways it was a good thing it happened in my own garage instead of in front a motel 200 miles from here.

Odd note: AMA roadside assistance will NOT jump a motorcycle, it will fix flats or tow you to a garage, but won't jump a dead battery. Just something to be aware of. How do I know? Yep, you guessed it... :thumbdown:

Only drag is by the time I dared try and start it it was too late to get the inspection done, so I guess I'm waiting around until next weekend for that little bit of fun.

 

[PeteW]

I did that at the office one day and never used the steering lock again. Did you know you can push start a v-strom if you have 2 guys to help push you?

Did you know you can push start it yourself ?, with a hard packed surface and a good run up - just make sure your insurance covers death from heart attack

Pete

 

[kick]

Did you know you can push start it yourself ?, with a hard packed surface and a good run up - just make sure your insurance covers death from heart attack

Pete

Not sure about that. I'm pretty sure the fuel pump and EFI system need enough voltage to get the bike to fire up. It might work with enough voltage to run those systems but not enough to spin the motor.

 

[tkitna]

I've never used the steering lock due to horror stories i've read. If I feel up to it, i'll slide the pad lock through the rear disc when i'm out of town, but that rarely even happens. If it gets stolen, screw it. Gives me an excuse to buy another bike.

 

[garandman]

I know from experience that thieves take what is easy, so I lock mine always.

I'm still mad at the guy that stole my CL350 in 1974.

Refer to the poll on V-Strom theft.

I think the big advantages the V-Strom has are that it doesn't fit into a minivan and parts commonality with a GSX-R isn't very good.

 

[richw]

Assuming its a ghetto desirable bike

Van stops
Rear door Opens
4 guys jump out
Lift into van
drive away net time < 20 secs

 

[garandman]

Assuming its a ghetto desirable bike

Van stops
Rear door Opens
4 guys jump out
Lift into van
drive away net time < 20 secs

Give you $100 bucks if you send the video of you and your buddies doing it in 20 seconds.

Not only does a V-Strom not fit in a minivan with any ease, but upright it won't fit in a standard Ford or Chevy cargo van without removing the mirrors and windshield.

If thieves want it, they're going to get it. They could just steal a bigger truck. But a sport bike is lighter, smaller, and has a lot more useful parts, plus track bikes often don't have titles.