DRZ owners, carry jumper cables.

[XLEnduroMan]

My 2 cents for electric start only riders is to fab up a jumper cable set for the tool kit. 4 alligator clips and 2 lengths of wire could save the day. If you are riding with others who's bikes have a battery and someones battery dies, that little cable will be a blessing. I figured this out yesterday by hands on experience. Went riding with another DRZ rider. I will omit his name to avoid embarrassment. We get out in the middle of BFE on what looks like a old railroad bed that was never completed. We are at the end of the line (ha ha, no pun intended) as the route ended in a big wash out. We take a break and find out his bike has no juice. Push starting didn't work in the limited, level space we had. I think no big deal, just put my battery in his Z and start and remove. It started up just fine but would die when pulling the battery out, even with him on the throttle keeping the idle up. ARGH! ? I see my battery tenders pig tail and saw the answer. I removed it from my bike and stripped the ends and had just enough wire length to jump the Z. I was happy my pig tails sacrifice was able to get us back from that piece of earth. I will be going and getting myself 4 alligator clips and 2 lengths of 12 gauge wire before the next ride. Maybe you should to.

[neckyjive810]

Great idea I am going to make a set in the morning and put them in mt tool tube. ?

[Sundog]

Great idea.

I have done the battery change thing also. Best thing I found is to have a kickstart.

[rckfisher]

Great idea +1:thumbsup: ?

[Noble]

XL - So what was the cause of your un-named friends dead battery? Typically batteries don't die during a ride unless there is some problem to start with. Jumpers can be a great thing but if the battery is dead due to no power being produced by the alternator, you will still not get very far. I take it, your friends bike did run long enough to get back to where you were going.

[XLEnduroMan]

XL - So what was the cause of your un-named friends dead battery? Typically batteries don't die during a ride unless there is some problem to start with. Jumpers can be a great thing but if the battery is dead due to no power being produced by the alternator, you will still not get very far. I take it, your friends bike did run long enough to get back to where you were going.

He has modified his ignition and lighting setups. He either had to much power draw for the system at the slower trail speeds we were doing. Slow speeds at least im my case as there were several death drops along this trail. Or he forgot to turn off his system when we parked for a spell. I think he forgot to turn it off. ? I told him the next time (would be the 3rd) I would be leaving his arse out there.

[twinsrule]

You can buy these and throw them in your jacket: http://www.speedsupplies.com/accessorylistingdetailpurch.asp?item=31374

[Noble]

XL - In that case, jumper cables are the thing to have. Fortunately the time I did that I was parked at the top of a hill instead of the bottom.

[fastbikesrule]

Kick start kit.

[rhay]

Should've had this last Saturday, riding with somebody with a KLX400R and his battery died while trying to restart with a flooded engine. I have installed a kickstart last December and sacrificed my battery to start his. Its a good thing his battery charged up after an hour ride and it was good for the rest of the day.

[Rock Monster]

It was my dumb ass that left my system on while we took a 30 min or so break. The jumpers work great and is a must for any battery only bike owner. I have ordered a kickstart kit as well. Thanks for not pointing fingers and getting us out of the canyon XLEnduroMan!?

[guiri]

I shoulda known ?

[obrianmcc]

I thought the Z would run without the battery?...or does the battery being installed actually complete a circuit?

[tardmonkey]

...or does the battery being installed actually complete a circuit?

Yes it does:thumbsup:

[Regalman]

I've never tried... but it can't be 'that' hard to pushstart a DRZ... even with limited space... especially with two people. Maybe that will be my project for the night.

[ROUNDEYEHELMETHEAD]

I've never tried... but it can't be 'that' hard to pushstart a DRZ... even with limited space... especially with two people. Maybe that will be my project for the night.

i can tell you that it's not always easy.

pavement is a big plus. loose terrain makes it a real ? moment.

i'm flashing back a bit to the last time i had to bump one of these, off road, hot day by myself a long way from home - fun day:foul: since my regulator connection was bad it would stop running after a few minutes.

and yes, it will run with a bad battery. yes it needs to be in place(from what i've read here) & the charging system needs to be functioning correctly.

[guiri]

If it's anything like my CR500R, it ain't friggin' happenin'

[fttam]

I've never tried... but it can't be 'that' hard to pushstart a DRZ... even with limited space... especially with two people. Maybe that will be my project for the night.

You can do it, but its a chore, ESPECIALLY off road if the surface is loose. I know I've had to (miss my kicker from my last DRZ) and I've worked up a hell of a sweat.

Oh, and make sure your kill switch is set to "run" or you could work up even more of a sweat. Don't ask me how I know that.

[Rock Monster]

I've never tried... but it can't be 'that' hard to pushstart a DRZ... even with limited space... especially with two people. Maybe that will be my project for the night.

Try it on a old railroad bed covered with 8 inches of gravel/rocks/small boulders! If that works out for ya let me know how you did it. We only tried twice and said F!@# THIS! ?

[guiri]

So, how much for the kicker and can you just add it?

Seriously, how hard is it to kick this bitch?