Trickle charger?

[JonM]

Hello friends. Just bought a used 2019 FTR1200S with 3000 kms. The dealer had to take it back after fault codes showed up (misfire in cylinder 1 and same in cylinder 2, something like that). Long story short the Indian dealer said I need to keep the bike on a trickle charger at all times when I have it parked. I’m willing to do whatever it takes but this seems pretty wild to me. I’ve read through this forum about the issue several times while I waited for a diagnosis and had not seen that remedy.
Anybody else? Maybe it’s common knowledge?

 

[donlycan]

I keep all of my bikes on Battery Tenders when not in use.

 

[mark.lb]

Same as donlycan. 5 bikes - 5 battery tenders.

 

[edgelett]

Indian dealer said I need to keep the bike on a trickle charger at all times when I have it parked.

At all times? LOL! definitely not.
The manual says if you're not going to ride for 2+ weeks to use a charger.
I don't use one unless I've not ridden mine for 3 or more weeks due to weather, in which case I usually charge it over night then am good to go.
2019 bike purchased in Oct 2019, still original battery.

If you live in a place where you don't ride for several months then sure but if you get out at least once a fortnight you're fine.

 

[Max Kool]

I’m probably the last person that still has the stock battery, but my bike fires right up after 4-5 weeks of standing still. No tender. 3 years old in a month…

No problem. 🤷🏻‍♂️

They should give you a new one.

 

[edgelett]

I’m probably the last person that still has the stock battery

mine is still stock. haven't left it 4-5 weeks yet though. might give it a go just to see haha

 

[Charliemurphay]

Og battery here too

 

[mark.lb]

Raining today 5/6. All are plugged in waiting for their next ride. OG battery in all bikes except Big Bore Scout which runs Antigravity for more cranking power.

 

[donlycan]

To be clear...a Battery Tender is NOT a trickle charger! Keeping a charger on a battery is a no-no.

 

[Max Kool]

That’s new to me, always thought modern trickle chargers ARE called tenders.

what is the difference?

 

[donlycan]

That’s new to me, always thought modern trickle chargers ARE called tenders.

what is the difference?

A Trickle Charger is constant whereas a Tender floats.

 

[mark.lb]

OK - I am using what the manufacturer calls a battery charger-maintainer. Battery Tender Plus by Deltran is the brand name of one of the devices I use.

 

[Max Kool]

Charger, maintainer, tender… 😂

 

[Zilonis]

Hello friends. Just bought a used 2019 FTR1200S with 3000 kms. The dealer had to take it back after fault codes showed up (misfire in cylinder 1 and same in cylinder 2, something like that). Long story short the Indian dealer said I need to keep the bike on a trickle charger at all times when I have it parked. I’m willing to do whatever it takes but this seems pretty wild to me. I’ve read through this forum about the issue several times while I waited for a diagnosis and had not seen that remedy.
Anybody else? Maybe it’s common knowledge?

Hey Jon, congrats on the new bike!

That's an Interesting response from your dealer. Did they say the misfire was cause from low battery and then they charged it up for you?
- Personally I'd demand they give me a brand new battery if that's the case... you just bought it!

I have a 2019 S RR that sat on the floor until I bought it ~Mar 21. I asked for new fluids since they expire after 2 years but they said no but I did manage form them to put a fresh battery in after I brought up known issues I found on the forums.
- I rode from Mar 21 to late fall and didn't use a trickle charge until about 2 months ago to make sure the battery was still good. My bike fires up every time.

You should demand a new battery from the dealer. GL!

 

[JonM]

Thanks everyone. I bought the bike from a different dealers showroom. They said the bike received a new battery in February. When I got it home it was dead. They said “oh it’s fine, just put it on the trickle charger “. I did. It was fine for a quick zip around the neighboruhood. Second night bike was idling really rough, shut down once then it cleaned up, went for a ride, at some point I noticed the engine light, got home and figured out how to play around with the touch screen and found the fault codes. They picked it up then took it to Indian. I didn’t speak to Indian dealer but where I bought my bike from said the Indian put another new battery in it and then said it needed to be on the trickle charger at all times…. I will call the Indian dealer on Monday to see if I can get more information.
BTW, finally got out for my first ride last night for an hour and this bike is incredible. All I can say is “track mode”!

 

[Charliemurphay]

If it roughly misfired while cold, then cleaned up, that is “normal” on the factory tune. And it may or may not throw a code when that happens. If it does throw a code, it doesn’t mean much beyond that the misfire was bad enough for the bike to actually detect. And the engine light should go away after a certain number of start cycles. Honestly this doesn’t sound like a bad battery to me (unless it isn’t starting at all on the new battery) but like typical factory tune foibles.

 

[JonM]

I did a lot of research on this bike before buying it and I’m aware of these issues. I was seriously considering the power commander ( or something of the sort ) immediately. But after riding it ( for a very short time ) I thought maybe personally I didn’t need it, at least right now. It has tons of exciting power and rough starts and idles aren’t a problem since I give it a long warmup before going out. But maybe you’re suggesting the computer upgrade will help the bike overall with its inherent eccentricities? Also the bike never has a strong, quick fire when cold start, it lags a bit then fires. I assumed this was because it’s trying to get all those massive parts moving unlike single cylinders bikes that I’ve been used to starting up.

 

[Charliemurphay]

If you haven’t decided on a tune yet, I’d recommend going for the Lloydz bench flash. I’ve done the Fuel Moto and just recently switched to the Lloydz one. The Fuel Moto one is great and gets rid of all the inherent issues but the Lloydz bench flash is even smoother. And you don’t need to buy a PV3. Either way a tune will take care of 99% of the factory tunes problems. Cold start/idle, throttle twitchiness, surging and adds a bit of power to boot.

 

[JonM]

Please forgive my ignorance but I’m not really sure what all of that means. I understand the premise of all these things but I’m not sure how to look it up or ask the bike shops. Are these things I can buy or do I ask my dealer to do this? I’m pretty capable of doing mechanical work. I live in Ontario Canada. Perhaps you can share some links? I try doing searches on this forum but sometimes there’s tons or responses and I get lost pretty quick.

 

[edgelett]

Please forgive my ignorance but I’m not really sure what all of that means. I understand the premise of all these things but I’m not sure how to look it up or ask the bike shops. Are these things I can buy or do I ask my dealer to do this? I’m pretty capable of doing mechanical work. I live in Ontario Canada. Perhaps you can share some links? I try doing searches on this forum but sometimes there’s tons or responses and I get lost pretty quick.

there's a lot of info on here regarding getting a tune for your bike, and it can be overwhelming.
You can't install a 'power commander' for the FTR. You need to purchase a tune for your bike and load it on, depending on what year bike you have and whether it still has the original ECU software there are again a few options
The majority of FTR owners have gotten a tune from Lloydz Garage in the USA - they developed a tune for the FTR from day one and are currently up to 'version 6'.
However - to get V6 you need to either send your ECU to them via post for flashing, or find a remote tuning centre in your area. I'm not sure who does it in Canada, you might want to check the Lloydz garage website and find out.