A Dumb Question?

[From A2B]

Hi all some help please...

New bike yesterday, so last night I fitted an Optimate battery tender lead. What is normally a straightforward part to fit became a real frustrating saga which took me over an hour to complete.

Upon unscrewing the terminals I was surprised to realise the screw/bolt connects to to a free moving nut which I couldn’t get a spanner onto. Eventually by luck I managed to get the the bolt and nut to tighten. Problem is I’m fearful things aren’t quite tight enough. Having left the battery connected to the Optimate overnight I was concerned when started the bike for a morning ride the bike stuttered and stalled. The battery sounded a little weak too. Managed to start it and went off. Daringly I stopped the bike on five occasions around my ride but all was okay.

So just wondering if anyone knows how to get a bit more torque into the battery terminal nuts and bolts?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Nikolajsen]

If the nut is in correct place, are you sure is can spin round??
Yes, it is a loose nut, that can be taken/falling out, but when in correct place, I don't think it can spin round.

About battery, you can buy a "14" battery, same physical size, but more power.

 

[Dogdaze]

It should not be free spinning, however if bizarrely your's is, then why not just replace it with a square nut? 8M I believe. I've added allsorts of leads to the S10 and never had an issue. What mileage is your bike and how old is it? Could the starting issue be a case of NOS, sitting too long on the showroom floor so battery has lost it's amps? Just exploring ideas. also, look up hard start, these machines can suffer from flooding if you start then turn off too quickly without warming up, happens often if incorrect procedure is followed.

 

[Checkswrecks]

If it's able to rotate then a previous person replaced the OEM nut.
Some folks put a bit of foam under the nut to start the bolt.
I and others will simply hold the nut up with the end of a plastic tie-wrap till the bolt is started.

 

[From A2B]

Indeed after all the faffing (UK slang) I did start it up last night to check if I had got a good connection; all was well. Left it on charge as my suspicion that the bike being a 2017 model, the battery had probably lost some amps. So I hoped the Optimate would pep it up and restore. Curiously this morning upon startup there was a discernible smell of fuel. So what’s a ‘hard start’? New bike yesterday so learning about the ST.

Back to the terminals. I’ve achieved a fairly tight torque but more rotation at the bolt/screw causes simultaneous spin. The nut is a normal type nut. I can’t get anything more than a screwdriver in into the available aperture to align the nut and screw and rely on natural mating until spin is achieved ‍

 

[OX-34]

It sounds like the original (rectangular) nuts were misplaced/fell out while the bike has been sitting around the dealers with the battery terminals disconnected.

When getting it ready for delivery the apprentice probably just grabbed a couple of fresh (hexagonal) nuts from the parts containers.

Your dealer will no doubt have a handful of old batteries sitting in a corner after being exchanged for new in customer bikes. They typically stockpile a few before recycling. Ask for a couple. 6M sounds more like it. Its a free, 10 second job for them and then you can fiddle with it at home as you get used to the gizmos under the right panel of your bike.

Half a foam earplug works well to hold the nut. It can just live there.

 

[magic]

I use RTV silicone to hold the battery nuts in place. Once you get the proper rectangular nuts in there, tighten the screws and put a dab of RTV in the cavity. The RTV silicone will set up and hold them in place. You'll never lose your nuts again.

 

[From A2B]

It sounds like the original (rectangular) nuts were misplaced/fell out while the bike has been sitting around the dealers with the battery terminals disconnected.

When getting it ready for delivery the apprentice probably just grabbed a couple of fresh (hexagonal) nuts from the parts containers.

Your dealer will no doubt have a handful of old batteries sitting in a corner after being exchanged for new in customer bikes. They typically stockpile a few before recycling. Ask for a couple. 6M sounds more like it. Its a free, 10 second job for them and then you can fiddle with it at home as you get used to the gizmos under the right panel of your bike.

Half a foam earplug works well to hold the nut. It can just live there.

I reckon you’ve hit the nut on the head .

The most plausible explanation because what exists there now is an illogical fastening method. Thank you.

Dealer contacted now and they are obliging to correct.

 

[Don in Lodi]

I use a ball of tin foil under the nut to keep it in place. A dab of silicone is a good idea, provided the tube hasn't dried out... ::010::

 

[tomatocity]

A Popsicle Stick or something like that has worked for me. Now I remember why I keep Popsicle sticks in my travel toolkit.

 

[Don in Lodi]

A Popsicle Stick or something like that has worked for me. Now I remember why I keep Popsicle sticks in my travel toolkit.

::008::