• Ciao Guest - You’ve landed at the ultimate Guzzi site. NEW FORUM REGISTRATIONS REQUIRE EMAIL ACTIVATION - CHECK YOUR SPAM FOLDER - Use the CONTACT above if you need help. New to the forum? For all new members, we require ONE post in the Introductions section at the bottom, in order to post in most of the other sections. ALWAYS TRY A SEARCH BEFORE STARTING A NEW TOPIC - Most questions you may have, have likely been already answered. DON'T BE A DRIVE-BY POSTER: As a common courtesy, check back in and reply within 24 hours, or your post will be deleted. Note there's decades of heavily experienced Guzzi professionals on this site, all whom happily give endless amounts of their VALUABLE time for free; BE COURTEOUS AND RESPECTFUL!
  • There is ZERO tolerance on personal attacks and ANY HYPERLINKS to PRODUCT(S) or other competing website(s), including personal pages, social media or other Forums. This ALSO INCLUDES ECU DIAGnostic software, questions and mapping. We work very hard to offer commercially supported products and to keep info relevant here. First offense is a note, second is a warning, third time will get you banned from the site. We don't have the time to chase repeat (and ignorant) offenders. This is NOT a social media platform; It's an ad-free, privately funded website, in small help with user donations. Be sure to see the GTM STORE link above; ALL product purchases help support the site, or you can upgrade your Forum profile or DONATE via the link above.
  • Be sure to see the GTM STORE link also above for our 700+ product inventory, including OEM parts and many of our 100% Made-in-SoCal-USA GTM products and engine kits. In SoCal? Click the SERVICE tab above for the best in service, tires, tuning and installation of our products or custom work, and don't miss our GT MotoCycles® (not) art on the BUILDS tab above. WE'RE HERE ONLINE ONLY - NO PHONE CALLS MADE OR RECEIVED - DO NOT EMAIL AND ASK QUESTIONS OR ASK TO CALL YOU.
  • Like the new V100, GuzziTech is full throttle into the future! We're now running on an all-new server and we've updated our Forum software. The visual differences are obvious, but hopefully you'll notice the super-fast speed. If you notice any glitches or have any issues, please post on the Site Support section at the bottom. If you haven't yet, please upgrade your account which is covered in the Site Support section or via the DONATE tab above, which gives you full site access including the DOWNLOADS section. We really appreciate every $ and your support to keep this site ad-free. Create an account, sign in, upgrade your account, and enjoy. See you on the road in 2024.

2014 Cali Custom start issues

Smash Zilla

Just got it firing!
Joined
Oct 17, 2015
Messages
20
Location
Virginia Beach
Hey everyone, I just got back from a 7 month deployment. My bike has 6000 miles on it. Its been on the tender and my GF started it for 20 minutes every Saturday while I was gone. I went to start it the other day and it wasnt on the charger for a week. just clicks. Voltage read 12.3. I charged it till it read 13 Volts, started and then it read the usual 14.3 while on and driving. would drop to 14.2 at a light. What do you think. is it time for a new battery. I am the original owner. Any ideas would help. Thank you.
 
If the battery is 4 years old, it could be on the way out. Is the tender floating the battery at full charge? Even at 12.3v it should be able to do some work, hence the post about voltage under load. Best advice for storage is to leave the bike without starting it. The weekly start up, assuming the bike idled for 20 minutes, just adds engine wear while the oil is thick and cold, and the fuel mixture is rich. A monthly run out on the road to full operating temperature would be ok, but otherwise, just sitting in a weather protected space on a good tender works fine.

Stephen
 
Anything over 14 volts while in motion is fine, your battery is charging. Dropping voltage while idling at a traffic light is normal.
I would not recommend starting it once a week unless you are going to ride it for at least a half hour, besides the engine wear - idling at low revs such as idling is not sufficient to replace the battery energy used to start it.
I battery tend ~6 months out the year and never had an issue starting or charging with the oem 4 year old battery on my Custom.
Check in on the charging voltage (over 14v) once in awhile while enjoying your ride.
 
What does it read (battery) when you’re cranking it?
12.0 abd the screen flickers and then the starter clicks. It wont start till it reads 13 atleast. So i can start it ride 50 miles. Reads 14.3 , but once i turn it off, it wont start again untik its on the tender for 30 minutes again.
 
It certainly sounds like the battery needs to be replaced.

The fact that 1.) The display flickers, and 2.) The solenoid clicks, until you have 13 volts would be reasonable symptoms of a weak battery.

If it’s of any help, mine will be 4 years old in August. I wouldn’t be surprised if mine started exhibiting the same symptoms any day now.
 
Last edited:
sounds like you need a new battery .

On your next deployment,
Fill the tank,
disconnect the battery and dont touch the bike till you are ready to ride it.

NOTE Running the bike for 20 mins is a good way to damage the cylinders and rings and heads ,
as the engine will overheat due to no air cooling.
Other issues will also happen

An engine that doesnt reach operating temperature and stay there for 20 mins or more will accumulate water in the oil,
This can cause acids to form and this will also cause corrosion to form inside the engine.

\ BEST bet park it til your ready to ride.
 
If your showing over 14V while running then your charging system is working, sounds like you have a tired battery that needs replacement.

12.0 abd the screen flickers and then the starter clicks. It wont start till it reads 13 atleast. So i can start it ride 50 miles. Reads 14.3 , but once i turn it off, it wont start again untik its on the tender for 30 minutes again.
 
Back
Top