Issues with my bike, I'm a beginner

I bought a Piaggio Skipper ST125 a few weeks ago very cheap secondhand, was serviced in November and only done 11,000 miles, not bad condition.

Unfortunately though, I have to keep it outside, I do have 2 heavy duty locks on it though, along with a disc lock alarm, immobiliser and a GPS tracker so it's as protected as can be.

My bike cover was too small so still waiting for my replacement to come, unfortunately though, its rained a lot the last 2 weeks so the main headlight has got a bit of condensation and also the exhaust seems to have got much rustier in a fortnight, I couldn't believe it, hope I won't need a new exhaust anytime in the near future.

Anyway, I don't have much knowledge of bikes, very little infact apart from the very basics, oil, petrol, battery water level etc.

I have only done around 60 miles since purchasing it as it's not used daily, just now and again and most of that mileage was done due to collecting the bike and riding it back from another town.

The battery gauge has been showing as 12 since I got it but hasn't gone down.

Today i tried starting it 5 ot 6 times and it wouldn't start which is so frustrating, the battery gauge was under 10, i checked it again earlier and it's showing as 10 now.

I'm guessing this is a battery issue? I hope nothing major has gone wrong but it was fine when i last used it about 5 or 6 days ago.

I haven't a clue what to do, buy a battery charger? or do you think a new battery is required?

I do have home and roadside breakdown cover with my insurance company so I did consider calling them out but thought i'd ask on here first.

Thanks.

 

Thanks for your reply, my main issue right now though is my bike isn't starting and as a beginner I don't have any ideas apart from the battery?

 

Unfortunately, I don't have a battery charger, so the choice is buy a charger and then test the battery or just buy a new battery. I'll be gutted though if I bought a new battery and it turned out it wasn't the battery at fault.

 

when you get it started run it up for ten minutes every other day plus spray the shiny bits with wd40 or similar, I have 6 bikes and rub grease over the chrome bits while not being used

 

Would this charger be any good?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6-AMP-12V...009?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item5d550a8bb1

I'm going to try starting it tomorrow as it doesn't look like it's rained for a few days and may have dried out?

I am going to spray it with some WD40 as well.

Also, a few question regarding this battery http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ULTRAMAX-...445?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3ce37bf8ed

Would this be suitable for my bike? Also, says it doesn't need charging and can just be put in and used is that correct?

Sorry for the questions but I have little knowledge at all really regarding bikes so i will have to try and learn a few things regarding maintenance and bike problems.

 

Just tried starting my bike, no sign of it starting, my battery gauge now says under 10. I presume it's a battery issue but maybe it's something else or an electrical fault? Not sure what to do, if i buy a battery and it still doesn't start then I've wasted money and I'll be back to square one.

I have home breakdown cover so I might call them out.

 

Also, a pic of underneath the bike: Also a question, can I spray WD40 over all this? or just certain parts?



Exhaust: Again, would WD40 help this rust?

 

**UPDATE**

Called the breakdown company, they came out, jump started it but it wouldn't start again after being turned off for a few minutes, so got my helmet and gloves and they jump started it again and I took it straight to the local bike shop.

When the breakdown guy tested the battery, it was showing at 12v which apparently is at the lower end of what it should be.

Got to the bike shop, guy came outside, my bike started straight away and he said it seems fine to me, I said no, the battery is on its way out, he wouldn't accept this at first, but after starting it up 2 or 3 times he said it might be struggling a little.

Then he told me to start it and ride it round the back to the workshop and surprise surprise it wouldn't start and I said told you the battery is knackered and I know very little about motorbikes. Apparently the battery had 2 knackered cells, surely the guy i bought it off a few weeks ago would have known about the battery being on its way out? Maybe not but what do you think?

Left it there a few hours, they fitted a new battery for £30 and didn't charge to fit it, all seems ok now

 

KEEP THE WD40 AWAY FROM THE BRAKES...

CHARGE THE BATTERY/GET NEW BATTERY AND CHARGE IT BEFORE PUTTING IT IN

WD40 WILL BE USELESS ON THE EXHAUST BECAUSE ITLL BURN OFF, PAINT WITH VHT PAINT IF YOUR THAT BOTHERED ABOUT IT.

 

Thanks for the reply, what would you recommend doing with the wires? I guess because I'm a beginner I worry about touching things on the bike I don't know about incase something goes wrong but I do need to learn about some things and basic maintenance. Someone might sand the exhaust down and paint it for me which would be good. I can't alter the time or anything on the electronic screen, must be faulty or the buttons are but that doesn't matter.

I'm just happy it's running again and that it was only a minor problem. That battery should last 2-3 years so won't be needing another one anytime soon.

 

Hi scootzmadness.

The bike shop called me about 3 hours after I took it in so I'm presuming they charged it? They started working on it as soon as I left.

Regarding the exhaust, you didn't say anything about sanding it down? Wouldn't be much good just painting on top of the rust would it?

 

yeah they'll have charged it and charged you for the pleasure of it.

Obviously sand it down then paint it, I could go into finer detail about getting the perfect finish but theres plenty of tutorials on google and I cba. although if you cba sanding it there is actually a special paint you can get from wilkinsons that you just brush over and it kills the rust, cant remember what its called, ive got a tin in the shed if I get time tomorrow ill check the name of it.

run it and ride it every day if you can. just spray the wires with WD40 it will put a film over it and give them some protection from the elements. if you cant ride it every day atleast start it up once in the morning, once in the evening to let the battery charge a bit. if you leave it for days the battery will go flat again and letting the battery go flat over and over will kill it quicker. batterys should be replaced once a year.