We just can’t get a break. Today we actually got on the road before 10am. Red Rock Amphitheater was our first destination. We pull into one of the parking lots and turn off my bike. As we realize we have to go further up the road I try to start my bike with no luck. Nothing is happening when I press the ignition switch. I make the usual checks, gas, key, cut off switch. All checks out. Time to open up the headlight and check on the electronics. We find problem number 1, a loose cable was grounding out. After we make sure all other cables are good we swap out a 10amp fuse that was blown. We try again and no luck on the ignition switch. Damn it! Probably the fuse under my seat. Against my will I remove all my stuff from the bike so we can get under the seat. As we open the seat we are met with a most wonderful surprise. Problem number 2, the battery exploded and obviously doesn’t have enough power to crank the motor. The fuse under the seat is fine. We have found our problem. We relocate the battery to where it can get more air even though that’s not going to make a difference now. We push the bike and pop the clutch. That starts it up. We take a tour around the Red Rock Amphitheater and then head down the mountain to a nearby Walmart.
On the way to the Walmart to get a battery I had also noticed that my front wheel felt like it was wobbling on turns at lower speeds so I inform Marco when we get to Walmart and we decide that after we take care of this battery issue we’ll look into the wheel. We run inside with fingers crossed that they’ll have a battery ready to go that I can throw on the bike. No dice. Only the car batteries are charged. Motorcycle batteries need to have the acid added and charged over a few hours. We scrap the battery idea as we don’t have that kind of time. I buy jumper cables instead just in case. Today we will either push start my bike or just not turn it off. Then we head across the street to the gas station and put my bike on the center stand to investigate my front wheel. Turns out the screws that hold the rim pieces together were loose. Not as bad of an issue but a problem non the less that sets us back even more time. We loctite the screws and tighten them up. Wheel is back on.
It’s about 12:30 and only now are we finally putting some miles behind us. We get on I70 west and head up the mountain. The plan had been changed to taking 9 North to 40 but being that we had lost all this time I made a decision to get directly on 40 from I70 because the route looked more direct. Wrong choice, it actually took us longer. However, the ride was a lot more pleasant. We got into the mountains and began to see the real beauty of this state.
Even though the views were amazing I was a bit annoyed at my whole situation but I kept trying to change my state of mind. I knew Marco and Gomes were excited for this part of the trip and just because I had no battery it was no reason for me to not be excited also. After all, at least the bike was moving plus we had said that our trip really begun once we hit Denver.
We rode for about half hour and covered practically no ground because going through the mountains entailed many winding roads. We finally got out of the first section of mountains and end up in a town called Fraser where we stop to grab a bite. Right on the main road is a place called The Ditch. We stop there to eat then run across the street into a mini mall for coffee.
We make a bunch of stops over the course of today’s ride to get photos and footage of what we’re seeing. We try to capture the mountains of Colorado as best we can but nothing does it any justice. You need to experience it for yourself in person to really understand and feel what this state has to offer. Colorado is an all season state. It’s a state made for people who love all seasons.
We near Steamboat Springs and decide that we should call it a day there. There’s a Walmart in town. We were supposed to make it to Vernal, Utah today. We are behind. Tomorrow we will try to make it to Salt Lake City, it’s 333 miles from our current location. If we have no surprises that should be doable.
Time to read (or reread) Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, “For the real machine you are working on is yourself”.
One other thing to think about is why did the battery “explode”? One common cause is the voltage regulator is not regulating, so the charging voltage gets too high. That creates a lot of heat inside the battery and boils the electrolyte. So you essentially have a bomb between your legs. Perhaps its worth evaluating the condition of the regulator at a convenient Honda dealer?
I’ve heard of the book and it’s on my reading list. As for the regulator that’s a good idea. We just figured since it was a lithium battery (balistic) it just exploded due to temperature and altitude changes. Will test the regulator with the volt meter.
I am not a bike mechanic, however I am part of a kick ass recovery/All-bout getting brothers to their much needed parts and or destination with dignity. It was simply great to have you fellas for a visit, and hopefully you are back on the road today after receiving your warrantied electronics part. Salt Lake City is fun, I limped home on the trailer tires…glad they are recyclable.
I hope your trip is progressing without problems. Keep posting. I am glad to see you taking a CX across the country. I found the link to your blog on the CX Forum. I have a 78CX500D modified to Cafe. You can find it under “Minnesota winter project”. Anyway, I am a bit concerned about why your battery exploded and have a couple questions. When you replaced the battery did you keep the original CDI or did you replace it with an Ignitech? If you kept the CDI, did you replace or test your Stator? With the CDI, your Stator is what charges the battery. It is possible (not sure without many more details) that your Stator is overcharging the battery, or that your battery was too small for the CX. I run a Lithium Ion with CDI and have had no problems, but mine is an in-town only bike. I’m not trying to scare you, just curious. However, if you explode another battery, you may want to have someone with a volt meter check your Stator (easy to test). Also, be sure to get a battery with the same specifications as the original wet-cell battery. Lastly, there are a lot of guys on the forum who are absolute experts with the CX! If you have any problems, post them on the Forum and you will be pleasantly surprised with the outpouring of support.
Hey Karl, thanks for checking out our trip. I am also glad. In the short time I’ve owned my CX I’ve fell in love with CXs and or growing community. It’s actually not the first time this CX makes this trip as a previous owner had driven it from Jersey to Cali and back already, so hopefully it knows the way and I can just set it on auto pilot. Will look into you cafe as soon as I have some time. I love looking at other people’s CX builds, it’s so inspiring and you always see cool stuff. Yep kept original CDI, I tested the stator during the engine rebuild and I believe it was okay. I really think the battery went due to rapid temp and altitude change since it happened leaving Denver as we rode up hill. It had shown no signs of going bad previously to leaving on this journey nor anytime during the 2000+ miles from Jersey to Colorado. I installed a 12lbs wet-cell battery (believe stock calls for the 14lb one) and so far so good. Will certainly report and ask for assistance on the forums if this happens again. Thanks again for checking and we’ll keep posting as the days progress.
Excellent! I am looking forward to living vicariously through your journey. Stay safe!