How to Jump Start a Motorcycle Battery
Motorcycle batteries can be jump started from another motorcycle, car battery, or portable battery jump starter. Most motorists keep jumper cables in their car, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find someone who is willing to help you out. Once you have your live battery lined up, follow these simple steps:
- Connect the red positive terminal on the dead battery to the positive terminal on the live battery.
- Clamp the black negative terminal on the live battery, but make sure you place the opposite negative clamp on a grounded and unpainted metal surface of your motorcycle. Typically, the chassis is suitable for this.
- Start the motorcycle with the good battery. Do NOT start the car.
- Allow it to run for a few minutes and then carefully disconnect the cables in the reverse order they were connected.
It’s important to place the negative clamp a safe distance from the battery because this connection often makes a spark and could cause a potential hazard. If your battery is a sealed Yuasa AGM battery, there’s almost no risk of fire, but keeping the negative clamp away from the battery is a best practice.
Another important safety note is to make sure that the two cable ends do not touch each other. Touching the cable ends will certainly cause a spark—and if that spark reaches the hydrogen gas that is often emitted from certain types of batteries while they charge, it could cause a serious fire or even explosion. So, even though jumping a battery is a relatively simple procedure, it’s so important to always use caution and take the process seriously.