[hasselman]

Too true and there is a common denominator to most of the problem posts, you don't have to look to hard to find it.

If you refer to me, say it straight and I leave this forum. When I joined this forum I thought I could be of use to others and learn something. Now I feel I'm only wasting my time getting pissed of on people trying to make them selfs important and expressing hatered againste BMW in general and talking in a humiliating derogatory ways of others.
I'm also member of other forums where I feel I can provide my limited knowledge for others to benefit.
In the country I live, we are sometimes accused of being rude because we are accustomed of speaking straight. That is one of our strengths and weaknesses.

 

[Norwester]

No, not you.

 

[PCV]

My own opinion on this is that the standard size battery is too small in capacity and the extra voltage drop/draw you get in cold weather is either shutting down parts of the fuel system / or giving a false measurement.



I think BMW need to increase the battery size to give more CCA and reserve power on new bikes , and provide an option to supply modified battery carrier to house larger battery on older models.

You could be right. My experience is that if the bike does not fire then the motor stops turning after a few compressions and it is necessary to release the button and press again (this is the case regardless of temperature). It won't allow constant churning of the starter.


I did wonder if this was the system being intelligent and preventing run down of the battery but that seemed too much to expect of a "budget" bike and I've never heard of any other motorcycle doing this.


The starter always spins the motor quickly enough, there being none of the slow turning normally characteristic of a flat battery.
Has anyone else experienced this effect?

 

[Toldi]

Has anyone tryed to fit a battery with larger capacity, so more Ah than the original 8 Ah?


The dimensions of the osm one YTX9-BS
are
150x87x105 mm, plus is left

YTX12A‑BS has the same dimensions, but 12 Ah, plus is left?
look here:
https://www.motorradbatterien.ch/content/8-technische-daten-aller-motorradbatterien

 

[Toldi]

I see, the YTX12A-BS has 10 Ah, not 12 Ah as mentioned in my link.
But would be 25 % more capacity

 

[Kris]

I never once had a cold start issue, other than needing to put a bit of throttle. however, I heard that the battery can cause problems. either because the battery is not so good, or it is leaking energy via the wiring or whatever. I personally, use the battery tender every 2 weeks and have no issues.

 

[oldtimer.ca]

If you refer to me, say it straight and I leave this forum. When I joined this forum I thought I could be of use to others and learn something. Now I feel I'm only wasting my time getting pissed of on people trying to make them selfs important and expressing hatered againste BMW in general and talking in a humiliating derogatory ways of others.
I'm also member of other forums where I feel I can provide my limited knowledge for others to benefit.
In the country I live, we are sometimes accused of being rude because we are accustomed of speaking straight. That is one of our strengths and weaknesses.

No, not you

 

[Nakul Malik]

If you refer to me, say it straight and I leave this forum. When I joined this forum I thought I could be of use to others and learn something. Now I feel I'm only wasting my time getting pissed of on people trying to make them selfs important and expressing hatered againste BMW in general and talking in a humiliating derogatory ways of others.
I'm also member of other forums where I feel I can provide my limited knowledge for others to benefit.
In the country I live, we are sometimes accused of being rude because we are accustomed of speaking straight. That is one of our strengths and weaknesses.

Not You!!
-N

 

[Chrismac]

This is the second winter I’ve ridden my 2018 g310r almost daily, in Ohio in temps down to the teens.
Last year I had the bike towed to the dealership when it refused to start at 20 degrees, got the usual “it’s fine, just give it some throttle”. I spent the rest of the winter keeping my bike under a heated blanket, putting a heater on it, and rolling it a little before starting it to get the engine moving, which worked okay.
This winter, I ended up having to recharge the battery almost daily to get it to start- the battery would die trying to crank the engine- so I ended up looking for a better battery.
I got a tru-gel model MG9-BS, which matches the specs for my bike and is the same size as the stock battery, except instead of the stock battery’s CCA rating of 80 or 85, it has a CCA rating of 145. Now I keep my bike uncovered, and no longer have to roll it before starting. I still have to crack the throttle a little, and sometimes it takes a couple of tries, but it has started up every time I’ve wanted it to.
I think this solves the problem of the thick oil; the stronger battery is able to crank the engine at the right speed to get it to start.
It cost $80, which is a little frustrating to have to buy for a year old bike, but so far it’s been great.

 

[Cees Klumper]

Thanks Chrismac for this practical update, could really help others who have this cold start issue. Will be interesting to see others' experiences with larger-capacity batteries. It does sound like your original battery may have been faulty.

 

[G0MYW]

yep ... battery is a little under rated for the cold weather some of us live in.
I went for the lithium option.
also a change of oil grade [say 5W40] .
both these 'problems' now mean I can get the 310 started in cold conditions.

 

[hasselman]

yep ... battery is a little under rated .....

My old (ym. 2008) BMW R1200GS only had a 12Ah battery. It wasn't enough at temperatures below freezing. I had to use additional starter to get it started in the winters. When BMW released the R1200GS, it was 30 kg lighter than the previous R1150GS. One of the points where BMW gained weightloss was on the battery. The R1150GS had a 19 Ah battery.
It seems the cold starting issue is only affecting some bikes. Mine still has the original firmware from 2017 as well as the original batery. My bike is usueally easy to get started with a litlle initial twist of the throttle handle, even at below freezing temperatures. The bike is standing in an (almost) unheated garage and has about 9000 km behind it. Now in the winter I use 98 RON petrol, because it has less ethanol in it. Our 95 RON containes 10% and the 98 RON only 5% ethanol. Even thou I had no cold start issues, I always carry an additional starter help in my top box.
Let us know how your lithium battery is behaving. I've heard lots of warnings about lithium batterys not wanting to take charge when cold and having issues when trying to start cold bikes without preheating the battery.

 

[G0MYW]

correct about the cold + lithium, they are a bit sleepy when cold ..
My solution is to switch on the ignition for ~30 seconds, the headlight load warms the battery internals.
After that crank the engine.
I've found the 5w40 oil allows the engine to spin much easier.
I'll probably return to the 15w50 when spring temperatures return.

 

[juniorsdca]

Cold Start Issues...Ugh!

Hello everyone!

Just wanted to share what is going on with my G310R for collective knowledge. I've had the bike for about 9 months now (bought in May last year.)

I ride it at least once every week. Love the bike, but once it got colder a few months ago, I ran into the dreaded cold start issue. I have a Battery Tender charger and the first time I had the issue about two weeks had gone by without me riding the bike. I charged the battery for about 10 minutes and it started right up. (The battery tender said the battery was at 80% charge right away, which made me wonder why it didn't start to begin with. But I digress.) Rode the motorcycle about 30 minutes, then parked it. Same issue happened again the next week and I had to put it on the battery tender again to get it started. I called BMW Roadside Assistance the first time, but it was a Sunday and they were just going to tow my bike to the dealer and I figured it was just a battery issue since the bike was still turning on and doing the initial whirring noises, but not turning over.

This happened about 4 weeks in a row. The temperature was usually 50F (8-9C) or lower.

Once I got the bike started initially, it would run fine for the rest of the day, even if I stopped for lunch, coffee, etc. Of course, the ambient temperature also had climbed by then.

3 weeks ago, I went on a 3 hour ride with some friends. Same issue, couldn't get the bike started in the cold morning, but it was fine after using the battery tender initially, and the bike started happily after every stop. Let the bike sit for a week and then it started right up on the first try without any issues and without needing the battery tender.

I figured that maybe the battery wasn't being charged enough on my shorter rides, so I've been riding longer rides and the bike has started up right away ever since then. (About 3 weeks since I've had it to use the battery tender to get it started initially.)

Today, I got it out, it started up right away on the first try like it has been, rode it for an hour on the highway at 65-75 MPH for an hour, from sea level to an elevation of a little over 4,000 feet. Parked at a casino there (for a cheap $7.77 prime rib lunch) and was there about an hour and a half to eat. It was a very windy and cold day up there...temperature outside around 50F (9C).

Came out, turned the bike on, tried to start it and....nothing. Electrics and whirring noises, but engine doesn't even make an attempt to turn over. It was parked in the shade, but I had just ridden it for an hour at fast speeds. How could the battery not be near fully charged? It easily started in the morning after not being driven for a week!

Some really friendly guys on Indians and Harleys saw me trying to roll the bike and helped push me to get me rolling and pop the clutch in second gear to get it started, but there was too much gravel in the parking lot...and the back wheel kept locking up instead of turning the engine over, so no luck with that approach.

(As a side note, NO ONE is impressed when your new BMW with 2200 miles on it won't start lol.)

I thanked them for their help and told them I thought the battery was dead and I would call BMW Roasdside Assistance for help. Called in for help (thankfully I put my card and sticker under the seat a few weeks ago because I was worried about the bike not starting in the middle of nowhere, and now here I was.

Roadside Assistance was friendly and assured me help would be on the way. Asked if texting updates was okay and I told them that was fine.

First update I got was that they were working on finding help. Next text was that they were having trouble locating assistance and might have to get help from somewhere far away. Third text I got was that I should contact local authorities for help if this was an emergency because it would be some time before assistance would arrive(!). This was on a Saturday and I was about an hour away from a big city.

With the wind blowing and the weather getting colder by the minute, to say that I was frustrated would be an understatement lol.

I figured I might as well try to pop the clutch in second again while I was waiting so I started looking for downhill slopes in the parking lot. I saw a section that was better paved and decided to try that one. Turned ignition to on, put bike in 2nd gear, pushed as fast as I could with the clutch in (8 MPH) and let the clutch out...thankfully she started right up! I messaged Roadside Assistance to let them know I got the bike started and to cancel the help, that I was riding home.

Long story short: There is DEFINITELY some sort of issue with my bike and cold weather. I have tried twisting the throttle before starting, letting the bike do all it's checks before hitting the start button, etc...but nothing helps once it goes below 50F for my bike. I believe it might be an ECU software issue because the bike is fine within minutes after it's on a battery tender, but it's also possible that I have drained the battery just enough to the point that it won't start if the outside temperature isn't warm enough. Who knows?

However, a new battery is going to set me back $158 and even though I've ridden the bike to Arizona from California, at this point, I no longer trust this particular battery to not leave me stranded. I'm going to buy a new battery next week and junk the one the bike came with. If I have any issues after that, then I will return it to the dealer and ask them to fix it, with the receipt that I just bought a new battery for it. I'm also thinking of buying a backup battery jump starter. :-/

I've always used Chevron Supreme gasoline for every tank, except for whatever was in the tank when I purchased it new from the dealer. I'm really hoping a new battery will help.

Absolutely love my bike! It's a blast! This cold start issue is really the only complaint I have about it.

 

[Cees Klumper]

Weird. Battery should be fine at that young age. If your dealer is not too far away I would have them check out the bike and replace the battery at their cost, or do whatever else to fix this. You should not have to be troubleshooting this.

 

[Britmech]

Keep the old battery if you buy a new and phone your dealer or write to BMW give them the facts and ask for the cost of the battery.

 

[G0MYW]

a new battery is the first thing to try - I seem to recall that a batch of 'poor' batteries may have been fitted.
this bike does need really good power source in cold weather.
Others have indicated that the battery capacity is marginal in operation when under cold conditions.
Another option I have used when very cold is a lithium power pack
[this sort of thing]
https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Bat...prefix=portable+power+booster,aps,567&sr=8-13

You'd have thought that bmw would have tested these bikes in their bitterly cold winters, rather than in a very warm india..

Good luck....

 

[hasselman]

A question pops up in my mind. Are the batteries fitted already at the factory in India? Seems some geographical markets have more trouble than others. As I have understood, the US sold G310GS/R's have American sourced batteries. If the batteries are locally sourced, the cold start issues seem to be caused by some BMW country organisations buying "cheep" batteries, to improve profit on a low margin product. That would easily become costly for the brand's image.
So far, I haven't had or have heard of any unusual cold starting issues here in my region. I'll check with a couple of groups of Finnish BMW and winter riders on FB.

 

[oldtimer.ca]

Just a side note, push starting in 2nd gear is not going to work you need to be in a much higher gear 4th or possibly 5th then pull the clutch as soon as it fires. This used to be the normal starting procedure for road races, I've done it many times with a 500cc single.

 

[juniorsdca]

Thanks for he responses everyone!

Yeah, I have a Vespa too that I barely drive once a week, but I haven’t had any issues with it’s battery in years. (It’s a Yuasa.).

I did have an issue once with the Vespa with the battery a few months after buying it when it wouldn’t fire up the engine and it left me stranded at work one night. I had free Roadside Assistance from Piaggio at the time since it this happened within the first year. They gave me a jump and I made it home. Bought my Battery Tender when I got home and replaced that battery soon after; I’ve never had a problem with the Vespa since and I’ve owned it for 12 years and probably gone through 3 or 4 batteries in that time.

My thinking is that when these bikes are sold, the dealers just fully charge the batteries in them and sell them, but who knows how long the batteries have been sitting around, aging and getting drained?

For me, I can easily afford the $158 to buy a new one and see if that remedies the issue. I WILL take your advice and hang onto the old battery until I’m confident there are no issues with the new one; it would be great to have both if I keep having trouble.

Both my BMW and my Vespa are parked outside and it gets pretty cold here at night during winter.

Lithium-ion seems like a good way to go to save weight, but not sure I want to invest in one of those until I know for sure the issue is just the battery, although I’m pretty sure that that’s all it is.

I did try to push start the bike in 4th and 5th actually haha! For me, it finally worked popping the clutch in second gear, but if I’m ever in the same situation, I will probably try all gears again.

This is my first motorcycle and I’m actually really happy with it. I’ve already driven it more and further than I ever imagined I would. It’s been a fantastic experience so far, and even though I was a little freaked out in the middle of nowhere yesterday, I DID get the bike started without anyone helping me and I made it home safely, so everything worked out okay in the end.

I’m enjoying the bike and I have no regrets buying it. It’s doing it’s job and making me want to get an R-Ninety or R1200RT as my next bike haha. If it wasn’t for the G310R, I probably wouldn’t have bought a motorcycle in the first place. This bike was about half the price of he R-Ninety and it’s really been fantastic overall.