Hair pulling.

Well
Between the headlight, gauge lights, tail light and horn not working on my commando. And a dead battery....
I removed the tank, seat, ecu, unplugged all the wiring and made sure all was tight and clean. All checked good along with voltage and continuity. Still packed full of dielectric grease.

I then removed the headlight and did the same, checking all the wiring and connectors. All is good.

put the tank back on and went to start the bike, boom! The lights all work.
what the heck?

Did another wiggle test lights still work as does the horn.
Put the ecu and wiring all back in and put the seat on, put the headlight back in and went to start the bike.....
Dead battery again.
I’ll buy one more Shorai. I replaced the Shorai in my Domi a few months ago because it wouldn’t hold charge even though it’s always on their trickle charger. The Domi battery kept dying after only being 2 years old.

My commando Shorai is 4 years old now, so I guess I shouldn’t complain.
Anyhow, after I finally got the commando to start I double checked the lights and horn. All is good. At this point it’s 7:00pm and the days are getting shorter and it’s cloudy out, I headed out to take a ride to fuel up and everything is going great.
I pull into the gas station, turn off the bike, fill up.
mount the bike and she fired up.

As I pull onto the road and make my way back home, I notice my lights are out again and I just so happen to pass a cop. As I continue my 10 mile ride home, I still have no head light, tail light or gauge lights or horn.

I finally make it home and guess what. The damn lights come back on.
I give up for the day on the commando.

I’m thinking the switch or lead off the switch is faulty.

My next deal of the day was to of course double check my Dominator. Turn the key on and the lights and horn all work fine.
went to test the high beam and wth no high beam But the flash to pass switch turns the high beam on.
Now I noticed that when I fiddle with the red high beam switch it intermittently works 50% of the time and while I press it half way, the relay under the seat buzzes.
I give up.

Not wanting to screw with anymore electrical gremlins today I checked both chains free play while cleaning both bikes.
Commando checked good.
Dominator not to bad.
But now I noticed the Dominator swing arm is loose.

I thought it felt funny riding my Dominator last weekend like the tire pressure was low but I checked that.

Now I’m getting movement from the swing arm Pivot And need to adjust it.
had anyone else noticed their swing arms being loose? My Dominator only has 620 miles on it.

Scott, I use Shorai batteries on several bikes, on my old Commando it was 6 years old when I replaced it last year, it was (is) still fine, I only changed it for a bigger one due to fitting an electric start.

Maybe your bikes suffer a bad drain? Maybe the drain outweighs, or at least confuses / screws up the proper charging / maintenance process ?

As for the rest of your challenges, I can offer nothing other than good luck !!

Voodooo said:

Well
Between the headlight, gauge lights, tail light and horn not working on my commando. And a dead battery....
I removed the tank, seat, ecu, unplugged all the wiring and made sure all was tight and clean. All checked good along with voltage and continuity. Still packed full of dielectric grease.

I then removed the headlight and did the same, checking all the wiring and connectors. All is good.

put the tank back on and went to start the bike, boom! The lights all work.
what the heck?

Did another wiggle test lights still work as does the horn.
Put the ecu and wiring all back in and put the seat on, put the headlight back in and went to start the bike.....
Dead battery again.
I’ll buy one more Shorai. I replaced the Shorai in my Domi a few months ago because it wouldn’t hold charge even though it’s always on their trickle charger. The Domi battery kept dying after only being 2 years old.

My commando Shorai is 4 years old now, so I guess I shouldn’t complain.
Anyhow, after I finally got the commando to start I double checked the lights and horn. All is good. At this point it’s 7:00pm and the days are getting shorter and it’s cloudy out, I headed out to take a ride to fuel up and everything is going great.
I pull into the gas station, turn off the bike, fill up.
mount the bike and she fired up.

As I pull onto the road and make my way back home, I notice my lights are out again and I just so happen to pass a cop. As I continue my 10 mile ride home, I still have no head light, tail light or gauge lights or horn.

I finally make it home and guess what. The damn lights come back on.
I give up for the day on the commando.

I’m thinking the switch or lead off the switch is faulty.

My next deal of the day was to of course double check my Dominator. Turn the key on and the lights and horn all work fine.
went to test the high beam and wth no high beam But the flash to pass switch turns the high beam on.
Now I noticed that when I fiddle with the red high beam switch it intermittently works 50% of the time and while I press it half way, the relay under the seat buzzes.
I give up.

Not wanting to screw with anymore electrical gremlins today I checked both chains free play while cleaning both bikes.
Commando checked good.
Dominator not to bad.
But now I noticed the Dominator swing arm is loose.

I thought it felt funny riding my Dominator last weekend like the tire pressure was low but I checked that.

Now I’m getting movement from the swing arm Pivot And need to adjust it.
had anyone else noticed their swing arms being loose? My Dominator only has 620 miles on it.
View attachment 18948View attachment 18949

Click to expand...

The inner adjuster is tightened to 20NM , this sets the pivot laterally in the frame . If the Swing arm pivot bolt is tight , then you should check this. Make up a tool that will fit the tabs and notches so you can tighten this. 20 NM is only like 15 ft. lbs. The Pivot bolt goes to 60NM torque. Its unlikely that there is a bearing problem .

TonyA said:

The inner adjuster is tightened to 20NM , this sets the pivot laterally in the frame . If the Swing arm pivot bolt is tight , then you should check this. Make up a tool that will fit the tabs and notches so you can tighten this. 20 NM is only like 15 ft. lbs. The Pivot bolt goes to 60NM torque. Its unlikely that there is a bearing problem .

Click to expand...

Correct.
I looked that up in the manual yesterday. I’m going to have to remove the pivot bolt to access the preload adjuster.
Comparing how deep the preload adjuster is to the one on my commando, the Dominator is a few threads deeper.
im hoping noting is wrong with the bearing being it only has a tick over 600 miles but I’ll soon find out. I hope they didn’t forget to install a spacer.

Fast Eddie said:

Scott, I use Shorai batteries on several bikes, on my old Commando it was 6 years old when I replaced it last year, it was (is) still fine, I only changed it for a bigger one due to fitting an electric start.

Maybe your bikes suffer a bad drain? Maybe the drain outweighs, or at least confuses / screws up the proper charging / maintenance process ?

As for the rest of your challenges, I can offer nothing other than good luck !!

Click to expand...

The Shorai battery in my commando started giving me problems about 1-1/2 years after I installed it.
I agree it’s either a poor battery or the drain is higher than the trickle charger can keep up with. Either way, I’m replacing it with the norton spec part number.
My Dominator has the newer version battery and charger and so far so good.

I fitted the Shorai lithium and have had no difficulties since (only a few months though). For a few individual weeks of that period though I have left it off the charger and hooked it up the night before the Sunday ride. Also fine. I have a nagging concern that it is not good for the battery to leave it on a charger permanently, even in maintenance mode. I have nothing to back this concern up with though and was going to contact Shorai and ask the question directly however, I am using a NOCO Genious 3500 charger not the Shorai charger. I also came to the realisation that I’m not overly concerned with longevity. If it lasts 2+ years of trouble free starting before dying I can live with it. Just another minor penalty or owning this awesome (if slightly troublesome) machine.

Stephen_Spencer said:

I fitted the Shorai lithium and have had no difficulties since (only a few months though). For a few individual weeks of that period though I have left it off the charger and hooked it up the night before the Sunday ride. Also fine. I have a nagging concern that it is not good for the battery to leave it on a charger permanently, even in maintenance mode. I have nothing to back this concern up with though and was going to contact Shorai and ask the question directly however, I am using a NOCO Genious 3500 charger not the Shorai charger. I also came to the realisation that I’m not overly concerned with longevity. If it lasts 2+ years of trouble free starting before dying I can live with it. Just another minor penalty or owning this awesome (if slightly troublesome) machine.

Click to expand...

If I don’t leave it on the Shorai chaRoger, it’ll be completely dead in a day. Then its too difficult to get it to bring it up to 12 volts. Even on the charger it nearly never starts my commando. So far the shorai in my dominator had been great

Voodooo said:

If I don’t leave it on the Shorai chaRoger, it’ll be completely dead in a day. Then its too difficult to get it to bring it up to 12 volts. Even on the charger it nearly never starts my commando. So far the shorai in my dominator had been great

Click to expand...

‘completely dead in a day’

Its not the battery or charger that’s at fault there Scott...

You got a drain...!

Fast Eddie said:

‘completely dead in a day’

Its not the battery or charger that’s at fault there Scott...

You got a drain...!

Click to expand...

It does sound like a bad parasitic drain, but I believe it could also be the battery. If a lithium battery charge level was allowed to ever drop significantly it could damage the battery's ability to hold a charge. Lithium are not like lead acid batteries in their ability to recover from being let go far down

Voodooo said:

If I don’t leave it on the Shorai chaRoger, it’ll be completely dead in a day. Then its too difficult to get it to bring it up to 12 volts. Even on the charger it nearly never starts my commando. So far the shorai in my dominator had been great

Click to expand...

Hey Scott, that sucks! I’m sure you know your charger intimately, but mine has a repair facility on it. Don’t know how common this is or if it even works. As we know the clocks appear to be the main source of parasitic drain on the Norton. Might be worth a check.

Thats a bad day, you should have gone drinking instead Scott. haha
I never had any luck with lithion batterys myself, lost count of the amount I have taken out for customers. the Naked had one in when I got it and once it drained totally there was no coming back from the dead.
Now I have a good old basic YTZ12s [not as tall and heavy as YTZ14 so pleanty of clearance for the tank] in the Domi and it fires right up and charges perfect everytime.
[although the instruments have a very small drain so sits on tickle charge]

Fast Eddie said:

‘completely dead in a day’

Its not the battery or charger that’s at fault there Scott...

You got a drain...!

Click to expand...

It won’t hold a charge
My load tested just confirmed it’s a bad battery.
But a drain is very possible. My Dominator did this exact same thing until I put a new battery in it. So far so good with the Domi.

Stephen_Spencer said:

Hey Scott, that sucks! I’m sure you know your charger intimately, but mine has a repair facility on it. Don’t know how common this is or if it even works. As we know the clocks appear to be the main source of parasitic drain on the Norton. Might be worth a check.

Click to expand...

It’s possible it’s the clock. But this is my second gauge. My original had a broken mount from the factory. But I replaced the original back when I got my commando new in 2016. Perhaps it’s worth a test.

I bit the bullet and dumped the Shorai and its dumb charger. Not only in the Dominator but for the Ducati (0 parasitic drain) too. Emailed MotoBatt and got a great deal for 3 batteries and a charger.
This was posted on another forum which puts Shorai up against the competition. No more Shorai for me.

I'm going through practically the exact same phenomena. Noticed the front brake light not working. Open head light, one at a time, unplug everything, dielectric grease, plug back in. EVERYTHING STILL WORKED.
Unplugged the tail light bulb. Looked good. Grease. Cleaned contacts. Reinstalled. Head light. Headlight, tail light, horn, dial lights don't work. Installed new battery. yuasa. Put tank back on. Fuse blown on the pigtail. Take the tank back off. Replace fuse. Put the tank back on. Tender working. Battery fully charged. Bike reads 12.9V key on, fires up immediately, reads 14.8V at idle. Still no head, tail, dial lights or horn. Is there a relay involved? Forgot to mention, all my fuses are good. Also pulling out my hair. Is the ECU involved in any way. It was suggested by a bike mechanic that it might be and to ride it. Maybe it has to relearn it. That doesn't seem right to me, but..................
I know. I posted this in another thread. Clutch going on my T140. Currently bikeless. I need a bigger garage.

Fix the clutch on the T140... it’ll be much faster and easier than chasing this gremlin... and you’ll have a nice sweet, reliable, enjoyable bike to enjoy whilst you fix the 961...!

Fast Eddie said:

Fix the clutch on the T140... it’ll be much faster and easier than chasing this gremlin... and you’ll have a nice sweet, reliable, enjoyable bike to enjoy whilst you fix the 961...!

Click to expand...

Its getting done. Luckily it started and did not stall on a beautiful 23 mile ride along the beach to my mechanic.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, things are getting worse by the minute. Touched the male spade connector to the front brake switch. snap. Corroded to hell. Have to dig that out and replace the spade.
And there is a tail light hex screw on my garage floor mocking me as it has escaped. Left it on the floor right under the tail light. I have a boat that is big enough to load this POS onto and add it to the reef.

Britfan60 said:

I have a boat that is big enough to load this POS onto and add it to the reef.

Click to expand...

I've had times when I thought about pushing my MK3 off a cliff.
Luckily, none nearby.

speirmoor said:

I bit the bullet and dumped the Shorai and its dumb charger. Not only in the Dominator but for the Ducati (0 parasitic drain) too. Emailed MotoBatt and got a great deal for 3 batteries and a charger.
This was posted on another forum which puts Shorai up against the competition. No more Shorai for me.

Click to expand...

Ryan F9, the best of the motobloggers (is that the term) by far in my opinion. Pretty cool, for a Canadian!

Stick with it Britfan! No doubt you will find the fault after a few Bart ‘Doh’ moments and a bit of head scratching. When you’re on the third conversation on your next ride, with some random old dude that used to own a Norton, you’ll remember that it’s worth the effort and you are riding something a little bit special (faults and all). Or we could all just buy a Honda

New clutch and some fully adjustable Hagons on the T140, as I am not bikeless. I will NOT be touching the 961. I just seem to be making a mess. Best left to Sir Limey Lucas, keeper of the Royal Steeds. Named his son Lucas too. Talk about passion for British Twins. Best mechanic I've come across in years.