Stupid question. Can I jump start a motercycle using a car?

Answer 1

Not a Stupid Question whatsoever.

Jump starting ANYTHING with ANYTHING is a bit tricky,,,
and always dangerous.

Be absolutely certain that Polarity is Correct.

#1 RULE:Positive to Positive,,,Negative to Negative.
A Mistake can cause an extremely violent explosion,,,serious injury,,,even possibly Death.
A Battery Explosion is a Hydrogen Powered Hand-grenade

#2 RULE: Use a 12 Volt Jump-Source for a 12Volt Battery

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It makes absolutely NO Difference that a motorcycle's charging system OutPut and Battery Amp Rating is LESS than that of a typical Car for purpose of jump starting.

Electrical Devices ONLY draw current according to their OWN DEMAND,,,
Not whatsoever according to the Capacity of the Supply.

Your home for example has 100 Amp or 200 Amp service.
Most branch circuits are on 20 Amp breakers

Your 60Watt LightBulbs for example,,,
are therefore running
on 60W X 110 Volts.

That's 1/2 AMP Load,,,
on a 20 AMP Breaker,,
on a 100 AMP or more Power Source.

Your lights do not explode everytime you turn on the switch,,do they?

A STOPLIGHT Bulb is about 35Watts /12 Volts.
Thats a little under 3 AMPS.
Powered by 9~12~15 +++Amp Batteries in Bikes,,,
And same bulb is powered by 60~80 Amp Batteries in Cars

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You asked about JUMP-STARTING

Not Battery Charging.

That's 2 entirely different situations.

When done Properly ,,Jump Starting a Bike from a Car is perfectly fine.


CHARGING a battery is done according to an entirely different set of Electrical Laws.

Batteries can easily be damaged from Overcharging---
Charging at Too High a RATE of Charge,,,aka "Too Fast".

The Higher Output of a Car's Charging System is waaaay too strong to Charge a Motorcycle Battery SAFELY.

It will cause them to Overheat,,,and VERY Possibly Explode.

HERE's where a Large part of the Confusion and Misunderstanding stem from.

When you JUMP START a Battery,,,
It also tries to "Charge" the Battery if there's Any Excess Current Source Capacity.

A Car's average 60 Amp Battery would charge a 10 Amp Bike Battery from ZERO to FULL in 5 Minutes or Less.
(Forget the MATH calc that implies a 10minute Charge time---the extreme RATE exagerates the time out of proportions of Recommended Rates/Time....it ZAPS the Batt,rather than merely charging it)

Ideally,,,Bike Batts should not be charged any faster than about 1 Amp/Hour
Which is 10 HOURS at 1 Amp,,for a 10Amp Battery.

10Hours vs 5Minutes,,,,,see what I mean about TOO FAST?

Sorta like;
You CAN Toast Bread Perfectly with a Blow Torch,,
But you gotta limit Exposure Time to mere SECONDS.
It will go from raw bread to Charcoal REAL QUICK.

But the TEMPERATURE of a Blow Torch and aToaster Filament is NOT much different.
It's the VOLUME of HEAT,,,not the Temp.
Therefore the Issue is EXPOSURE TIME.

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If You ever NEED to Jump start a Bike from a Car,,,,
**Leave Car turned OFF so it's supplying BATTERY POWER ONLY,,
and NOT it's Charging System(which is a Huge Volume of Juice)
** Make Absolutely CERTAIN You have the cables connected Correctly.
Dont "THINK ya have them right"
Dont GUESS
Dont take Any Chance.
Be Absolute Certain it's RIGHT.

**Do NOT leave the cables Connected more than a Minute or 2.
It WILL try to "charge" the weaker,smaller battery at a rate which will overheat it

----Be Prepared to Start It soon as Cables are Connected
----Disconnect the Cables as soon as it Starts,,,or if it Doesnt start in a MINUTE or so.
(Literally a 60second minute,,,,not a figurative "minute")

If it Doesn't start "Immediately",,,,
Disconnect the Cables and at least WAIT 5 minutes or so.
This lefts the Battery cool down from any possible overcharge.

1 or 2 Tries is all I'd reccomend,,,
IF it's gonna start,,it'll start by then.

Continuing to Try to Start it when it Wont ,
can cause problems because Bike's Batt WILL overheat faster than you realize.

One other thing for SAFETY,,if at all possible....
*Connect POSITIVE cable 1st
* Connect NEGATIVE cable to Bike 2nd
*LASTLY---Connect Negative Cable to a GROUND POINT,,like Engine,,,on the Car.
AWAY from the Battery.
That gives you some distance to Prevent igniting any battery fumes,,,and some distance to avoid injury.

Doing so enables you to be Away from Both Batteries,,,and even turn your back to them,
Only focusing on the "remote ground" to connect the cable.

This ain't a perfect world,,,sometimes we GOTTA do stuff we'd rather not do.
Like Jump Starting...ANYTHING.

Your Best Hope is in knowing the Facts and Correct Procedures,,understanding the risks,,,and being CERTAIN to do things Correctly.


Hope that Helps

Answer 2

Remove the battery from the car. (Reason is complicated, as you did not ask, I will not put it in here.) Use both jumper wires on the battery since you will not get a good ground on anyplace on a bike. (Chrome, paint, etc.) Make sure you have a good connection to the terminals, and are not touching anything else with the jumper cables. (Hard on some bikes.) Let the connection sit for a few moments, then turn on the bikes power. See if your headlight is brighter than before. (Good way to guage battery power with no equipment.) If it is, then try to start the 'ol gal.

If you get her going, ride it for at least 20 miles to get a charge in the battery. This won't help if the battery is shot. If you get a clicking noise after riding, the battery has had it. Time to drop about $90 on a gel battery. Don't forget to put the battery back in the car! Good luck, and watch out for Mr. Harley Tech. He has no clue.

Answer 3

As long as the car isn't running, it's perfectly OK to jump start a motorcycle with a car battery (as long as the bike has a 12v system).
A car battery just sitting there, will not put out enough amperage to do any damage to a motorcycle's electrical system.
Not that it's possible, but if by some magical feat of physics, the entire space-time equilibrium was thrown out of balance and a massive amperage surge were to be put out by the car battery, the bike's main fuse would blow before any damage were to occur.
I've been using car batteries to jump start motorcycles for over 30 years with zero problems.

Nice explanation TXm42
Every one will benefit from your answer.
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Answer 4

Usually, yes. Both are "usually" 12 volt systems. The motorcycle battery and charging system is lighter-duty, so I would NOT leave the automobile attached to it too long. If you need to charge the battery, I'd pull the motorcycle battery out, or disconnect the positive cable, and charge it. To briefly jump start it should not cause any problems or damage, I just wouldn't leave it on very long, if the motorcycle will run afterwards. I've done that several times to my Honda bikes, and have never had a problem with them.

Answer 5

Yes. I've done it lots of times. Your motorcycle has to be a 12V system (most are, but if it's an old dirt bike, it might not be). Don't start the car, just connect the battery!! If you start the car, you might cook your motorcycle!

Answer 6

yes you can jump start your motorcycle using your car,but you don't have to start your car,just hook up the cables to the battery of your car and that should give your motorcycle battery enough juice to start it,if the motorcycle does not start and you have to start the car don't leave it on too long because you don't want to over power your motorcycle battery which could weaken the motorcycle battery.it would be a good idea to buy a battery charger at sears and charge the battery that way instead.

Answer 7

NO PLEASE GOD NO, DON'T DO IT! I don't know how many times people brought bikes into the dealership after doing this becuase they were too lazy to charge their battery with a real charger or buy a new battery. We always felt bad telling them they needed to replace most of their electrical system. If you HAVE to do it, do NOT do it with the car running. PLEASE buy a motorcycle charger. They are not very expensive.

After reading the following comments I have to say that first of all most bikes are 12V since the 70s and roll-starting a bike is actually not good for most bikes, just another last resort thing.

Also, it would have only been a stupid question if you had asked after trying it while staring at a lot of Lucas Smoke (burning wires leak Lucas Smoke) coming out of your bike.

Answer 8

Only if your motorbike has a 12v battery, req jump leads. buy a portable power station and engine starter.
get new battery, get a charger like Robin says ok

Answer 9

Auto inspector is right it must have a 12v system and electric start.My bike does and works perfect

Answer 10

Connect the leads to the respective battery trminals i.e. red - red black - black. Wait for about 10 mins for the slave battery to charge the dud one then try the ignition switch. Good Luck