Stranded, need guidance!

[wnyfjr]

I just went through this last Friday. I accidentally switched on the parking lights when I locked the forks.

How is it even possible to lock the forks (and I assume remove the key) with the parking lights still on? Something different with the '13?

Yup. It's VERY easy to do. Turn the key to lock the forks, then turn it about another 1/8" and click, parking lots come on. Then they let you walk away with the key.

I think Yammie should fire the Human Factors engineer. They fuxed up!

I had to go out to the garage and confirm for myself that it doesn't do that on my Gen II! I can see how that would happen easily if you aren't looking for it. I agree, heads should roll.

 

[RaYzerman19]

Some older bikes had a parking light feature which turned on the rear tail light only, trouble is, you had to leave the key in the ignition..... seems Yammy decided you should be able to remove the key, good idea, yes? However, I see little use for the parking light feature in the first place......

As for boosting via a Battery Tender harness, even a 30 amp will blow (BTDT)....... you'd need a heavier wire and bigger fuse.

 

[Bungie]

Some older bikes had a parking light feature which turned on the rear tail light only, trouble is, you had to leave the key in the ignition..... seems Yammy decided you should be able to remove the key, good idea, yes? However, I see little use for the parking light feature in the first place......
As for boosting via a Battery Tender harness, even a 30 amp will blow (BTDT)....... you'd need a heavier wire and bigger fuse.

Ya, parking lights on a bike don't make much sense. But they do look good on the Gen3's with their cat eye headlight surrounds.

As for the tender harness. Yup and Yup. I'm more inclined to just leave it as is. I don't intend on killing my battery to often to warrant making that change. I'm more inclined to find and snip the parking light relay wire from the ignition switch.

 

[HotRodZilla]

I just went through this last Friday. I accidentally switched on the parking lights when I locked the forks.

How is it even possible to lock the forks (and I assume remove the key) with the parking lights still on? Something different with the '13?

And don't forget: Bungie could eff up a wet dream!

 

[CA G-Man]

Good point. Just for a trickle charger then.
I'll be searching here for the best way to route the wires from the battery to the under-seat compartment. It was a pit of pain on my '04 when I did it. I ran them inside fuel line hose to insulate them against the motor heat.

I run my trickle charger pig-tail down the right side to the fairing vent. It's a very short and direct run from the battery and it sits nicely in a little nest up against some of the foam stuffing. No heat issues at all and quite weather-protected. One twist of the lock nut, slide the vent cover off, and Bob's your uncle. In other words, I found a way to make the adjustable vent useful!

 

[beemerdons]

I just went through this last Friday. I accidentally switched on the parking lights when I locked the forks.

How is it even possible to lock the forks (and I assume remove the key) with the parking lights still on? Something different with the '13?

And don't forget: Bungie could eff up a wet dream!

"When a stationary vehicle is not clearly visible, parking lights must be kept on." +1, Gunny; Bungie could indeed feck up a wet dream, but the reason our 2013 "International" FJR's have mandatory parking lights is because in the European Union, Commonwealth Countries and most of Asia/India you must utilize parking lights for your moto if it is not parked under a streetlight. First night I got my 1966 BMW R60/2 in Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany: I got a ticket for failing to abide by this rule, Ich bin ein Dummkopf!

 

[HotRodZilla]

I ran my pig tail along the top of my frame towards the tank. The end sticks out between the right side fairing and the tank. Been there for years and works great. The fairing keeps the plastic cord in place, and when I'm not using it, I face the end down to help keep water out.

 

[TomInPA]

I have the charger pigtail permanently on the battery, and use an SAE accessory outlet on the bike. This provides a SAE connector that can be used anytime for the Battery Tender or a compressor, and a 12V lighter outlet with an inline 20 amp fuse. If you use a battery pigtail, be sure it has an inline fuse (not all of them do). Without a fuse, any damage to the insulation could be really bad.

 

[DennisJ]

I ran my pig tail along the top of my frame towards the tank. The end sticks out between the right side fairing and the tank. Been there for years and works great. The fairing keeps the plastic cord in place, and when I'm not using it, I face the end down to help keep water out.

I mount mine in the same place. Convenient and unobtrusive. Takes all of 15 seconds, probably shorter, to connect the Battery Tender Jr when I park. Not used so much during the summer but it gets used every evening during the winter months or when I am not riding every day.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Glad you got home ok, were you up there with the FZ1 rally by any chance?

 

[CopB8]

I just went through this last Friday. I accidentally switched on the parking lights when I locked the forks.

How is it even possible to lock the forks (and I assume remove the key) with the parking lights still on? Something different with the '13?

Yup. It's VERY easy to do. Turn the key to lock the forks, then turn it about another 1/8" and click, parking lots come on. Then they let you walk away with the key.

I think Yammie should fire the Human Factors engineer. They fuxed up!

I had to go out to the garage and confirm for myself that it doesn't do that on my Gen II! I can see how that would happen easily if you aren't looking for it. I agree, heads should roll.

Works the same way on my Triumph.

 

[mcatrophy]

The "Park" position also enables the hazards to be on with the ignition off and key out. Useful in an emergency.

(Click on image for larger view)

 

[Chuck35]

Yup. It's VERY easy to do. Turn the key to lock the forks, then turn it about another 1/8" and click, parking lots come on. Then they let you walk away with the key.
I think Yammie should fire the Human Factors engineer. They fuxed up!

If they want to allow you to leave the lights on, they should use a monitored circuit. That is kill the lights when voltage drops to say 12.3

 

[Windjammer]

Yamaha 4 stroke snowmobiles have nice heavy guage wires that come right off the battery to a remote location for jumpstarting. The cable ends have rubber boots to prevent arcing and I'm pretty sure a heavy duty fuse is built in. If a jump start is needed, just slip the rubber boots back off the cable ends & jump it with no disassembly. It would probably be easy to retrofit to an FJR if one was so inclined.

 

[Jeff F]

The snowmobile retrofit sounds like an interesting idea. Thx.