[gkarasik]

So here's a question: I rarely lock my bike (2018 Airbag), but if I did lock it, could I unlock it if when I returned to it a few hours later the battery was dead?

 

[reginaldmc]

Dead battery, electric lock switch will not unlock.

 

[Fred H.]

Remove cover above license plate, insert key, turn to open left saddlebag.

Open left saddlebag, pull emergency release cable to open right saddlebag

Open Right saddlebag, pull emergency release cable to open trunk.

To open right side glove box or gas tank lid release, you'll have to first recharge the battery, because there is no emergency release lever for it. If you have a dead battery, and are out of gas too, you may have a problem.

 

[reginaldmc]

So here's a question: I rarely lock my bike (2018 Airbag), but if I did lock it, could I unlock it if when I returned to it a few hours later the battery was dead?

Did you mean the trunk and saddlebags not the steering lock?

 

[thekid]

maybe I am missing the obvious here, but - you say you rarely lock your bike.....does the bike not automatically lock when you walk away with the fob?
or are you leaving the fob on the bike?

and if you came back to a dead battery, remove side cover and charge the battery....or hook up jumper cables to a good battery = your bike will unlock & then start it

 

[wingman05]

Look at Page 187 - 189 of your owners manual, then look at pages 184 - 186. This is what Fred is referring to.

 

[gkarasik]

Thanks, everyone. I am aware of all that. Just another reason everyone needs to make sure there's a spare key available hidden somewhere on the bike.

 

[gkarasik]

maybe I am missing the obvious here, but - you say you rarely lock your bike.....does the bike not automatically lock when you walk away with the fob?
or are you leaving the fob on the bike?

and if you came back to a dead battery, remove side cover and charge the battery....or hook up jumper cables to a good battery = your bike will unlock & then start it

When I say I don't usually lock my bike, I mean I don't crank the handle bars over; just leave them straight.


I now carry a lithium bike starter in the bike, so in the event of a dead battery, as has happened to me recently, I have only to use the emergency key to open the left saddlebag. I've also rigged up a simple connector to the battery, so I don't even have to pull off the side cover. But not everyone will be prepared for this, and among the purposes of these boards is to alert others to possible problems they may not have considered.


You say you can "charge the battery....or hook up jumper cables to a good battery." Those things are not always easy to come by. And you're not always in a convenient or safe place. And you don't always have cell-phone coverage.


You know how you're supposed to dress for the accident; you also should prepare for the worst. Having the means and knowledge to extricate yourself from an unpleasant situation is the best course. Wishing you had thought of something is not a good approach.

 

[wingman05]

Thanks, everyone. I am aware of all that. Just another reason everyone needs to make sure there's a spare key available hidden somewhere on the bike.

This is a good practice. Also, if you take a road trip with another rider, give the other rider the spare key to carry in his/her trunk (or saddlebag). On my road trips, swapping keys or fobs is standard practice.

 

[Farmguy]

Thanks, everyone. I am aware of all that. Just another reason everyone needs to make sure there's a spare key available hidden somewhere on the bike.

How is that any different than the old bike?

Loose the key while walking around, you got a problem.
Lock key in trunk or side bag, you got a problem.

 

[remoandiris]

Meh. You can pull a trailer full of gear for all the "what ifs", or you can prepare for the most common what ifs based on your own experience and just take the rest in stride.

 

[gkarasik]

How is that any different than the old bike?

Loose the key while walking around, you got a problem.
Lock key in trunk or side bag, you got a problem.

It's not different in any practical sense--got to have a spare key--but people are much-more used to thinking about spare ignition keys than they are about spare fob keys.

 

[gkarasik]

Meh. You can pull a trailer full of gear for all the "what ifs", or you can prepare for the most common what ifs based on your own experience and just take the rest in stride.

I agree. There are practical limits to "Be Prepared." The logical extension is that you'd have to drag a spare Goldwing behind you. Still, hiding a spare key on the bike requires minimal effort. A lithium-battery jump-starter requires a little more effort and expense, but considering there's a known problem with the 2018 staying on when it's not supposed to, it could save you from a very bad time if you and a passenger got caught with a dead battery somewhere that was in one way or another dicey.

 

[JamieMac]

I keep my spare key in my wallet. been doing that for 30 years.

 

[gkarasik]

I keep my spare key in my wallet. been doing that for 30 years.

Must be worn out by now.

 

[remoandiris]

but considering there's a known problem with the 2018 staying on when it's not supposed to, it could save you from a very bad time if you and a passenger got caught with a dead battery somewhere that was in one way or another dicey.

A known problem? Really? Of the thousands of 2018s sold, where is the data showing it is a problem? Yes, I am really asking, because it is not a problem known to me.

 

[gkarasik]

A known problem? Really? Of the thousands of 2018s sold, where is the data showing it is a problem? Yes, I am really asking, because it is not a problem known to me.

I did not say it is a big problem, just that it is a known problem (note the use of passive voice). There have been multiple reports of dead batteries on this forum, some attributed to a bad batch of batteries, some attributed to a glitch (or maybe it's a feature) in the ignition system not always fully turning off. I assume there have been reports on other Goldwing forums as well, but I don't know that as I don't visit any others.

 

[remoandiris]

I did not say it is a big problem, just that it is a known problem (note the use of passive voice).

I did not say it was a big problem, either. I took your statement of it being a "known" problem to mean known by Honda. If that is not the case, I wouldn't consider that a problem, anymore than the tie rods not being exactly 171 mm are a problem.

 

[gkarasik]

I did not say it was a big problem, either. I took your statement of it being a "known" problem to mean known by Honda. If that is not the case, I wouldn't consider that a problem, anymore than the tie rods not being exactly 171 mm are a problem.

Something is a problem only when Honda knows about it?

 

[remoandiris]

Something is a problem only when Honda knows about it?

Nope, but it isn't a problem just because a few people claim it is a problem, either.