[Jeff Higgins]

I tried one one on my '93. I had nothing but problems, and went back to an Odyssey. I'm not entirely sure what was going on, not being much of an electrical guy. It could have been the charging system, as some have stated. I had the specific, dedicated battery tender for it as well.

First start almost every day had to be jump started. Some days it would start itself, but the procedure was really weird. I'd roll it out into the driveway, prime it, and hit the starter. It would barely turn the motor. I would go back into the garage and gather up my riding gear, and lay it next to the bike, then try the starter again. Now it would turn it over a bit better, but still not start it. Then I would pull on my jacket and helmet, and try again. This time it would crank it with some authority, but still not start. Then I would put my gloves on, roll it down into the street, and try again. By now it would crank with authority and start right up.

It was almost as if the battery would build some internal resistance or something as it sat. It would take several tries on the starter, with the first acting all but like a dead battery. It would get better with each try until it started. Or not - then I would have to jump it. I actually added a hot lead to the positive side of the battery to facilitate that without having to raise the tank. On my bike, the monoposto seat has to come off to allow the tank to pivot high enough to get to the battery, which was getting to be a major pain in the ass.

The Odyssey fixed all of that.