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My Ducati's long persisting starting issue fixed with HICAP copper battery cable kit

12K views 41 replies 27 participants last post by  quikduk 
#1 ·
I've dealt with my Ducati's starting issues for so long that I almost gave up on the bike and never wanted get another Ducati. After several trips to the service without any luck, one of my dear friend finally suggested that I should swap the battery cables with these copper ones sold by Motolectric called HICAP copper kit.

Here is video of me changing the cables and the magical disappearance of the notorious problem.
I hope this helps other Ducati owners suffering from the same issue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYK1EjMWDJ0&feature=youtu.be
 
#5 ·
Had starting problems initially. Now I use both the HICap and the Shorai LFX18A1. They work well together, particularly when it's not too cold. Below 45 degrees, I kind of have to wake up the battery, but I'm always sure that the combination will work.

Ron
 
#7 ·
Every time I read a thread like this I start feeling like I'm living a charmed life. I've owned two SS/SPs, two 998s and a 2005 SS1000DS over more than 100K miles and I've never had a hint of starting problems. Always Yuasa batteries and stock wires, coils. etc. I think I'll go have a glass of whiskey and give my thanks to the Ducati God.
 
#8 ·
Motolectric Kit

I installed the same kit on my 1198S with the same results. I went with a 480 CCA AntiGravity battery for more than double the stock CCA's plus the weight savings. Charges up super fast, too.
Excellent results. I live in south Florida so I can comment on cold starting but the extra CCA's should help take care of that.

Mort
 
#11 ·
Both my Ducs were originally bad starters. The cables have now been replaced on both. Now both start on the button, hot or cold. 2 things intrigue me about this topic.

1. How hard it is to convince owners with poor starting problems that this very easy fix will almost certainly sort their woes. You don't even need to buy a ready made kit. Any decent replacement cable and fittings will make a significant improvement.
2. Why Ducati themselves use such poor cables/fittings for the battery/starter/earth circuit on so many models in the first place? The components are quite literally pennies on prestigious, high-end products, and the often very public scenario of a bright red Ducati failing to start in front of potential customers must have hit sales hard over the year.
 
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#19 ·
Right out of college many years ago we worked with an Italian company that owned the IP on some technology we were using. These machines were used in the appliance industry and took a lot of abuse. We took their drawings and were converting them from metric to inch (fasteners, tubing, fittings, etc).

President of the company commented how us Americans overbuild everything and waste money putting too much metal into the equipment.

My only thought was when those "overbuilt" US Army tanks were rolling through Rome 40 years earlier (it was mid '90's) if anyone got the hint that perhaps skimping on the iron wasn't the best way to go forward....
 
#13 ·
i'm at the point now that if someone comes in to me with a bike that won't start reliably, even one which will crank endlessly, i tell them the first thing to do is fit a motolectric kit. if they refuse, i generally reluctant to help them.

i had a 999s that i had been through which would crank great, but not fire. just crank and crank and crank. no sign of a battery or voltage issue. fitted the motolectric kit - fixed.
 
#14 ·
The Motolectric kit looks fantastic and is about as complete a kit as you're likely to find anywhere. The other popular option here is Powerlet. The kit works just as well, is basic in that you don't get scrub pads and zip ties, but it costs $40.00... I have the Powerlet kit on both current bikes. Excellent quality, fit right, and work.

Some would say even $40.00 is expensive for about 3 feet of battery cable. I actually agree with that, as you can buy the same quality (or better) cable on the open market for a fraction of that amount. You pay for the convenience of the pre-made cuts and crimps. Quality cable is a given, but more (or just as) important is the quality of the crimp for the terminals. If you don't have the equipment to do it right, your going to have issues. The equipment needed to complete a quality crimp on a cable that large isn't hugely expensive, but in the end, you come out cheaper buying a kit...
 
#15 ·
Guys will spends 1000's of dollars on "bling" but wont spend 40.00 to fix a hard starting bike....I don't get it.... Best $40.00 I ever spent for my 996. Touch the starter button and it lights off.....
 
#16 ·
I can certainly agree with that. The bigger issue is with Ducati... This isn't a new problem by any stretch of the imagination. It has also not been corrected by Ducati over the years. New bikes apparently have same crap cables and connections. I guess I'd rather pay the $40.00 in the aftermarket for good cables than what Ducati would end up charging for the same better components if they were to include them as part of the OEM!
 
#17 ·
Had notorious starting issues with my 2011 Monster 796. Installed the motoelectric kit and now it will start in the dead of winter with no issue at all.

Just ran into a similar issue on my Panigale and have purchased a kit(but have yet to install). I wonder why Ducati doesn't just include high quality cables from the get go. Profit margins... :rolleyes:
 
#18 ·
Ducati is missing an opportunity here, I m surprised they haven't picked up on it!

If they offered a Ducati Performance battery cable upgrade and used a "carbon look" heat shrink and maybe a DP logo screened on the cable, they'd sell them as fast as they could ship them at $400.00 a pop easy.
 
#27 ·
If they offered a Ducati Performance battery cable upgrade and used a "carbon look" heat shrink and maybe a DP logo screened on the cable, they'd sell them as fast as they could ship them at $400.00 a pop easy.
We worked out a "bling" overcoat upgrade for our kits but have never announced it.

We needed to duplicate the look of the OEM for a Brutale rider who was very particular about appearances.

So we researched high temp jacketing and worked out how to get it on the cabling.

Since it is a weave it is a bit tricky.

It has to be cut a different length than you would think as it changes length when it is installed onto the cable.

Adds some cost to a kit, adds a bit of diameter to the leads, makes the leads a little bit less flexible and is a pain (for us) to install.

But it's available if you want it.

It also takes the safe temp rating up over 450F.

Our standard silicone jacketing is rated to 300F.

Standard electrical industry wire jacketing is usually only rated to about 221F.

And when it gets wet that drops by about 25%.

The CF look weave is added over our standard jacketing which is why we refer to it as an "overcoat".



This particular kit is a good example of the production steps we take to make every install go smoothly.

Custom bends on the terminals (45 and 90 degrees), terminals pre-oriented 90 or 180 degrees from the terminal at the other end of the lead.

HTH.

M./
 
#20 ·
My 1198SP starts fine on stock everything after the first start of the day, but like me it's reluctant to wake up first thing in the am. We've developed a routine that works to get us going, and I'd miss that should installing a cable kit perk just the one of us up. :)
 
#21 ·
Wild this thread is at the top.
Yesterday I installed the Motolectric cable kit on my 1098S. Previously when I was at the track on a cold day, it could take 2-3 full starting sessions to get it running. It would crank, crank, crank, pop, crack, and die. then repeat. Once it is started once, it starts perfectly the rest of the day.

I installed this kit yesterday and it started right up in like 1 second. I didnt let the bike warm up, simply turned it off and did it again this morning at 7am PST. It started in about 1.5 seconds. It isnt as cold today as it was at the track when my bike was sitting outside, but the couple cranks, did seem to be faster together in delay, so I have to think this helps.

I took a video of the whole install, the 1st start with it stock, the one yesterday after and the one today. Going to edit it. But overall I think it helps.
 
#22 ·
The video of the "old Monster" on Mike's website was my Monster. With high comp pistons and the degradation of the wiring connection over time, the bike would literally not start, even with a fully charged battery. It would turn over but there was so much voltage drop through the circuit that the plugs werent even firing.

After we put on the wiring kit, the results were amazing. Especially after fighting with the problem for so long. I hit the starter button and the bike fired up immediately. You can here me say "Wow" in the video. It never started that easily even when I first bought it years before.

Mike
 
#23 ·
On numerous occasions Ive experienced the 'not enough juice left for the electrics' thing.
Bike will turn over but no start, let the bikes battery handle the electrics and then a separate battery for the starter, itll start right away.

Replacement parts for worn starter clutch is minimum €450, plus work. On 1098 its much worse as it now uses the 1198 starter components meaning a new starter motor and all following gears, €1000 at least in total, excluding labour.
A cable kit and fresh battery is good advice and cheap too.
 
#24 ·
Really Ducati?? Come on.....how much more would it cost the manufactuer to put decent starter wires on the bikes?. Maybe $5.00 each...they bulk buy the wire and fittings or at worst buy them premade by the thousands for $10.00 a set. Maybe they own the aftermarket companies that make the kits...my conspiracy theory.
 
#25 ·
Thumper -

Don't even go there.

Where would it end? Adjustable suspension everywhere, decent mirrors, descent seat, iridium plugs, good throttle control, r/r that didn't give up the ghost, clutch slave cylinders, adequate electrical connections, double flywheel nuts . . . etc.?

Sociologically, one of the most interesting things about Ducati motorcycles is that it can sucker in guys like me, with quite reasonable educations and personal goals, into believing that "If I just get this, that or the other farkle, it'll be OK?" :rolleyes:

So, we buy the HICap wires, the Shorai batteries, the new headlamps, the clutch components, rims, levers, seats, GPS — whatever! :eek:

Because it's a motorcycle, we just call in our credit cards and do the deal. And then we brag about it online. :cool:

No hope. :D

Ron
 
#26 ·
After several trips to the service without any luck, one of my dear friend finally suggested that I should swap the battery cables with these copper ones sold by Motolectric called HICAP copper kit.

Here is video of me changing the cables and the magical disappearance of the notorious problem.
I hope this helps other Ducati owners suffering from the same issue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYK1EjMWDJ0&feature=youtu.be
Hi Serkan,

Just wanted to thank you for posting such a great video.

And you are right;

the drop from 2-3-4 seconds of cranking, down to about a half second, represents a large percentage drop in wear on the entire starting circuit (the battery, solenoid, sprag clutch and starter motor).

(from 2 seconds to a half second = about 75% reduction in wear)

(from 4 seconds to a half second = about 87% reduction in wear)

If a rider has to go through a couple 4 second cranking sessions to get his bike to fire up it jumps to a 94% reduction.

Many riders have commented that they don't know of any other upgrade which delivers as high a reduction in wear on critical (and expensive) components.

Thanks again for the excellent Youtube posting.

M./
 
#28 ·
Nice looking kit. I was just poking fun at Ducati, however. Like they way put a Champion spark plug in a red box and charge $30.00 for it...
 
#31 ·
anyone made their own cables??

Has anyone actually made their own cables instead of buying the kit??? After looking at the motolectric kit it just seems that your spending the extra for the fancy bends and for some to stuff a scuff pad and some zip ties in a box.
 
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