well i just went out for my first day of riding and about 3 hours into the day my battery died and left me stranded. I did stall it more than normal but shouldnt it have charged its self while riding. Has any one else had a problem like this or is there something i did wrong or something i could have done differnt to prevent this?
Could there be a defect to the battery or something else. Please Help!!

 

Nitro,
I had similar problems when I first got my Speed. I figured the same thing, that the battery should be charging while riding; but if it was never charged by the dealer I don't think it would be able to hold a charge? I could be wrong, but after I gave mine a full overnight trickle charge and weekly trickle charge, I have had no problems since. Hope this helps, JIM

 

You did nothing wrong, the battery just needs to be charged. When I first got my dale the battery was almost dead and after the break in and about two hrs. of riding I stalled it "human error" then it would not start again. So, luckly my buddy came by where I was riding and gave me and my quad a ride home. I charged it for about 35-40 min. and have not had the problem since. I do charge the battery every once a while now just to make sure I have enough juice. It would suck to get stranded out in the woods or during a MX race. My advise is charge the battery and if that doesn't fix it I'm sure cannondale will replace it for free.

 

Nittro, I've had the same problem with my quad. I start off the day fine then after a few hours the battery will die. I talked to Cannondale and all Cdales prior to 5/16/02 have improper stator wire shielding which causes the battery to loose voltage when the quad gets hot. Go to Cannondales site and see service bulletins. Hope it helps.

 

this message is a little off topic, but I was wondering if anyone else has encountered this. I took my speed into the dealership ( for other reasons)and the battery seemed fine, but when i picked the bike four days later the battery was completely dead, the fuel pump didn't start to even try. I was wondering if leaving the key in the on position would run down the battery or if the headlights staying on could be the only reason. I charger the battery and have not had any trouble whats so ever.

 

the Cannondale rep said my bike has all the updates

 

You can always disconnect your positive lead off your battery and attach a volt meter, in series, turn it to amps, and see if you have any current draw with the key off.