Glad to hear you got a replacement battery and you are back on the road.
Like I said before, you knew the answer to your problem the minute you started the bike off your wifes car '
'started like it was 70degrees outside. Logistical conclusion there must not have been enough power from just the bike's battery.
This may have already been addressed. ButI've noticed that the PREFERRED oil for the 500 is 5w-50 as opposed to 15w40 for the 250. The other viscosities are labeled as ACCEPTABLE. Is anyone using 5w-50 in their 500? Could that small change make the difference?
Oil weight can make a
BIG difference when cold cranking an engine.
Living in the far western suburbs of Chicago, I know the difference synthetic oil versus mineral oil made when I would leave for work at 3 AM in January and February after the car sat outside all night. So cold the plastic holding up the seat belt inside the car shattered when I slid across the seat from the passenger side because the drivers door lock was frozen.
At O'Hare we would leave equipment running during the shift so it would work when we needed it.
On the days I handled GSE (ground service equipment=anything not flying) fueling my guys would keep the 5 gallon container of oil in the cab of the truck, so that the oil would pour when they needed to use it, otherwise it was like molasses. I did a Temp Duty Assignment IN Jackson Hole WY for two winters. I know cold weather and the effect it has on equipment, worked in it for 22 years.
Even the hydraulics had to be warmed by cycling the equipment. Most of the equipment that had to sit outside because it was too big to be parked inside, had recirculation block heaters.
I never consider blankets, heat guns/hair dryers, dipstick heaters as viable or practical options for cars or bikes.
I bet, the backorder was caused by a bad batch of batteries being shipped and now being returned.
