Here's what I know: Dielectric grease is used as an insulter on bare parts that electric current flows through. It doesn't conduct electricity. It does prevent corrosion from forming on parts that electricity flows through, I suppose by insulating them from moisture and oxygen in the air. Any grease will do this but dielectric grease is silicone so it doesn't break down rubber-like electrical insulators. Petroleum based grease does soften and break down rubber so it shouldn't be used where it might coat those surfaces.

My question is, how is dielectric grease properly applied? Do you apply it to all surfaces before assembling them or do you wipe it over the exposed surfaces after assembling? I've always applied a thin coat to all surfaces. Where the ring lugs press up tight to the ground, terminal, etc., the grease should squeeze out leaving metal to metal contact while insulating the portions of the surface that are exposed to air even in the tightest cracks and crevices. Am I right or wrong? I'm asking because the service manual seems to be suggesting that grease be applied to battery terminals after the cables are connected. It just seems to me this leaves lots of loose contact areas and hard to reach areas exposed to the atmosphere. Never had a problem with contact by greasing everything up lightly before assembly. What do you think?

* Last updated by: Rook on 6/8/2025 @ 7:02 PM *

Best flow is metal to metal. The squeeze out still leaves grease between the contact points. I'd go with assemble bare and then coat. That is, coat the battery threaded bolts so they screw out easier than seize together.

I like the paraphrase of reading about E. Said, 'Magnetism - you can't separate heat from the chemical reaction.'

Made sense to me being the ground cable has that white powder buildup at the battery leads. It's green when it hits copper strands or eats off the coating off the eyelets exposing copper it's made from.

Connector wise, I'd wipe the female ends where the male ends will scrape new metal when connected. Thus coating the whole male pin.

If it has this chemical reaction to it, just dip the ends into a cup of vinegar, wait for the bubble to stop and dip in fresh water, contact spray dry and grease it up.

Thanks Hub. I'm sure we talked about this in the past but it had become a little foggy.

I put the battery back in the new 14R yesterday. It was raining (actually hailed for several minutes) so I didn't even bother to fire the motor up. I saw the dash come on when I turned the key though so the winter sleep is over. Next weekend, I'm riding.

It sure was good to be out there in the shed with my tools and my bikes. That busa has gathered some dust but she still looks very pretty, just in need of some hours of work. I was changing sprockets and chain and installing raising links back in 2022. I had planned to switch to a MOFSET rectifier and possibly relocate it where the 14 (and Gen1 Hayabusa) has its rectifier. LOL they put it in the belly pan on the Gen2 so it would cause less damage if it caught on fire ...which it has been known to do in spite of a few recalls. I still have the 08 factory rectifier on mine. I also switched to some aluminum bolts down there and painted the dogbones, brackets and other stuff black. ...then I crashed. ...it's about time I finish that project up and ride that bike again. The 08 ZX-14 even looks interesting, all smashed up but there hasn't been a day gone by that she hasn't beckoned me to bring her back. I am going to do that, probably through buying a used MS blue 08 in good condition but I'm hanging onto the carcass for parts. There's lots of good stuff on that bike.

It sure was peaceful and engaging out there in the storage sheds. The hail on the tin roof made one heck of a racket. It was nice to be inside immersed in my passion. LOL glad I've been waiting a bit, I would have been screaming bad words if I had my bike out in the hail storm.