So, I parked my bike at the beginning of November in my cousins Garage.
He assured me he would start it up for me a few times a month. Well, he called me last week saying he couldn't start it, so I went over figuring he forgot how to do it. Turns out he hadn't done it at all and it wouldn't start because the battery is dead!
He has a trickle charger for his car, will this work on a bike battery? is there anything special I have to do? I misplaced the manual (Which baffles me, because everything else I put there is there, except the manual!) so I don't want to screw up my bike.
Most motorbike batteries are 6 Volt rather than the 12 Volt for cars. Make sure the trickle charger works on the bike battery.
My bike batteries have usually lasted about 4 years each. It's funny how every biker has a different experience with them. I have heard a lot of people say every year like Blaster while others have had them last a decade.
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As long as the trickle charge & the battery are the same voltage, no problem.
Is the cousin's garage heated? If not, take the battery out each winter & put it someplace room temp, storage in the basement or something like that (NOT directly on a concrete floor). Buy yourself a trickle charger, once a month for a day or so top up the battery.
Should get 3-5 years out of it.
I leave mine in the bike & overwinter it in an unheated, semi-attached garage with no charger & typically get 2-3 years out of mine.
You sure about the 6 volt thing, Dave? Thought I put an 1157 in my tail light a couple of years ago. (Goes looking for his owner's manual...)
I think I was wrong. I think most are 12 volts. Maybe the amperage is what differs.
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Last edited by Lawrence; Jan 16th, 2008 at 07:56 AM.
I usually start it up once a week, normally I dont need to charge it. But the battery should last more then one season.
Whats everyone riding? Its killing me not being able to ride, especially since I have a new bike in the garage that has only been taken out twice.
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If the battery is dead, replace it. It was probably lousy when put away. Modern batteries don't recover well from deep discharge.
A trickle charger is OK if the voltages match. It will likely get you going but I wouldn't trust that battery again. Ironically perhaps, batteries last better when cold as the internal voltage loss is lessened as any chemical reaction slows down when cold.
The technique I used was to hook up a trickle charger early in the winter (and make sure it was the type that couldn't overcharge). Then I'd plug it in to the same circuit as the light in the garage so that it wasn't always on - the battery would get a tweak every time I turned on the garage light.
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I don't think you should be rushing out to replace the battery - unless you have $60-$100 to spare ... It really shouldn't be a big deal charging it up on a trickle charger.
It is a 12V but some trickle chargers have two types of amps - 2 or 6 ... it should be on the 2. Having said that, I have charged mine of a car charger with full amps .... just kept an eye on it and unplugged it after a few hours. Bike fired right up and never had a problem with the battery.
Heck, I've even used jumper cables with my car to my bike to fire it up over the years with no problems.
I have a MotoMaster Mobile Power Pack that I use to get a boost on days I can't start the bike.
Also it's small enough to fit in my topcase in case of an emergency.
Dave
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