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SuzukiSavage.com
/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> No Riding Battery Question /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1265738065 Message started by Tanker2Biker on 02/09/10 at 09:54:24 |
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Title: No Riding Battery Question Post by Tanker2Biker on 02/09/10 at 09:54:24 I will be off my beloved Savage for at least a month due to Carpal Tunnel Surgery on my clutch hand, so it won't be ridden. Since I have no Power Monitoring/Charging equipment, should I start it and let it run for a while each week charge the battery? and if so, how long should I let it run to do this? |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by bill67 on 02/09/10 at 10:55:32 If your battery is good it will easily go a couple months with out charging it,The most wear on an engine is at start up its not good to start it up all the time unless your going to ride it. |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by LostArtist on 02/09/10 at 11:03:41 my battery won't go a week without being charged, but maybe my battery is bad, also you might need some gas stabilizer or something if you are just going to let it sit |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by Routy on 02/09/10 at 12:43:40 A good battery will probably go 3 months w/o charging and still start the bike. But that doesn't mean that practice is best for battery longivity, because in even a months time it has discharged enough that it is slowly deteriorating thru the process of sulfation. I have proven several times that lead acid batteries can last 10+ years if they stay fully charged, except when actually using them. But if you think that the price of a battery every few years, is worth not hassling a float charger staying connected during non use, that is quite understandable. But the fact (experts agree) still remains, any battery that stays full charge most the time, will have much better longivity. For myself, connecting a float charger is no harder than hanging up my helment. But my OEM battery,...at 3 yrs old is very weak, probably because of the way is was treated before I got the bike 6 months ago,... but I can probably get another year out of it, just by keeping it fully charged, and maybe just for the challenge of it all :-/ |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by bill67 on 02/09/10 at 14:14:34 My battery is 5 years old and strong as a new battery,Poor thing has never seen a float charger. |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by Routy on 02/10/10 at 06:34:46 Bill, You have made it quite clear many times that your battery is some kind of super power, or ??? But the fact is, many.....if not most here have battery problems if not charged every month or 3, especially in colder weather, when our rides are maybe shorter, and the bike's charging system is not keeping up w/ the discharge from frequent starting, because of the shorter rides, etc etc. I just try to figure out the point of you're several posts that always seem to follow mine as if to counterdict what I post about batteries,.....only to help those that have problems better understand the importance of keeping batteries full charged for the longest service life. If you are just commenting that your battery......or charging system never needs charging, fine. But if you are trying to convince that all the rest of us never need to charge our batteries in a month or 2, you are only hurting them, not helping. |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by dasch on 02/10/10 at 07:12:06 well said. My rides are very short, I connect to a decent charger once or twice over the winter, and that's it. Before I used to crank the bike up once a week or so... |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by bill67 on 02/10/10 at 09:21:53 Sorry my battery must be a super power battery,But I must luck out because the 16 or so bikes in the last 38 years must have been super power batteries.My brother started when I did he had the super powered batteries too. The more you play around with a battery the shorter the life is. |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by Routy on 02/10/10 at 09:40:31 Well, coming from a person whose battery was 4 yrs old a few days ago, and a day later it is suddenly 5 yrs old, and along w/ the rediculous statement made in your last post, proves anything you say has no credibility anyway, so doesn't matter. 212A2F2F7574430 wrote:
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by bill67 on 02/10/10 at 10:51:17 Its a 2006,bought in 2007 new. How old is the battery? If your battery is weak at 3 years old you must be doing something wrong. |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by LostArtist on 02/10/10 at 11:35:33 bill, how often do you ride? are they long rides? do you keep your bike in a garage or out in the cold & wet with other elements?? I'm new to riding I probably am doing something wrong, but if I don't ride my bike twice a week the battery dies and I have to pull it out and charge it for like 30 minutes, the water did get low, so I tried adding some but screwed that up and overfilled a few of the cells and all the cells aren't even. I tried taking some water out of the over filled cells by putting paper towels inside the holes and soaking it up, that worked I probably screwed up my battery somehow doing it. idk. EDIT: Yes it was distilled water I added, don't think the paper towels were distilled though ;D |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by bill67 on 02/10/10 at 12:02:40 Most of my rides are maybe 40-50 miles about every other day,I keep it in a dry garage never gets below 32 in the coldest of winter.I've only put water in it one time 2 years ago.When I put distilled water in it I charge it at 2 amps,Then put the charger on 8 amps and let it boil for 5 minutes,I think that cleans the plates off. |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by Routy on 02/10/10 at 12:15:39 353E3B3B6160570 wrote:
Hey Bill, Along w/ math, apparently you have problems w/ your reading too ! Maybe try again: Quoted by Routy: But my OEM battery,...at 3 yrs old is very weak, probably because of the way is was treated before I got the bike 6 months ago,... |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by bill67 on 02/10/10 at 12:20:19 I got a feeling he had a battery tender on it,That will do it in. |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by bill67 on 02/10/10 at 12:40:14 76796378646271737B7562100 wrote:
Hey Bill, Along w/ math, apparently you have problems w/ your reading too ! Maybe try again: Quoted by Routy: But my OEM battery,...at 3 yrs old is very weak, probably because of the way is was treated before I got the bike 6 months ago,... [/quote] If your battery was weak when you bought the bike you should have bought a new battery for it. |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by LostArtist on 02/10/10 at 13:15:31 he mighta just found out it was weak, probably rode the bike a lot when it was nice and now that it's cold not getting riden as much as the battery is acting up. we all aren't know it all gods like you Bill ;) |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by dasch on 02/10/10 at 21:42:55 50 miles every other day and never gets below 32... I wish. That explains some things, neverless, we are not all that lucky. However, even in worse conditions, battery should hold charge for much more than few days, LostArtist. Check your charging system, and get a good new battery. That one will leave you flappin' sooner than later. |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by serenity3743 on 02/11/10 at 05:29:15 I've put 70,000 + miles on my Savage in 9 years. A battery lasts me 2 years on average. |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by bill67 on 02/11/10 at 05:52:21 786E796E65627F72383C3F380B0 wrote:
What do you do with your battery in the winter time? |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by LostArtist on 02/11/10 at 07:10:25 how do I check my charging system? you mean the charging system of the bike right |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by Routy on 02/11/10 at 07:29:44 0C2F3334013234293334400 wrote:
Running at fast idle, check the voltage at the battery,.....should be at least 13 volts minimum, if the battery is discharged. As the battery come up in charge, so will the voltage. On a full charged battery in good condidion, I would expect the voltage to be 14+ volts. This is automotive specs, but I would think the bikes are near the same. |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by Routy on 02/11/10 at 07:33:53 776176616A6D707D37333037040 wrote:
A battery that last 2 yrs or less, I would suspect has spent quite a bit of its time in at least a partially discharged state,.....which is a killer for lead acid batteries. |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by dasch on 02/11/10 at 08:02:04 4C6F7374417274697374000 wrote:
Yes. As Routy said - Let it fast idle and measure voltage on battery terminals. Should be at least 13V on 2000rpm. A tad higher with increased rpm. |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by serenity3743 on 02/11/10 at 08:57:21 505B5E5E0405320 wrote:
What do you do with your battery in the winter time?[/quote] My battery just sits in the bike in the winter. But I ride 12 months a year as long as the weather is not wet AND cold. |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by Routy on 02/11/10 at 20:29:46 4E584F58535449440E0A090E3D0 wrote:
What do you do with your battery in the winter time?[/quote] My battery just sits in the bike in the winter. But I ride 12 months a year as long as the weather is not wet AND cold.[/quote] If your round trips are at least 30 minutes, your battery should be ok if ridden every month. If not, the battery could be setting much of the time in a 1/2 discharged state, w/o you even knowing it, because it will still start the bike. If possible, connect the battery to a small maintainer charger once a month for a day or 2,......it will most likely add years to the service life of the battery. |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by Tanker2Biker on 02/12/10 at 03:37:57 I've just been looking a the Battery Tender web site. I notice that one of their accessories is a 12v cigarette lighter type plug. Does anyone have any experience using this type plug for battery maint? I just finished installing one of these (POS to the battery, NEG to the frame) and it would certainly be a convenient place to connect if it is effective. |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by Routy on 02/12/10 at 08:35:58 A cigar liter receptical will work fine for charging, but there are smaller, more positive 12 volt plugs that I prefer. I used a small 12v pigtail plug that is the same size/pattern as the flat trailer connectors, but only 2 wires. I've installed these on my Bike, ATV, and my 12/24 volt B&D mower. The matching other 1/2 I've installed on all my chargers. You can also get a flush mount receptical for this same plug from most RV/solar panel dealers. |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by serenity3743 on 02/12/10 at 10:14:12 050A100B17110200080611630 wrote:
What do you do with your battery in the winter time?[/quote] My battery just sits in the bike in the winter. But I ride 12 months a year as long as the weather is not wet AND cold.[/quote] If your round trips are at least 30 minutes, your battery should be ok if ridden every month. If not, the battery could be setting much of the time in a 1/2 discharged state, w/o you even knowing it, because it will still start the bike. If possible, connect the battery to a small maintainer charger once a month for a day or 2,......it will most likely add years to the service life of the battery. [/quote] My ride is usually to and from work, 23 miles one way. I've got a charger that will do 2 amps, 12 amps, or jump start. I guess I need to take your advice and use it once a month. Thanks for the tip. |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by LostArtist on 02/12/10 at 10:17:04 6E6B7969620A0 wrote:
Yes. As Routy said - Let it fast idle and measure voltage on battery terminals. Should be at least 13V on 2000rpm. A tad higher with increased rpm. [/quote] how do I know my rpm without a tach? |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by Routy on 02/12/10 at 11:30:45 You won't know, and you don't need to know exactly. Just rev it well above an idle, and that should give you the max charging volts of well over 13. |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by dasch on 02/13/10 at 00:57:38 when thump thump thump changes to GRRRRRRRRR - that, my friend is fast idle ;) |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by Tanker2Biker on 02/18/10 at 15:54:08 Got a Battery Tender Jr. and installed it today. Little fussy getting the terminals but it finally went in OK. I put the end of the pig tail in the tool box. I got it all put back together and it all went fine. Then the problem. When I went to push it back into the garage, it would not roll smoothly. I rocked it back and forth a little, and a bolt about 2" long fell out from where it had apparently been sitting on the belt. With it out, the bike rolled, but there was a grinding sound from the front pulley. I pulled the cover off, and there was a little bend in the out side edge of the pulley, and it was dragging on a couple places on the inside of the cover. A little tapping with the small brass hammer, and it now clears everything, and rolls smoothly. My problem is I have no idea where the bolt came from!! Whatever it was holding must have at least one other bolt in it, because I can't find anything loose. The only thing I was working on was the battery, and there does not appear to be anything missing or loose there. Any Ideas where else I might look? |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by Routy on 02/18/10 at 22:16:05 Well,.......maybe I would just make sure that it isn't one that holds the pulley onto the bike, or anything else kinda important like that :D |
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Title: Re: No Riding Battery Question Post by Tanker2Biker on 02/19/10 at 17:37:19 Good News, I took it by my local bike repair shop and they took a look at it for me. They said it looks like a tank bolt, and they can see a new bolt in place. It looks like somewhere in it's past, somebody had the tank off, and dropped a bolt where they could not get to it, and replaced it. It jst picked this time to drop out. Guess it's a good thing it decided to drop out when I was pushing it rather than riding. |
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