SuzukiSavage.com - Opinions on cold weather "short" rides?

Paladin. Serious Thumper Offline Hamster Posts: 4929 Sunny Southern California Gender:	Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rides? Reply #15 - 01/19/10 at 12:49:10 The vast majority of my rides are five to ten minutes. That is enough to keep my battery charged.
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babyhog Serious Thumper Offline Find a Cure for Breast Cancer! NOW!! Posts: 3802 WV Gender:	Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rides? Reply #16 - 01/19/10 at 16:27:27 I was thinking of getting a Battery Tender Jr. It is my understanding that it will charge, then when the battery is at full charge, it will float. So if the battery is low to begin with, it should get it up to full, then maintain.... right?
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bill67 Serious Thumper Offline old tired Posts: 8517 genoa city wisconsin Gender:	Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rid Reply #17 - 01/19/10 at 16:41:08 bill67 wrote on 01/19/10 at 08:48:03: To get full charge you need a battery charger not a battery tender,Just a small 2-6 amp.And they are cheaper than a tender.
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babyhog

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Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rid
Reply #18 - 01/19/10 at 16:46:07

bill67 wrote on 01/19/10 at 16:41:08:

bill67 wrote on 01/19/10 at 08:48:03:

To get full charge you need a battery charger not a battery tender,Just a small 2-6 amp.And they are cheaper than a tender.

I already read that, bill, that's why I asked the question again! Wink

Check this out and tell me if I am still misunderstanding, please...
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Battery-Tender-Jr-Motorcycle-Charger-Maintainer_W0QQi...

it says "Automatically switches to float / maintenance voltage after fully charging the battery."

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~ 2006 Black, Big Crank battery, HD Softail muffler, engine guard/o-ring pegs, Spitfite windshield, custom mounted Saddlemen bags, Mustang seat! ~ oh, and Hairdo by Helmet! ~

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bill67 Serious Thumper Offline old tired Posts: 8517 genoa city wisconsin Gender:	Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rides? Reply #19 - 01/19/10 at 18:05:07 A battery charger goes to a float like stage too.But you don't need to charge it but about every 2 months. I know for sure on dry cell batteries like electric drills if you leave than plug in all the time the batteries don't last as long than if you charge than once a month.
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Charon

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Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rides?
Reply #20 - 01/19/10 at 19:48:00

Before you buy any battery charger, read the specs on it. A battery tender (which, I believe, is a brand name) will charge a dead battery and then drop to a float charge. A straight battery charger, unless it says it is "automatic" or some similar wording, does not drop voltage or stop charging. The charge current drops as the battery voltage approaches the charger's output voltage, but the charger does not reduce its output voltage to a float charge voltage.

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Eschew obfuscation.

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babyhog

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Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rides?
Reply #21 - 01/20/10 at 05:40:32

Charon wrote on 01/19/10 at 19:48:00:

Before you buy any battery charger, read the specs on it. A battery tender (which, I believe, is a brand name) will charge a dead battery and then drop to a float charge. A straight battery charger, unless it says it is "automatic" or some similar wording, does not drop voltage or stop charging. The charge current drops as the battery voltage approaches the charger's output voltage, but the charger does not reduce its output voltage to a float charge voltage.

Thank you! These things get so technical and confusing! I ordered a Battery Tender Jr. (Deltran is the brand, but I think the name "Battery Tender" belongs to them... A tissue is a Kleenex is a tissue?) ordered from Ebay. I had some Ebay bucks to spend... Grin

It is supposed to charge, then float. But I think I will still only hook it up once a month or so, for a day or so.

You know, this is one purchase that I hope I don't even "need" to use. I would prefer if the bike never sits long enough without being ridden to worry about it! But I spent too much on batteries to risk it.
Thanks again guys!

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~ 2006 Black, Big Crank battery, HD Softail muffler, engine guard/o-ring pegs, Spitfite windshield, custom mounted Saddlemen bags, Mustang seat! ~ oh, and Hairdo by Helmet! ~

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Digger

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Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rid
Reply #22 - 01/21/10 at 22:05:49

BurnPgh wrote on 01/18/10 at 21:00:48:

......Digger - Ive never taken a good look at your signature pic before. It always just looked like you were holding a big book or something to me. Now that I've given it a good look...correct me if Im wrong but is your bike painted like a space shuttle? If so, got a bigger pic?

That is from a glamor shot taken during filming of the "Shuttle Bike" episodes of American Chopper. I was sitting on the finished product. I was on the show....worked and hung out with the whole gang.

The whole experience came to a sad end. If we meet out on the road sometime, I'll tell you the entire grim tale over a few beers.

Here is a lo-res shot (the bike was actually pretty cool - gorgeous paint):

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Digger
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I don't own a cage.
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babyhog

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Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rides?
Reply #23 - 01/23/10 at 11:10:46

My Battery Tender Jr. arrived in the mail yesterday! We hooked it up to my bike first. The light was red at first, meaning it was charging. The light flashed green within just a few minutes, meaning it was at least 80% charged. It was solid green within a half hour, meaning it was fully charged. Wow, it was nice to know it wasn't any more dead than that. Hooked up my hubby's C90 later. It stayed red much longer and even after a couple hours was still red. Left it on all night and by morning, it was green, so I don't know exactly how long it took. But the C90 has alot more electronics to keep alive while the bike is just sitting. But I'm very happy. Thanks again to everyone for input!

I'm still hoping to get a little ride in today. Its a bit more wet out than I had hoped, but I might at least get a little ride into town later today.

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~ 2006 Black, Big Crank battery, HD Softail muffler, engine guard/o-ring pegs, Spitfite windshield, custom mounted Saddlemen bags, Mustang seat! ~ oh, and Hairdo by Helmet! ~

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kimchris1 Serious Thumper Offline Pink Posse Rider... Posts: 2135 Belfair, Washington Gender:	Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rides? Reply #24 - 01/24/10 at 04:31:45 Babyhog, at leat your battery will be charged and ready to go when your weather clears. I will keep my fingers crossed that happens soon. And don't feel bad as rain is forecasted for most of our week here as well. At least your Spirit is enjoying itself..hahah
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trublu

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Re: Opinions on cold weather "short" rides?
Reply #25 - 01/29/10 at 08:35:55

Charon wrote on 01/18/10 at 19:17:28:

My worry would be more with moisture accumulation in the exhaust pipe and the engine oil. I think a run of at least ten miles, with at least a mile or two at highway speed, would be adequate. That would also be enough to recharge the battery, given that the battery is in reasonable shape itself. In aviation, the old saying is "If you start it, fly it." I think the same applies for land vehicles. I think the fairly common practice of starting the engine for a few minutes every couple of weeks "to keep the battery charged" does more harm than good.

If your battery is in reasonably good shape, and there are no parasitic loads on it (radios with memories, clocks, or the like) it will hold plenty of charge for at least a couple of months. I would not bother with a battery tender on a permanent basis. However, it would not be amiss to connect one overnight every month or so.

Naturally, the opinions of others may be different.

BINGO! ANY Bike ,If you dont ride it for very long the moisture in the exhaust does not get blown out and dried out and ..well rusted exhaust aint fun. Condensation in the cyl. wont do it any good either.

A nice 20-30 min ride with a little hwy speed is just fine IMHO.

The WORST thing you can do (again IMHO and experience ) is to go out in the Winter once a week or so and just fire her up and let er idle witha few twists of the throttle thrown in. Better to just pull the batt and let her sit than doing that. Undecided

Wait till nicer weather or let her sit IMHO Wink

BTW I LOVE the aviation reference and gonna use that one myself when folks ask! Wink

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"life throws ya curves, you learn to swerve"

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