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How Long Does A Motorcycle Battery Normally Last? (Read 104 times)
Beagle
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How Long Does A Motorcycle Battery Normally Last?
08/06/14 at 11:43:59
I didn't ride my motorcycle for about 2-weeks and when I went to start it, it started making that clicking sound. So, I hooked up my charger and the next day it started right up! My question though is, the battery is 3-yrs old and I don't want to be somewhere and get stuck since the battery is dead or not holding a charge. How long does a motorcycle battery usually last?
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zipidachimp
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Re: How Long Does A Motorcycle Battery Normally La
Reply #1 -
08/06/14 at 11:56:57
I think we need to distinguish between a regular wetcell battery and an 'agm' battery. The agm battery in my honda should have died a long time ago, but it's still good and still takes a charge. The wet-cell battery in my savage died last month, and I foolishly bought another wet-cell, without considering the difference. wet-cell is old tech, agm's are newer, but not the latest tech.
correct me if I'm wrong.
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Beagle
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Re: How Long Does A Motorcycle Battery Normally La
Reply #2 -
08/06/14 at 12:10:27
I have no clue what kind of battery I have but I know it's one that is closed off, so you can't open it.
I think this is the battery I have, or one like it is from Batteriesplus.com - XT14L-A2 Xtreme Battery
I know when I hooked up the charger to the battery, I was able to start it within about 10-15 minutes charging it but I left it connected for over 24-hrs and my charger light was green...saying it was fully charged.
The batteries aren't that expensive but I don't ride a ton and if the battery is still good, I'll keep using it. Why waste the extra $?
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Johnny57
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Re: How Long Does A Motorcycle Battery Normally La
Reply #3 -
08/06/14 at 12:19:51
A few years ago I decided to educate myself about batteries. I read a lot and learned how to use a multimeter. I found out that after 40 or 50 years of thinking I knew about batteries, I did not know a lot and most people don't know much about them either. I have five bikes and with the help of a smartcharger and lots of riding I have been getting 5 to 9 years out of my batteries and have yet to be stranded. The secret is to keep the battery fully charged. If you are not riding a lot you should hook up a pigtail and use a smart charger between rides. Batteries last a long time if you do with them as the instructions say but having a fully charged battery ALL of the time is the rule of thumb.
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Beagle
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Re: How Long Does A Motorcycle Battery Normally La
Reply #4 -
08/06/14 at 12:42:22
Johnny57 wrote
on 08/06/14 at 12:19:51:
A few years ago I decided to educate myself about batteries. I read a lot and learned how to use a multimeter. I found out that after 40 or 50 years of thinking I knew about batteries, I did not know a lot and most people don't know much about them either. I have five bikes and with the help of a smartcharger and lots of riding I have been getting 5 to 9 years out of my batteries and have yet to be stranded. The secret is to keep the battery fully charged. If you are not riding a lot you should hook up a pigtail and use a smart charger between rides. Batteries last a long time if you do with them as the instructions say but having a fully charged battery ALL of the time is the rule of thumb.
Yeah, I did exactly that with the pigtail connector. It makes it's A LOT easier to just plug it in and go!
Plus, I have another cable I can use to connect to it and charge my cell phone when I'm out riding....just in case.
I've got a volt meter too and really don't know how to use it properly. That is, which setting to use for the dial. I know where to connect the black and red plugs to get a reading though. I guess if I figured out how to use it I could track down my Neutral Light cable break too. LOL!
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Greg
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Re: How Long Does A Motorcycle Battery Normally La
Reply #5 -
08/06/14 at 12:52:36
Beagle, if that is the battery, it is a "regular" one. I would put them on a trickle charger if not ridden for more than a week or 2. I think they should last a month (from what I've researched), but that would be for a new one. After 3 years, I am sure it has weakened. I have an AGM battery. Technically, it should last 6 months before needing charged as it is new-ish. I left it parked for the winter (about 2 1/2 months) and it turned over flawlessly in the spring and my scooter fired in just a couple of revolutions. I bought the most powerful one I could find that fit the bike. I think I paid $120 for it at the local Batteries Plus store. I won't buy anything else.
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zipidachimp
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Re: How Long Does A Motorcycle Battery Normally La
Reply #6 -
08/06/14 at 13:32:42
When I bought the new savage battery, I forgot the 'wet' vs 'agm' and bought the 'wet'. dummy me!
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Beagle
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Re: How Long Does A Motorcycle Battery Normally La
Reply #7 -
08/06/14 at 16:05:49
This is the replacement model for the AGM battery I originally purchased:
http://www.batteriesplus.com/product/40578-DURAGM--15L--US-Duracell-Ultra-AGM...
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Paladin.
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Re: How Long Does A Motorcycle Battery Normally La
Reply #8 -
08/06/14 at 17:13:27
Beagle wrote
on 08/06/14 at 12:10:27:
I have no clue what kind of battery I have but I know it's one that is closed off, so you can't open it.
I think this is the battery I have, or one like it is from Batteriesplus.com - XT14L-A2 Xtreme Battery....
http://www.batteriesplus.com/product/32699-XT14L--A2-Xtreme-Battery/558-CC/51...
That is a flooded battery, old tech, but cheap. If it lost a startable charge in 2 weeks the battery is about to die.
In my experience:
Flooded battery will be toast after 3 leaving discharged.
An AGM battery can be parked left with the lights on overnight, 6 times, recharged and still able to hold a startable charge after a month.
I abuse equipment. I
LIKE
AGM
batteries.
A flood battery loses 5-10% of the charge each month.
An AGM battery lose less than 2% of the charge a month.
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cafecarl
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Re: How Long Does A Motorcycle Battery Normally La
Reply #9 -
08/07/14 at 09:29:03
In the 30+ years of my motorcycle experience I've had mostly flooded type batteries. Some have had long lives and others not so much.
A motorcycle battery is at the bottom of the food chain. Built to be as light and as small as possible, I think it's a crap shoot beyond a couple of years. Having said that, there's no reason to go out and replace something that's working. A load test is the best indicator of a battery's health. Shops that sell batteries can do this or load testers are available for cheap $ these days. I've had batteries that gave me a green light on the tender but failed the load test.
Like others have said, keep it charged with 2 amp or less charger.
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Dave
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Re: How Long Does A Motorcycle Battery Normally La
Reply #10 -
08/07/14 at 09:52:17
Yep, Battery Tenders, or smart chargers are not a good indicator of battery health. In fact......the circuity that senses the charged battery actually sees the same condition on a battery that is "stone dead", and if your battery has dropped to a very low charge (or is dead), the green light will come on and the charger or tender won't work.
I just changed Yuasa sealed battery in my Honda ST1100 this spring. It was the original factory battery with Honda Logo on it....and it was 14 years old!
I was told by the Honda dealer that the original batteries last a long time - but the replacement won't last nearly that long.
Dave
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Someday I will be old......But not today!
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