Battery Life when Unused

[CourtLechter]

About how long can most of you leave your bike without having the battery drain?

Because of all the rain on the east coast and some personal issues, I ended up not being able to ride for just under 2 weeks...then on a bright sunny day, I went to start my bike, and...nothing: lights were on but silence as I pressed the starter. Prior to that I had gone for a pretty long ride, so I would have expected a reasonable charge beforehand.

I've a battery tender on the way, and I know that if I leave it a while, the battery will always die; but I was sort of expecting to get more time out of it than this...at least during the warmer months.

Thanks!

[mrlmd1]

Again, make sure when you turn it off, it is in the lock position of the key switch, and not all the way over to PARK, which leaves on the rear lights and will drain a battery pretty quickly.
If you get a trickle charger or battery tender, put on the leads connected directly to the battery so all you have to do is plug the charger on. Leave them hanging down somewhere where you can reach them easily - much easier than opening up the bike each time you want to charge the battery.

How old is that battery? A good one left sitting idle should easily last 2 or more weeks without being charged.
You should charge it completely (12.6-12.8 V measured a half hour after taking off the charger) and then get it load tested to see if it's any good, and put a voltmeter on your battery terminals or the charger plug and measure the voltage with the bike a fast idle, at least 2500-3000 rpm and make sure your charging system is working. You should read 13,8-14V.
Lastly, if you can't bump-start the bike, you can jump it with cables from a NON-RUNNING car and start it.

[jonathan180iq]

Boost it off and go for a ride. It should charge back up.
Ideally, having a battery tender is a better option. But boosting should last you until then.

If you know that you'll be leaving the bike for a long period of time, you can always disconnect the battery. That way it won't drain.

[Viirin]

My one lasted three weeks last year during extreme snow. The bike was covered but not garaged. At the first sign of a thaw i tried starting it and i turned over first time - seems to be a few problems regarding GZ's and batteries but i might have just gotten lucky with the one i got

[CourtLechter]

Lights were definitely off (I wasn't in the PARK position), and my last ride was on a decently long trip (I'll post a report when I get around to it), so I was a bit surprised that it died... Of course, prior to that trip, I'd only commuted: my commute is only 15 minutes, but I get up to 50mph on it...

Thanks for the testing procedures, mrlmd1: I'll definitely do that when I get it charged up again.

The battery could be fairly old: it's a 2001 bike, but new to me, so I'm wondering if this could mean that it's time for a new battery.

[blaine]

Sounds like your battery is nearing the end of it's life.Even if you need to purchase a new one,you will have the battery tender to take of it properly.
:) :cool:

[Gz Rider]

...

[blaine]

*************************
DO NOT RECHARGE BY LETTING THE BIKE IDLE IN YOUR DRIVEWAY.
*************************
Others have done this and the bike will overheat and the engine will likely be damaged.

This is also a waste of time,as the bike will not charge when idling.
:2tup: :)

[grego]

hi all

this is how the battery works... as you use the battery the electrons leave the plates. the acid takes the place of the electrons in the plates. therefore the liquid level in the cell goes down. as you charge the battery the electrons displace the acid and it goes back into the liquid and the level rises.
on a normal lead acid battery always water after a full charge cycle. if you water before you charge for the reasons above when it gases the acid will bubble out the vent because the cell is too full..

i hope that explained the acid spill

safe biking

grego

[mrlmd1]

The liquid level inside the battery will not change with the state of charge, certainly not anything you could see with your naked eye or measure with anything you could ever get ahold of. What do you think is the volume of the electrons that come out of the plates? Are you kidding?
If you fill it too much, above the level of the vent area in the filler holes, it may overflow because of the hydrogen gas being produced during charging not being able to escape out of the battery and pushing the liquid out. Any overfilled battery will push fluid out when charging, that's why you don't fill them to the top of the case. And excessive charging at too high a rate can cause an excess of hydrogen to be produced, so called "boiling" and the battery also gets hot to add to that.

And CL, after you get your battery fully charged and have it load tested, which is the only way to see if it's still good, if you do buy another one, and it will probably be an AGM type, remember, IT MUST BE FULLY CHARGED UP BEFORE FIRST USE or it will never fully hold a charge after the first time you try to start the bike. Do not rely on the salesman in the store telling you the battery is good to go, put it on the bike and forget it. If you yourself don't make sure it's charged first by putting it on your own charger, you will be back in the store getting another replacement battery after a few starts of your bike or within a few weeks.

[Gz Rider]

...

[alantf]

I think the main advantage of AGM is that if the bike goes down there is less likelihood of a corrosive leak than with a standard lead acid battery. :)

[Gz Rider]

...

[mrlmd1]

I bought a brand new AGM Yuasa battery (one of the best) online from Battery Source and including shipping I think was about $50-60, no more than a lead acid battery from anyone else. Most motorcycle batteries nowadays are AGM or VRLA (sealed lead acid battery) and you might even have a hard time finding a straight lead acid nonsealed battery in the correct size for this bike.

[Water Warrior 2]

AGM batteries are less subject to damage from vibration compared to lead acid.

[blaine]

The advantages of AGM batteries are no maintenance, sealed against fumes, hydrogen, leakage, or non-spilling even if they are broken, and can survive most freezes. AGM batteries are "recombinant" – which means the Oxygen and Hydrogen recombine inside the battery. These use gas phase transfer of oxygen to the negative plates to recombine them back into water while charging and preventing the loss of water through electrolysis. The recombining is typically 99+% efficient, so almost no water is lost.

Charging voltages for most AGM batteries are the same as for a standard type battery so there is no need for special charging adjustments or problems with incompatible chargers or charge controls. Since the internal resistance is extremely low, there is almost no heating of the battery even under heavy charge and discharge currents. AGM batteries have a very low self-discharge rate (from 1% to 3% per month) so they can sit in storage for much longer periods without charging.

The plates in AGM's are tightly packed and rigidly mounted, and will withstand shock and vibration better than any standard battery. Because of their design integrity, AGM batteries can be recharged up to 5 times faster than a regular wet cell battery.
:2tup: :)

[Water Warrior 2]

That sort of covers all the bases doesn't it. :2tup:

[Gz Rider]

...

[mrlmd1]

All I can say is that for the size for our bikes, the cost of the two are comparable and the AGM is a better deal and should last longer too.

[Gz Rider]

...

[daza87]

I bought a brand new AGM Yuasa battery (http://www.blueboxbatteries.co.uk) (one of the best) online from Battery Source and including shipping I think was about $50-60, no more than a lead acid battery from anyone else. Most motorcycle batteries nowadays are AGM or VRLA (sealed lead acid battery) and you might even have a hard time finding a straight lead acid nonsealed battery in the correct size for this bike.

That's similar to the price of mine, it's a good battery.

[lenkf]

When I lived in Denver, batteries lasted less long than my previous experience as a California driver. Back in California now, the battery on my 2003 Explorer couldn't even play a music CD for 10 minutes recently. The engine wouldn't start without a jump. Batteries just wear out. I took the old battery down to Batteries+ store in my sidecar moto and replaced it. I'm good to go for our mild SoCal winter and another 5-6 years :)

I just got a 2009 GZ250 with only 132 miles (now nearly 400). This bike was barely used and probably rarely started during the last 2 years. Yet this small battery is still good to go on "cold" 45-50 F mornings :) I expect it will last another 1-3 years.

Fred