Battery Preservation !

[Chromedome]

sounds to me that its not the fact its concrete with our present day batteries, any cold surface/envoirment does have an adverse effect?
if a battery in storage is above 12.4 and below 14.4 is this optimum?
the CTEK "supply" is 13.74v.

[Gorminrider]

The BEST thing to do and the IDEAL environment for a battery Of This Type is Installation and constant use Using it as a Battery, In A Motorcycle with a good charging system. It's all downhill from there.

...There's a world of Battery Wanking out there...especially as to Storage- a use for which these cheapo acid batteries are not intended- that'll tell you that a battery needs to be "conditioned" and Zapped above 14.8 volts every so often by a computer, and so on... but for a $50 battery? really. I haven't any experience with constant-trickle-charging, because as above, I believe these batteries aren't intended for it. They LIKE to be discharged (startermotor+headlight)and charged immediately after.
Otherwise
+1 for
JEEPRUSTY and tkent02, which works really well for me too If and When an occasional ride-about or even a warmup isn't possible.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showpost.php?p=1928814&postcount=10

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showpost.php?p=1928757&postcount=6

[eil]

Lead acid batteries have a rather high self-discharge rate, which is a function of the ambient temperature. The higher the temps, the higher the rate of discharge. Letting a battery sit for months on end can run it dead flat and deep cycles like this will reduce their useful life due to sulfation of the plates.

http://www.corrosion-doctors.org/Batteries/self-compare.htm

http://www.madkatz.com/ev/batteryTechnologyComparison.html

http://www.batteriesplus.com/t-faq4.aspx

So the use case for the battery maintainers (e.g. Battery Tender and the like) is to keep a battery charged up when it's sitting unused for a longish period of time, which is what Chromedome was originally asking about. If you ride frequently, and your charging system is fully functional, there is no reason to use a battery maintainer.

But if you are letting the bike or battery sit for quite a while (more than 2-3 months, although 1 month would be my personal limit), then you should either top it off with a conventional charger or put a maintainer on it. The self-discharge rate increases with temperature, so if not using a maintainer, storing the battery in a colder place (e.g. out in the garage) is preferred to storing it in a warmer place.

[spyug]

over the long cold winter months

I had to chuckle at that. You are in the banana belt compared to us and I doubt it gets cold enough to damage a battery.

I used to bring mine in to the house and stick them on a shelf in a 70 F. room and charge them up every month or so. Last year, I left the battery in the bike and the bike in an unheated garage for nie on 6 months with no charging up. One day in Feb. I actually got out for a spin and the bike fired right up (sitting for 3 months at an average of maybe 0C but many days dipping into the minus numbers).

I wouldn't get too excited about it, what you have setup should be fine.

[Chromedome]

Banana belt your jokeing, i omitted to say "wet" long cold wet winter months, long since you spent winter in the highlands, spyug ? anyhow, ok guys, ill go with that, forget the mentainers, keep the battery cool but not cold, discharge it completely once every winter and charge it immediately, other than that,a short quick charge occasionally, we get minus temperatures here for extended periods and it does kill batterys in all sorts of farm machinery to and costs a fortune. guys, whats your personal preference for a battery replacement for the GS? Hey Spyug, ill bet i spend more time in the highlands than you do and im closer, that means that im more scotch than you are !!!

[Andrew Vanis]

After going through a battery every couple years, I got me a lifetime warranty battery for about $80. Any time I need a new one, just bring it in for a swap.

http://www.cyclegear.com/CycleGear/Parts/Batteries/brand/MEGABOOST/Batteries/p/36686_47076

(I also fixed the charging system with a CompuFire but since some of the batteries died while on long-term float charge [BatteryTender] I figured the life time warranty was a good thing.)

[tkent02]

(I also fixed the charging system with a CompuFire but since some of the batteries died while on long-term float charge [BatteryTender] I figured the life time warranty was a good thing.)

That's what I'm talking about!

[Notz]

Don't any of you late model GS owners have kick starters ?

Gotta have a 79 or earlier model, because after that all bikes are pointless !





I use an AGM, leave it in without a tender, and have not had a problem.

[derwood]

What options are there options other than lead / acid?

lithium ION? seems expensive and pointless
BTW
the freezing point of a charged battery is -90F degrees, half charged is -20F
a charged battery will not freeze on this planet, cold also slows down the self discharge rate

PS. One thing Canada does well is winter, it gets a lot colder here than any irish highland, (it snowed here yesterday)

[Chromedome]

Lifetime warranty, sounds great, would be a bit of shipping on that, maby 6000 miles, I don't know of any closer, whatever effect at whatever temperatures cold and long periods of not being used sure does kill batterys round here, unless our batterys are inferior, the best we would have is probably Varta Bosch and Yuasa in that order IMO, a new battery perhaps every 3 years, just out of warrant of course. The idea of kick starting a bike sure sounds romantic but last bike I kick started was a BSA 650 lightning twin in about 1969 ?, now I find press butt is ideal.
Anyone go for gel or true gel perhaps there's no difference, iv never had anything other than lead acid ? Your winter in canada sure has started early ? but like Shania Twain sings, Don't impress me much and doesn't sound like much fun eithor but it rained here yesterday and rain's for a while most days, na were not tropical ! Spyug the Canadian who thinks he's
Scotch will understand about the Highlands of Scotland, its a local thing for us small town guys.

[eil]

anyhow, ok guys, ill go with that, forget the mentainers, keep the battery cool but not cold, discharge it completely once every winter and charge it immediately

I hope that is a typo, deep-cycling a lead acid battery is not good for it, and they do not suffer from any sort of "memory effect" like other battery chemistries. (Although I believe it's not proven that there is such a thing with those either.)

What options are there options other than lead / acid?

Lead acid is pretty much impossible to beat for engine starting applications. But there are other types of lead acid batteries besides the flooded-plate ones used in our bikes. A lot of people here swear by AGM batteries (absorbed glass mat) because they are sealed, tend to last longer, and are not much more expensive than the standard flooded type. There are also gel cells, commonly used in emergency lighting, UPS systems, and power wheels toy cars. I've heard of people using them but don't know much more than that. They are supposed to be physically smaller than flooded batteries.

[derwood]

YES, I get that but AGM and gel cells are still lead acid, some body posted that there are other options,(??) I have pretty much switched to AGM because maintenance, venting and spillage, they do seem to last longer, However one of my friends still has the original battery in his 13 year old hayabusa, he praises his battery tender.

[Chromedome]

However one of my friends still has the original battery in his 13 year old hayabusa, he praises his battery tender.[/QUOTE]

That's incredible iv never heard of any battery in any application lasting beyond 9 years, if only I could have some of that.

[Gorminrider]

for Acid batteries, this is good reading from Yuasa...

http://www.yuasabatteries.com/motor_battery.php