Battery

Need advice on which oil to use or which tyre best suits you? Share your topic and get help here.
scouse645
Posts: 270
Joined: Sat Jan 26, 2013 3:34 pm
Location: northants

Battery

Post by scouse645 »

Hi, my battery is connected to the trickle charger when not in use, yesterday i had a job to start the bike, looked at the charger today and it's maintaining it at 12.6 volts, does that sound right? i could have sworn it was higher than that before.
Virt
Posts: 6793
Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2012 12:35 pm
Location: Leicestershire

Re: Battery

Post by Virt »

Is 12.6v with the engine on/off?

I'm not an expert but I think that does sound a bit low

EDIT: Done some searching, should be about 14.8v on idle. So yes, that is low.

Source : http://vtr1000.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php ... ry#p305374
Slowly approaching the more bikes than birthdays achievement
scouse645
Posts: 270
Joined: Sat Jan 26, 2013 3:34 pm
Location: northants

Re: Battery

Post by scouse645 »

yes that's with the engine off. as soon as the cold weather comes it usually shows up a knackered battery.
Virt
Posts: 6793
Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2012 12:35 pm
Location: Leicestershire

Re: Battery

Post by Virt »

Sounds a bit knackered, you can pick up batteries fairly cheap though. I can't remember what type of battery it is, but I replaced mine a couple months ago. £30 and it starts first time every time, don't know how long it will last though :lol:
Slowly approaching the more bikes than birthdays achievement
scouse645
Posts: 270
Joined: Sat Jan 26, 2013 3:34 pm
Location: northants

Re: Battery

Post by scouse645 »

Virt wrote:Sounds a bit knackered, you can pick up batteries fairly cheap though. I can't remember what type of battery it is, but I replaced mine a couple months ago. £30 and it starts first time every time, don't know how long it will last though :lol:
Thanks for that, i was having a look at the motobatt ones, they are a bit pricey though.
scouse645
Posts: 270
Joined: Sat Jan 26, 2013 3:34 pm
Location: northants

Re: Battery

Post by scouse645 »

anyone got any thoughts about getting the larger motobatt battery? for which i think you have to take the cover off.
7moore7
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2013 1:16 am
Location: Phoenix, AZ

Re: Battery

Post by 7moore7 »

Get a battery with LiFePo4 cells and never have to worry about trickle charging again :) and save yourself about 6 lbs... or half a kilo or .07 stones or whatever you guys use (ducks maybe?)
scouse645
Posts: 270
Joined: Sat Jan 26, 2013 3:34 pm
Location: northants

Re: Battery

Post by scouse645 »

7moore7 wrote:Get a battery with LiFePo4 cells and never have to worry about trickle charging again :) and save yourself about 6 lbs... or half a kilo or .07 stones or whatever you guys use (ducks maybe?)
Thanks, never heard of those, i will have a look.
User avatar
turbo_billy
Posts: 1192
Joined: Mon Aug 29, 2011 3:01 pm
Location: Churchdown, Glos

Re: Battery

Post by turbo_billy »

scouse645 wrote:
7moore7 wrote:Get a battery with LiFePo4 cells and never have to worry about trickle charging again :) and save yourself about 6 lbs... or half a kilo or .07 stones or whatever you guys use (ducks maybe?)
Thanks, never heard of those, i will have a look.
And you thought Motobatt batteries were expensive........ 8O

What battery is on the bike at the moment, wet cell (acid filled) or AGM? Speaking from personal experience I am convinced that if you leave a sealed gel type battery on an optimiser all the time you should have no problems but with a lead acid battery you will eventually "boil" off the acid. I used to keep all the bikes hooked up all the time but after killing 3 wet cells only the sealed ones stay hooked up. If yours is a wet cell, I would suggest taking it out and checking the acid level. :thumbup:
scouse645
Posts: 270
Joined: Sat Jan 26, 2013 3:34 pm
Location: northants

Re: Battery

Post by scouse645 »

Thanks, not sure about that, i would have gone and had a look but it's peeing down here at the moment, and the bikes under cover, i will check it tomorrow.
mattycoops43
Posts: 621
Joined: Sun Apr 07, 2013 12:02 am
Location: Newport South Wales

Re: Battery

Post by mattycoops43 »

I got a heavy duty deep cycle one from wemoto (its yellow) the bike has sat for 3 months in all this weather outside because it is sorned and it started up today after a lot of turning over. Well impressed with the battery because it was trying to start but took ages to catch properly and it cranked it over cold for a good few minutes and still wasn't flat.

Don't see the need for a bigger one that doesn't fit properly with performance like that.

http://www.wemoto.com/bikes/honda/vtr_1 ... gh_torque/
Budget storm gradually on the road to spangliness.
7moore7
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2013 1:16 am
Location: Phoenix, AZ

Re: Battery

Post by 7moore7 »

They're pretty awesome products... Lithium batteries tend to be avoided b/c of the cost and aversion to some formulas tending to burn or explode, but:

LiFePo4 (Lithium Phosphate) are:
>Lighter than lead acid
>Discharge faster than lead acid, and are able to discharge a much higher percentage of their Amp-Hours (So where you need much less AH to turn over the motor effectively)
>Safer (this particular lithium formula is very safe)
>Has a ridiculously long shelf life (no trickle charger needed- actually trickle chargers are very hard on these and shouldn't be used)
>Charge faster than lead acid.

The only downsides are:
>Much more expensive per AH
>Less AH than lead acid per volume (this is only really an issue with electronics who depend on battery such as computers. Anything with a stator/alternator generally needs enough juice to start the motor, then the charging system takes over)
scouse645
Posts: 270
Joined: Sat Jan 26, 2013 3:34 pm
Location: northants

Re: Battery

Post by scouse645 »

Thanks all for the advice, i did some diagnosis tests today, which i got from a previous post, it didn't come up to scratch on those tests so i have sent for the motobatt battery, keeping the cost quiet from er indoors 8) she would have a fit if she knew what i' have spent this year. :lol:
User avatar
Ckennedy
Posts: 3560
Joined: Tue Jul 10, 2012 9:57 pm
Location: Leicestershire

Re: Battery

Post by Ckennedy »

I'm in need of a new battery so its been good to read :thumbup:

My missus knows what iv spent on the bike this year and hasn't said anything yet 8O only around 800 quid and counting :lol: and that's only the road bike, not including the track bike :lol:
User avatar
lloydie
Posts: 20927
Joined: Mon Jan 17, 2011 11:16 pm
Location: In the garage somewhere in Coventry

Re: Battery

Post by lloydie »

Anyone got a link to the bigger amp 4 terminal motobatt battery ?

My 2 year old standard one ain't holding charge :-(

I've spent £700 in the last 3 months on the two vtr's and that ain't the normal £500 I spend every winter !
If she found out if be out :shock:
Post Reply