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When Will My Motorcycle Battery Die?

4K views 6 replies 7 participants last post by  Steve H 
#1 ·


It depends where the bike lives: Hot and cold climates are both harder on batteries than temperate climes, and bikes that get ridden regularly are easier on batteries than ones that sit for months – though a good battery tender with a float feature negates much of that. In fact, I was bragging about the Shorai lithium-iron battery in my bike not long ago, which must be seven years old now and has never seen a charger, when my friend Jim said big deal, the original equipment sealed AGM battery in his VFR lasted 9.5 years, and his 21-year old Ducati is only on its second battery. So, sealed batteries can last a long time especially if you’re OCD about maintenance.

According to several sources including BatteryStuff.com, though, your 12.3-volt reading means your battery may be on its way to Nirvana; a fully charged one should read 12.7 volts or above. Since you like to play with your voltmeter, there are instructions to “stress test” your battery at the same page, along with a lot of other battery tidbits that will let you know for certain if it’s time to replace.

Send your moto questions to AskMOAnything@motorcycle.com. If we don’t know the answer, we know who does, and if they don’t know we’ll make up something reasonable-sounding. What do you want for free?
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#5 ·
If you buy a battery and not pre-charge it per factory instructions = 3 years or less.
If you buy a BS [Battery acid Supplied] type and pre-charge it per Yuasa's way of testing their competitions battery = 6 or more years.
If you buy a theory that says: You cannot separate magnetism [E] from heat or a chemical reaction, then vaseline on the battery posts = is the antidote.

The 6 year old+ battery pre-service setup:
1. BS says to let the acid soak into the separator plates for over an hour... at least.
2. Now charge the battery per formula;
a. Move decimal point over to the right to determine battery amperage output and time on charge.
b. An example would be; 12n12a would be read as 12v/n for pole sides and polarity placements/12 amp hour rated.
c. Formula for said battery would be to read the amp output on the charger being at the minimum of 1.2amps [dec point to the right notice] and charge for literally 12 hours.

The charger:
I cannot hook up my 1.2 amp rated charger on say a 14n14a battery. My formula shows I need a 1.4 amp rated charger. I would only charge my 14a battery up to 1.2a if I used a 1.2a rated charger.
I need to go out to my bike charger now and read the amperage output or I won't see this side of 4 years with that low rated charger working that formula. Especially when E is a balance of volts to amps to you get the idea called ohms and that formula. I need a minimum rated amp or I start playing more formula games. I could run my 1.4 charger on a 1.2a battery. I would have to call Yuasa and see if cooking more time on a 14a battery with a 1.2a charger would call for more hours of cooking time. I was told I could run a 10a rated charger on the battery but I'd have to monitor the 'heat.' I want champagne bubbles simmering out of the pores of the plates. That kind of amp [10a] and that kind of heat is going to boil the BS, and that means larger bubbles that will expand and tear apart the softer plates with that kind of [bubble] expansion.

The Prep:
The action is all about the chemRe being mixed up well and that means that once the battery is fully charged after those 12 or 14 hours, it's time to discharge the battery down to 1 or 2v. I run car jumper cables to the battery posts and then to the prongs of a high beam headlight. I also use a brake light held in a socket. Using the wrong gauge wire on that high beam to battery; will begin to melt the plastic cover and turn the tiny single strands red before you know it. Ask me how I know. Once the battery is down that low, it's charged and drained 3 times in total. On the 3rd fully charged battery cooked for those rated hours, now install the battery for service.

Home test:
In 2010 I went thru the charging process buying a new leftover bike and the original battery that came with it... was dry. After 4k on the speedo, bike sat for 4 years and charged it maybe 3 times. Sold the bike in 2016 and that battery never burped an amp starting that bike in front of the new owner or when he rode it away.
In 2013 I forgot to grease the battery posts on the daily rider. Say in 2015 I walked out of the auto store and it would not start. Had it towed home, pulled the battery out, noticed the chemRe on the ground side of the battery post. Cleaned that off with vinegar and q-tips, and dipped the cable end in vinegar. Charged the battery for grins, installed the original prepped battery. She's still going.

Signed,
NOLTT (no one likes the time) spent prepping
 
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