Not ridden bike for ten days, went to ride this morning and the battery has gone flat due to me leaving the controller to on.
Will fix this weekend and have invested in an Optimate 4 battery tender: http://www.amazon.co.uk/OptiMate-4-Battery-charger-conditioner/dp/B000R5936U/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1297716397&sr=8-3
Quote from: Norman Bates on February 14, 2011, 08:47:03 PM
Not ridden bike for ten days, went to ride this morning and the battery has gone flat due to me leaving the controller to on.
Will fix this weekend and have invested in an Optimate 4 battery tender: http://www.amazon.co.uk/OptiMate-4-Battery-charger-conditioner/dp/B000R5936U/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1297716397&sr=8-3
good choice on the opitmate 4, but suprised you never all ready had a trickle charger. best thing since sliced bread, used one for years. never had a flat or needed to replace a battery. defo the way to go!
Yep I have to go with that ... even if I leave the bike when I am off work for just 2 or 3 days I always hook it up to the Optimate 4 ... well worth the £ .. about 40 squid if I remember ?
have ended up with 2 optimate 4 chargers, allready had one for the zzr1400, and managed to get one of the dealer when I bought the gtr1400. also both bikes are allways permantly connected to the chargers when in my garage. thus keeping the both batterys in top condition. the opitmate 4 completly controls and regulates the charge to the battery. so theres no chance of it ever over charging.
I normally ride the bike all year round so the battery doesn't normally go flat. Slight lapse this year
I have an optimate 4 in the garage which I used on the CB1300 but I've never felt the need to use it on the GTR. Even with all the stopping and starting I had the engine doing recently while I fitted and tested the Autocom the battery never falted.
I remember last year a friend of mine had a duffer and there was just no power in it at all ... the dealer was going to charge him £70 ish for a brand new one out the box ( for his ZX6R ) ... he went to Battery.com ( ? ) and had the same battery delivered within 24 hours, including postage for about £30 !!! Always Google it first !
The battery is charging as I write this. Will give it a good 10 hours charge or might even leave it overnight. The bike already had a battery tender lead, but unfortunately the connections had corroded.
Quote from: Norman Bates on February 20, 2011, 06:39:28 PM
The battery is charging as I write this. Will give it a good 10 hours charge or might even leave it overnight. The bike already had a battery tender lead, but unfortunately the connections had corroded.
is it a optimate charger if it is, leave it connected all the time when bike not in use :), it will keep the battery in top condition! its fully automatic its stops charging when full charge is obtained and as soon as the voltage drops it puts a very slow charge back in, dose this as needed so you will allways have a fully charged battery thats kept in top condition!
Am I right in thinking you must not use a battery charger designed for a car on a motor bike as it'll bugger the battery up?
I do have a charger from Halfords that has a switch for car and bike so I assume so.
I would leave the Optimate permanently connected but I have to run a wire to the bike shed at the moment.
Quote from: Lonewolf on February 20, 2011, 08:33:28 PM
Am I right in thinking you must not use a battery charger designed for a car on a motor bike as it'll bugger the battery up?
well I would not, because motorcycle batterys require a much lower charge rate than car batterys. motorcyle battery requires a very slow and small steady charge, and the optimate charger dose exactly that. the optimate 2,3 or the latest model 4 is the way to go. there fully automatic and are designed to leave connected when the bike is not in use. the optimate goes into standby mode when the charge is reach, every 30 mins it dose a check of the battery if the voltage drops it adds a small steady charge till the voltage is regained. suppose it depends if you use your bike everyday and long enough to give the alternator chance to replace the power that was used to start the bike and keep the headlights on when riding for that distance. I use a optimate because I dont use my bike every day and under charged batterys can sulfate which will damage the cells. if you keep the battery fully charged it will stay in the same condition as when it was new. for £45.00 and 10 mins to fit the permament lead ensures the battery is kept in top condition!
2Kwacks is spot on ... don't charge your bike with anything to do with cars !! I have had an Optimate 4 since last year and it is spot on .. the bike gets used a lot but even if I am off work for 3 or 4 days I will always plug it in and have NEVER had a battery problem ... buy an Optimate 4 as they trickle charge and check themselves, you just can't go wrong.
I use my optimate if I not likely to go out on Bike for week or so.
You should leave it on the Optimate charger all the time - It manages the battery, even over nightt o keep it in top condition ALL the time.
Does the battery more good than leaving it, even for a couple of days
Sound advice Winston.
Quote from: Winston Smith on February 23, 2011, 07:47:11 PM
You should leave it on the Optimate charger all the time - It manages the battery, even over nightt o keep it in top condition ALL the time.
Does the battery more good than leaving it, even for a couple of days
I never left it on for long periods & never had any problems. I dont like leaving anything like that plugged in for too long. I worry if I am away & it overheats & burns the Garage down , with Bike in it. It's not like it's never happened.
You go out on the Bike or Tour on it. Your parked up , you dont have it plugged in then , while your away. So same in Garage at home. So I dont see it makes much difference personally.
My garage and bikes are still OK after 12 or so years !
Joking apart, they are designed to be left on plugged in and attached to the bike.
They charge then keep the battery topped up with a trickle when required. They then remain dormant until they detect a slight drop in charge at which point they re-enter the cycle.
Advantage of keeping it plugged in is that the battery is always spot on. It keeps the battery healthy. By only doing it occasionally the battery may not be kept as healthy.
I think you may worry too much - trust it and it will probably save the cost of a battery!
Got to admit I was always apprehensive about leaving it on 24/7,