Battery is dead after how many days/weeks?

[Bram]

Hi,

I was wondering after what time period, a fully charged fz6 battery is dead just by not riding it. (discharged to the point that the bike will not start anymore.)
On my bike, everything is standard.

I haven't ride it during 6 days now, and I wonder how much longer I can strech it before I have to buy a battery charging system.
I don't dismount the battery because my hid transformator is mounted ontop of the battery, and it would be too much work to constantely mount and dismount the whole shizzle.

Doing some mods to the indicators, plate holder, etc... I hope I can start driving this weekend.

:thumbup::rockon:

 

[brad81987]

6 days should be fine provided you have no phantom drains. As long as the weather is warm, you can probably go a couple months and still have enough juice to start the bike. It's cold/winter temperatures that will kill a powersports battery quickly if not kept charged. That being said, battery maintainers are cheap. No matter what, it's always good for the battery to keep it float charged and it will extend the life of the battery. Spend $25-50 on a battery maintainer and put it on the battery when you're not riding and you should never have to replace your battery. If you store the bike indoors/garage, find one that has terminals that can be hardwired to the battery with an external plug. When you park the bike, plug it in. Easy. (I will admit, I don't do this. I put mine on a maintainer in the winter or if I don't anticipate riding for more than a couple weeks).

 

[FB400]

The Deltran is a good unit and simple to use/install charge leads. The Jr. version puts out less voltage but has the same intelligence as the more expensive unit. They can be found for under $30 shipped on Ebay. Been using mine for a few months. Very easy and effective.

 

[dean owens]

i have a bat. tend. jr. and do use it. but i didn't ride my bike for about a month or a month and a half during december/january and didn't plug up the tender. i had no issues when i went back to riding after that little break.

 

[Bram]

i have a bat. tend. jr. and do use it. but i didn't ride my bike for about a month or a month and a half during december/january and didn't plug up the tender. i had no issues when i went back to riding after that little break.

great news!:cheer:

And I was worrying about one week....:spank:

 

[Zack]

Rode for New Years last time and pulled it out of garage 3 days ago (sitting for 3 months + 28 days), turned a key and it started immediately.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Using a battery tender on any battery will extend its life and pay for itself. ost tenders come with a direct battery connector so you can hardwire the connector and not mess with lifting the tank.

The battery will still wear out over time, but will last longer....

 

[Adirondack Jack]

Rode for New Years last time and pulled it out of garage 3 days ago (sitting for 3 months + 28 days), turned a key and it started immediately.

About the same for me. No tender and only an occasional start and warm-up on the nice winter days (above freezing). About once a month for 3 or 4 months. No problem with a 3 yr. old battery. I also have an ATV with a 4 year old battery that sits a good deal of the time. No problems there either. I sometimes wonder if we get carried away about battery tenders and potential battery failure from inactivity (assuming there's nothing running in the background undetected). If it's a widespread problem in sport-bikes I have yet to experience it.

 

[chaskell27]

I parked my bike in a semi heated garage (40 - 50 degrees F) from October to March due to the nasty weather of the northeast. She fired right up like I never shut it off. The battery life probably won't last quite as long but it's good to know it'll keep up a charge. :thumbup:

 

[Motogiro]

There are so many variables to how a battery will behave. Quality of manufacturing including the electrolyte/battery acid, plates and case. From what I understand 'Wet Cell' batteries like to be topped off. It's better to trickle charge them meaning a low voltage charge near the battery's voltage potential.

Outwardly to us our battery might be fine but under duress, when asked to provide that extra service is where there can be a large difference between two of the exact same batteries.

I've had people with dead batteries that never cleaned the top of the battery off. They would tell me they charged the battery and in a few days especially wet weather days the battery lost it's charge. I would check the charging system and electrical system for leak/current draw and all seemed normal. The part of the system that was failing was the battery itself would weep electrolyte/acid that would form a film on the top of the case this with other dirt would form a path between the positive and negative posts so that the the battery was discharging itself. So not only was it discharging but was always remaining in a static state of discharge which is opposite of what keeps a wet cell happy.

Probably many of us have heard of taking a little baking soda and some water and scrubbing the top of your battery off. The Baking soda chemically neutralizes the acid and breaks that path so the battery is less apt to discharge itself through that path. Don't want to get it inside a cell

Most batteries today by design and better manufacturing are pretty devoid of those types of leakage but you do still see it once in a while.

I believe, even though I don't have one, a battery tender will give you better battery service and life.

Please keep in mind that there are a lot of different chemical type/design batteries out there and we are basically talking about lead acid wet cell as used in automotive so the rules are different for other chemical type/design so the general rules may differ.

 

[Capo79]

I stored my bike away mid October last year, and didn't take it out again until three weeks ago. The temperature where it sat was somewhere around 10 degrees c the whole time.

So, after nearly 5,5 months, the bike fired up instantly with no indication of poor battery capacity. In other words, you shouldn't worry:thumbup:

 

[Bram]

I stored my bike away mid October last year, and didn't take it out again until three weeks ago. The temperature where it sat was somewhere around 10 degrees c the whole time.

So, after nearly 5,5 months, the bike fired up instantly with no indication of poor battery capacity. In other words, you shouldn't worry:thumbup:

Thanks, my mind is at peace :thumbup:

 

[Wh0M3]

A battery tender is a good idea for anyone who lives where the white stuff falls from the sky. I've had to replace my battery because I didn't take care of it. :spank: Trust me it's cheaper to buy the battery tender than another battery.

That is unless you are one of those true hard core riders who like the challange of riding in the snow.

I've also heard that extreme heat can kill a battery too.

 

[s13browe]

It depends alot on the age, size and condition of your battery some may last 6 months and start right up but, others might not last a week if they are low on juice.

When a battery is under load Lead sulfate is formed on both the negative and positive plates of the battery, and the electrolyte becomes diluted with water. as the battery discharges, lead sulfate accumulates on the plates and the electrolyte becomes more diluted. Eventually the plates have so much sulfate accumulation on them and the electrolyte is so diluted that the chemical reaction stops and the battery is fully discharged, and not working.

When you charge it back up, you reverse the cycle. When the charging current passes through the battery in the opposite direction of discharging, it forces some of the chemicals from the plates. The chemicals combine with hydrogen to form sulfuric acid. The oxygen combines with the lead on the positive plate to form lead dioxide and lead peroxide. At the same time, sponge lead forms on the negative plate, and you add more working life to your battery. Hope this helps its easier to get if you understand what is actually happening inside your battery.