My bike is a little over 2 years old. Lately I noticed it is a little hesitant to start. Just wondering how long a bike battery usually lasts

 

If well maintained (ridden at least once a week for at least a half hour at a time, otherwise trickle charged) probably like 4-6 years. If not, 2 years.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Boughetto &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">My bike is a little over 2 years old. Lately I noticed it is a little hesitant to start. Just wondering how long a bike battery usually lasts </TD></TR></TABLE>

its probably slowly deteriorating and able to crank out fewer amps as it dies. is it lead acid or gel cell?

i see a pushstart in your future!

 

Is it really necessary to ride it a half hour at a time? I start my bike once a week since they're snow on the ground but I usually only run it long enough for it to warm up. I can't imagine it would really take that long to sufficiently charge the battery.

That reminds me, I haven't started my bike in two weeks.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Apocalypse &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Is it really necessary to ride it a half hour at a time? I start my bike once a week since they're snow on the ground but I usually only run it long enough for it to warm up. I can't imagine it would really take that long to sufficiently charge the battery.

That reminds me, I haven't started my bike in two weeks. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Buy a $20 battery tender and save yourself the trouble

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RebornGSR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Buy a $20 battery tender and save yourself the trouble </TD></TR></TABLE>

I read somewhere... and I don't remember where... that they were actually bad for the battery since they don't take into account the actual charge level of the battery. I'm sure they have decent ones that do but I have these visions of my dad fussing with a damn charger in my grandfather's old Ferrari and the damn thing never starting.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Apocalypse &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I read somewhere... and I don't remember where... that they were actually bad for the battery since they don't take into account the actual charge level of the battery. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Mine only charges the battery when it drops below a certain level then shuts off when it's full and waits for it to drop again.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Apocalypse &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I read somewhere... and I don't remember where... that they were actually bad for the battery since they don't take into account the actual charge level of the battery. I'm sure they have decent ones that do but I have these visions of my dad fussing with a damn charger in my grandfather's old Ferrari and the damn thing never starting.</TD></TR></TABLE>

i dont own one of these things nor do i know how they work, but i can speculate...

i think the magic of the battery tender is that it periodically puts a test load across the battery and measures its charge level. this also reverses the direction of current from charge to discharge which helps keep corrosion fron ionization off the plates / chemical breadown in gel. this is how a battery gets treated in normal operation, since sometimes its discharging (like at startup) and other times its charging. most chargers are one way only by pushing current into the battery which means just leaving it hooked up even with a trickle charge wont keep it in the best health.

again, this is just speculation on my part.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by falcongsr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

i dont own one of these things nor do i know how they work, but i can speculate...
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Quick google search turned up this:

http://batterytender.com/faqs.php/#4

You seem to know more about this then me so maybe you can help put it in simple terms

 

That actually made sense. If I read it correctly, the acid in the battery basically evaporates when a trickle charger is connected because the volts are too high. (my dad's) The tender can compensate for the actual level of the battery ad administer volts as necessary to charge without causing evaporation. (yours)

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by falcongsr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i dont own one of these things nor do i know how they work, but i can speculate...

i think the magic of the battery tender is that it periodically puts a test load across the battery and measures its charge level. this also reverses the direction of current from charge to discharge which helps keep corrosion fron ionization off the plates / chemical breadown in gel. this is how a battery gets treated in normal operation, since sometimes its discharging (like at startup) and other times its charging. most chargers are one way only by pushing current into the battery which means just leaving it hooked up even with a trickle charge wont keep it in the best health.

again, this is just speculation on my part.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Nerd

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Apocalypse &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Is it really necessary to ride it a half hour at a time? I start my bike once a week since they're snow on the ground but I usually only run it long enough for it to warm up. I can't imagine it would really take that long to sufficiently charge the battery.

That reminds me, I haven't started my bike in two weeks. </TD></TR></TABLE>

An automotive battery usually discharges throught the negative terminal. In order to charge it, the electrons need to flow from the charging source back through the negative terminal at a greater voltage. And the higher the current, the faster the battery will charge.

If a car's battery is running low and you jump start it, usually you need to keep the engine running. Some people will tell you to drive the car to charge it faster. The reason for that is because in a car, the alternator will produce more amperage at a higher rpm. So essentially, to charge faster, you can sit there and rev the engine higher.

The reasoning for about 30 minutes is actually if you're going to leave the bike idling. If you were to actually ride it, it'd probably require much less time to recharge the battery.

Most batteries will hold charge and have a shelf life of about 3-6 months before requiring a recharge. In a car, there's parasitic draw such as the clock and radio presets. On a bike, there usually isn't a parasitic draw so theoretically you should be able to leave the bike at room temp for about 3-6 months and just start it right up. But we all know that theoretically doesn't mean **** in real life

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Apocalypse &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">That actually made sense. If I read it correctly, the acid in the battery basically evaporates when a trickle charger is connected because the volts are too high. (my dad's) The tender can compensate for the actual level of the battery ad administer volts as necessary to charge without causing evaporation. (yours)</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's what I got out of it also but I'll wait for falcon the nerd to chime in

 

damn you all