1st start in 25 days

[Speedy1959]

My bike started 1st time  in 25 days with no charger ever connected..

[Andre]

I started mine after 6 weeks. Came right on. No charger either.

However, battery was 12.45 V. For original battery this requires charging according to service manual. Was charged (13+ V) by letting her run until oil temp was 100°+

Do you need a charger? No. Is it good to have it on a charger? Yes.

The reasons that speak for a charger are well known. Plenty of info out there. Some here feel strongly one way or the other. It's up to you. Peace 

[rekib]

Always put mine on a charger.....if the battery goes dead its dead, I know batteries are not expensive even for a good one, but its the inconvenience.

[VladTepes]

Mine was sitting for 6 MONTHS without being started,  Hit the button and it turned over and came to life

[Speedy1959]

I started mine after 6 weeks. Came right on. No charger either.

However, battery was 12.45 V. For original battery this requires charging according to service manual. Was charged (13+ V) by letting her run until oil temp was 100°+

Do you need a charger? No. Is it good to have it on a charger? Yes.

The reasons that speak for a charger are well known. Plenty of info out there. Some here feel strongly one way or the other. It's up to you. Peace 

Thats where the engine comes in Andre..
The battery is purely for starting... After that the alternator supplies the top up charge..
If my ECU or whatever else on the bike wasn't happy then it wouldn't start..
It starts instantly so in my opinion why should I bother on unnecessary expense and complication of a charger?

I managed to get out both Saturday and Sunday this weekend.. Did a total of 170 miles..
I have a feeling my battery will be well and truly "charged" !

Again I must remind you I have done this for the last 9 bikes I have owned and none have ever created any difficulty at any time.

[Speedy1959]

Mine was sitting for 6 MONTHS without being started,  Hit the button and it turned over and came to life

Hi Vlad,

I never "hibernate" my bike over the winter as many do in the UK.
Because there are plenty of winter days that are good riding.
Weather permitting I would ride every weekend..
Summer time means riding every weekend and 2 evenings minimum for me.

As I mentioned before, if I had a third party alarm then I would be forced to use a battery charger..
I haven't, so I am not !

S.

[KiwiCol]

So, in essence, it's "use it or loose it" as far as batteries go.   I'm good with that.

[Speedy1959]

So, in essence, it's "use it or loose it" as far as batteries go.   I'm good with that.

Yes Col.. I would say you hit the nail on the head there....
Mine is used enough to keep the battery topped up and in good enough state of charge not to need a charger.
And when it is started I don't just ride around the block.. A quick ride for me is around 25 miles (40k).

[shanered6]

I dont use a charger on mine either and it always starts but i do usually start it every week end and let it get up to running temp , but my tiger has a charger fitted as it will run the battery down in less than two weeks if not fitted to a charger .
its those damn blinky red alarm lights that use it up !!  i fitted a new gel battery to it when i bought it thinking the original was duff .

[seth]

Our bikes are never off the road but do swop the batteries around on the charger iver yhe winter like i said before i never used to but now have an optimate so i use it .
Already done 2 runs this year a rally 3 weeks ago (260 miles) an icecream run (80 miles)with mates 2 weekends ago away to another rally on friday (250 miles) no other plans in near future but if the weather is good I'll be out on the bike .

Alarms especially with flashing led's are what seam to really kill batteries if left sitting for to long my Bking took 9 days to run the battery flat.

[Speedy1959]

Spot on Seth..
Must say I really enjoyed the weekend.
I went to Devils Bridge (Kirkby Lonsdale) which is a very pipular biker meeting place and was pleasantly surprised to see about 25 bikes there.
Met up with a couple of mates and went to  place called Castle Bolton near Leyburn.

https://www.boltoncastle.co.uk

[seth]

Great part of the world with nice roads i remember it well .
Nothing better than getting out on the bike on a crisp winters day .
Roads are full of rubbish and grit and the bike needs a dam good wash when home but well worth it.
Glad you had a good day out .

[shanered6]

I like to get out on a nice frosty dry day but this year every time ive planned to go some thing has cropped up ( the joys of estate work  ) .
on the blinky light thing a sparky freind of mine told me the flashing red light uses 3 times as much energy as the light just being constantly on , so he wired his to just stay on and it uses hardly any battery and will last up to 6 weeks before he needs to think about starting it .

[Andre]

I started mine after 6 weeks. Came right on. No charger either.

However, battery was 12.45 V. For original battery this requires charging according to service manual. Was charged (13+ V) by letting her run until oil temp was 100°+

Do you need a charger? No. Is it good to have it on a charger? Yes.

The reasons that speak for a charger are well known. Plenty of info out there. Some here feel strongly one way or the other. It's up to you. Peace 

Thats where the engine comes in Andre..
The battery is purely for starting... After that the alternator supplies the top up charge..
If my ECU or whatever else on the bike wasn't happy then it wouldn't start..
It starts instantly so in my opinion why should I bother on unnecessary expense and complication of a charger?

I managed to get out both Saturday and Sunday this weekend.. Did a total of 170 miles..
I have a feeling my battery will be well and truly "charged" !

Again I must remind you I have done this for the last 9 bikes I have owned and none have ever created any difficulty at any time.

No need for reminding, you mentioned it plenty.  I have never put a charger on my bikes and cars either. Except for one time the batteries held up for the usual lifetime (around 5 years). All vehicles (mostly bikes) were used on a daily basis (regardless of weather and road condition.

With my current 14 it is a different story. Was laid up for over 6 weeks as conditions were not acceptable to ride. I have now the luxury of being a fair weather rider

In my previous post I shared this:

However, battery was 12.45 V. For original battery this requires charging according to service manual. Was charged (13+ V) by letting her run until oil temp was 100°+

Cool, the battery appeared well charged. The 13+ Volt were actually 13.9 V. The next day I checked the voltage again and it was 12.51V. Very close to needing some charging again. BTW, the battery is less than a year old. Would I have ridden 170 miles (fat chance), it would have certainly given a better reading. But I did not for my own reasons.

You say that the battery is purely for starting. Put in a bypass with a switch for the battery. Start the engine and activate the bypass. Does the engine still run? In an old bike it would but not in a "modern" bike. The ECU runs of the battery, not the alternator. The times are well passed when this was different.

Sure, the alternator tops up the charge but only as long as the battery is "healthy" enough. Smart chargers keep the battery healthy. That is their main duty. You don't have to run the bike for a couple hundred kilometers to get the battery fully charged.

Using a battery that is passed its peak health puts a strain on the alternator.

Not everyone goes for a "long" ride. Not everyone has no additional consumers. Hey, on most modern bikes, including the later 14 models, you can't even turn the lights off as I can on my K2. Have enough additional consumers and the alternator can't even charge the battery while standing at the traffic lights or be in a stop and go situation.

It's ok that you feel strongly about not using a charger. That way you don't have to feel bad that your situation doesn't allow you to run a cable to your bike. I don't feel bad about not having a charger and being to lazy getting the battery into the warm. My 1 year old battery is being hammered right now in the cold, obviously suffering. Fine with me for the time being, until the budget is there to buy a new one and a smart charger. Let's see if I am lucky (usually I am) and the bike will start with no problems, my alternator won't get overworked, and my fuel injection time will not get to long due to the ECU adjusting for low voltage.

[Speedy1959]

I am losing the will to live !!
Topic now closed !