Flat Battery - replace or charge?

Hi,

I was having the same problem as my bike is kept outside too! I ended up buying a new battery as it was old and i thought well probably needs replacing any way ... worked a treat. Until the cold weather started kicking in and the battery didn't have enough umph to turn the engine over.

The best thing i've done is go to wilkinsons buy some cable and an ouside junction box then BnQ and purchased an ouside plug socket. Installed it all running from a security lamp and went for an optimate 4 as its weather proof and according to the WWW its quite a good one!

Not had a problem since, unplug the charger in the morning and the bike starts first time & all in all about 80 quid and 1 hours of time!

J

sv650 - 1999 curvy

i'd go for a gell battery,just picked one up for my gsx600f,i bought a motobatt mb10u (yb10a2)absorbed glass mat,supposed to be the dog whatsits,and cost £45,

[yorkie_chris]

30 mile each way is plenty to charge the battery back up, don't worry about a charger.

Check reg rec though, if it is a bit low it could be giving issues. More cold cranking amps is always good/

I ordered a Yuasa gel battery so should be here today although the bike is under a foot of snow so I'm not likely to be trying it out any time soon!

[muzikill]

Buy an optimate, if your bike is going to be left outside for long periods or in a shed with no power to trickle charge then consider bringing the battery in especially during the winter and especially since we are having great weather atm!
Don't treat you bike battery like any other, its needs to be maintained and at £50+ a pop i don't want to buy them all the time. Original yuasa got knackered by leaving the bike out in all weathers and i didnt have a optimate at the time. The battery is kept inside and i slam the optimate on it every 2 weeks to keep it ok. Now have a Varta battery, dunno how good they are!

Originally Posted by muzikill

Buy an optimate, if your bike is going to be left outside for long periods or in a shed with no power to trickle charge then consider bringing the battery in especially during the winter and especially since we are having great weather atm!
Don't treat you bike battery like any other, its needs to be maintained and at £50+ a pop i don't want to buy them all the time. Original yuasa got knackered by leaving the bike out in all weathers and i didnt have a optimate at the time. The battery is kept inside and i slam the optimate on it every 2 weeks to keep it ok. Now have a Varta battery, dunno how good they are!

Like I said before - Buy an Optimate. Its a no brainer for £40. It will pay for itself in new batteries in a couple of winters.

In the cold, a 12V battery can be knocked to about 4V, making the electric not start. Do you have an optimator? (Surges charge on and off while connected the battery via the mains) this will always keep the battery tip-top...?

Charge it once, if it does it again don't give it another chance - replace it.