Motorcycle battery without battery tender

[IcantC]

Hey guys since it is winter here and I can't ride my bike anymore, I will be storing it(I am in Chicago and have had some snow, too slippery to ride a sportbike).

I know most guys remove the battery, take it indoors and hook it upto a battery tender.

That is great and all, but I will be out of state for next 6-12 months and do not want to leave a battery tender connected to it unsupervised.

IF I just disconnect the battery and leave it indoors, is that ok? Anything else I should do?

Thanks!

 

[frosty]

Unfortunately an unattended bike battery will die in about a month. I speak from expensive experience.

 

[NeonLights]

Standard lead acid battery or is it AGM? An AGM battery will be fine sitting indoors for months, if you hook it up to a battery tender for a day or two before reinstalling it, it should be fine.

 

[qwertyydude]

An automatic float charger is perfectly safe. It charges the battery up and shuts off when it's full and when the battery starts to die it charges it back up again. But for 6 months you might get away with fully charging it and putting the battery on a wood board, then recharging after returning. Placing it directly on concrete some believe will drain it because of the quartz content of the concrete, but in reality the temperature difference of the concrete sets up temperature differences in the electrolyte which can lead to increased self discharge. But a float charger really is best.

 

[HEY HEY ITS HENDO]

is it anything like this ...
http://www.odysseybattery.com/batteries.html

http://www.odysseybattery.com/powerspecs.html

mine (pc680) charged up after 8 months at zero volts, i was well happy ....
...... and its been on the V-Max for 5+ years

how about a solar charger with a tiny trickle charge ....

 

[BIGIRON]

Personally, I'd make sure the electrolyte was topped up and leave it fully charged on a piece of wood or phone book or something. I do believe that concrete will hasten discharge, for whatever reason.

If someone is going to be around to check it periodically, I'd leave it on a float charger. I use the cheapies from Harbor Freight on boat, campertruck and two bikes with never any problems.

An AGM battery is well worth the money. Bike batts at OReillys for about $70 one year full exchange.

 

[IcantC]

Thanks for the feedback, I will check what battery I have(remove all fairings and seat) and let you know.

 

[frosty]

Just to clarify. The battery in my bike was a gel type. These aren't very robust. Other types can take a longer layup.

 

[BIGIRON]

Frosty, can you elaborate. I was under the impression that the gel batts (regularly used in general aviation, etc) were very reliable and long lived, like the newer AGM batts. (not critical, just curious)

 

[frosty]

I think their very small size (in a bike) may contribute to their early failure, but that's just a guess. All the ones I've used faded away even with the use of a tender. Maybe I was unlucky?:mecry:

 

[NeonLights]

I think their very small size (in a bike) may contribute to their early failure, but that's just a guess. All the ones I've used faded away even with the use of a tender. Maybe I was unlucky?:mecry:

Unlucky would be my guess. I've had a lot of success using AGM or dry-cell batteries in cars over the last 6+ years. I've used small motorcycle-size batteries in some of the cars I race, the one in my Miata is only around 6 lbs, and very tiny. I've had several of the small AGM/dry-cell batteries that outperformed the original large lead-acid batteries in cars.

 

[IcantC]

UPDATE

So I finally pulled out my battery, fun stuff in high teen F temps.

The battery is a GSYUASA YTX9-BS battery.
http://www.gsyuasabatteries.com.au/...=53&producttype=82&productsubtype=99&type=897

 

[MichaelW]

Costco had a 2 pack of solar powered battery chargers (Sunforce brand) for $30. 2 watt peak, I think.
That might be enough to maintain the charge, not that you'd need two chargers.