| Author | Message | ||
     Taxman |
I didn’t do a good job of taking care of my bike this winter. I put dry gas in it but last winter I let it run for a few minutes each day. I only did that once this year and my battery died. Can I just put it on a trickle charger thing? And if so what settings do I need to use. I was given one for xmas but I’ve never used it. It’s got different voltages and such. I suppose I could just take it down to my dealer and have them charge it for me. But they aren’t really a Buell dealership anymore. They have been nice to me but deep down inside I’d like to punish them for ditching Buell. | ||
| Chasespeed |
WEll, for trickle charge...use 12 volts..lowest AMP setting, shoud be about 2 amps... You could also test it, if you wannatake it outta the tray... Its possible it could be bad...I am on my third battery in a year.... Chase | ||
| Skyguy |
I picked up a battery at Car Quest when mine died. They had to order but it was in my hands three hours after they found it. Note to everyone: If you see you clock suddenly start to get screwy head for a new battery. I was lucky to be at a local coffee shop across from Car quest when it died. Cost was 65.00 and I had to angle the hot lead a little but all in all it fit fine. | ||
| Cowboy |
My 2001 X1 still has the orignal battery,It is working good I just put a charge in it after bike was shut ddown for 4 Mo. with any luck it should be ok. | ||
| Nortcom |
My 2001 M2 is still working great on the original battery also. It's starting to make me a little nervous. I've kept mine on an OptiMate battery charger when I'm not riding. I'm not sure if it has helped or if I just got lucky and got a good battery. I've heard a lot of horror stories. I probably should get a new one before our Laguna Seca trip coming up. | ||
| Taxman |
a lady that i work with has a bike and said that it might have froze (it got very cold here this winter. i did start up the bike just after xmas and let it idle for a little bit. when i turn the key the dash came on and the lights came on (probably dim though). when i flipped the safety switch to on though the fuell filter sounded like me when i don't want to get up in the morning. i just havne't ever had to charge a battery before. i'll give it a try. i can't hurt the bike at all can i? i'd •••• myself if i set my bike on fire. | ||
| Nortcom |
I would take the battery out of the bike and make sure its not frozen before you put a charger on it. They will do ugly things if they are charged when they're frozen. If it wasn't totally dead it probably didn't freeze. Use a very low amp setting....like one amp. I would use a float charger such as the one I mentioned earlier. The "Battery Tender" is a good one. It pretty much does it's own thing as far as amperage goes. I would have gotten one of those but our local bike dealer didn't have one in stock. | ||
| Spinzealot |
I just changed out the original battery on my 98 M2. I was very surprised to see it live that long down here in Florida.  | ||
| Iamike |
Your first mistake was starting it often and then shutting it down right away. It takes more than a couple minutes of recharging at idle to make up for what was used during the start (not to mention all of the crud due to not letting the bike get to a good operating temp.) You don't really need to leave a charger on it all the time but once a month or so charge it back up. Our service trucks go through batteries quite quick because they start up, drive to the next order, shut down, and then on again all day long. Most of the time their batteries never get a full charge and then die. If you read up on batteries the manufactureres are quite specific about how a battery should be charged on how it is used. The two big no-no's are letting it sit without a full charge and over-charging it. If your charger goes over 14 volts don't leave it on for more than an hour or two. If you listen close you'll hear it boiling. | ||
| Midknyte |
It takes more than a couple minutes of recharging at idle to make up for what was used during the start 'bout a half hour or so to recharge from a start Starting it up "for a few minutes" has other detrimental effects. It attracts moisture to the muffler among other things. You won't be running it in place long enough to dry things out - someone pick this up & explain it better. | ||
| Swampy |
Over the winter just remove the battery, charge it, store it properly, if it is a lead acid battery charge it mid winter and again before you put it back in.(Or get a dry cell battery and charge it once and let it freeze.) Oh Yeah, one more thing: Running your bike in the winter is simply not good for it. The heating and cooling of the engine causes condensation to form inside the engine and transmission. Without bringing the engine up to full operating temperature and holding it at that temperature for a period long enough to evaporate the water that has accumulated inside the engine due to the condensation is just BAD! Taxman, are you going to Iron Mountain? (Message edited by swampy on March 24, 2006) | ||
| Taxman |
Iron Mountain? tell me more. i'd love to go on a few rides this spring summer fall with other badwebbers. | ||
| Swampy |
Taxman Check out the link in The Big The Bad The Uly: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142838/157507.html?1143588364 We are leaving out on Friday May 5th from Lansing. | ||
| Bartimus |
" when i flipped the safety switch to on though, the fuell filter sounded like me when i don't want to get up in the morning." hehe reminds me of myself sometimes!  |
