Busa as dead as a lame duck

[jellyrug]

Was overseas for three months, connected cheap Harley chargers to three of my bikes and all is good.

For the Busa, replaced the battery with a new Yuasa about a year ago and kept a smart Yuasa charger on the bike. Charger light green says all is good, but when I disconnected it, the green light stayed green?? Try to start the Busa and the battery died immediately. Charger seems to work, OK, but on the Busa battery it shows an error?

No load I get 12.5V, load it just dies. Weird?

Now have a 4A charger on there, will see what happens, but it looks as if I lost another battery???

 

[dadofthree]

 

[Telboy2000]

many of those smart chargers are rubbish...all they do is kill the battery by overcharging..I have one and when set to bike batteries it charges at 14.7V yet if set to car it runs at 14.2v....killed 1 battery before i found out...no issues since using the car setting.
If yours is one of the small power pack style ones they are just cheap chinese units rebranded and 10x the price.
I found the best way was a plug in timer that once a week turned the charger on for 6 hours to simulate taking the bike for a run.
ps...never though much of Yuasa batteries and have had to replace dozens of them over the years for bikes that have been off the road for a few months and just lost all their power.
Tried cheap batteries and they work just as well for just as long and are half the price.

 

[bisquit61]

I've been using battery tender for years on 2 busas and 2 scooters. 0 issues.

 

[jellyrug]

I had to check, this battery was 2 1/2 years old and it died. Even with a Yuasa charger specifically made for this battery connected.

New one ordered.

 

[Blanca BusaLess]

I've got a Shorai lithium battery. My bike sat for over three months with no charger on it and last night she fired up like no time had passed since last ride. Lfx18 heavy duty model. Get one and be done.

 

[jellyrug]

I've got a Shorai lithium battery. My bike sat for over three months with no charger on it and last night she fired up like no time had passed since last ride. Lfx18 heavy duty model. Get one and be done.

$190 for the Shorai, and another $85 for a dedicated Shorai charger, $275.
My bike has an alarm, which slowly drains the battery and I don't ride very often, so I would need the whole package.

Got another Yuasa, at $75.

 

[semi]

glad to hear you will have her back on the road soon

 

[darciedog1]

Sorry to hear of your loss. lease:

 

[IG.]

We've been through this before, and this is exactly why it's a bad idea to leave a battery on all those smart chargers for a long time. If you really away for a number of months at a time, just disconnect the battery and leave it alone. Charge it when you get back - guaranteed to work. Put the battery on a charger for a few months - and it's a gamble.

I did leave my battery on a charger for a few weeks - one of those cheap ones. However, that one was specifically meant to maintain charge and not to provide full charge. I measured with the digital V-meter - it was providing exactly 13.2V, so I knew this one would not overcharge. However, I bought another one, and it was giving out 14.2V. There is no way I would've left my battery on this one. I complained to the store manager, and he promised to report back to the management. Doubt they fixed anything. My point is I don't trust any smart chargers because I don't know what they do, and there is no light alerting me when such charger goes bad. I rely on the facts: constant 13.2V - I am OK with it as a maintenance charger. 14.2V - forget it.

Not a bad idea about the timer as long as the timer mechanism works. Still prefer simplicity. Modern batteries lose very little charge over time. Even after 3 months of sitting disconnected (in above freezing temperatures), it will still have 30-50% charge left. How big of a deal is to charge it for a few hours?

 

[kromdom]

the only brand I've used for several years (on several bikes/cars/trucks) = ZERO ISSUES...ever!

 

[jellyrug]

We've been through this before, and this is exactly why it's a bad idea to leave a battery on all those smart chargers for a long time. If you really away for a number of months at a time, just disconnect the battery and leave it alone. Charge it when you get back - guaranteed to work. Put the battery on a charger for a few months - and it's a gamble.

I did leave my battery on a charger for a few weeks - one of those cheap ones. However, that one was specifically meant to maintain charge and not to provide full charge. I measured with the digital V-meter - it was providing exactly 13.2V, so I knew this one would not overcharge. However, I bought another one, and it was giving out 14.2V. There is no way I would've left my battery on this one. I complained to the store manager, and he promised to report back to the management. Doubt they fixed anything. My point is I don't trust any smart chargers because I don't know what they do, and there is no light alerting me when such charger goes bad. I rely on the facts: constant 13.2V - I am OK with it as a maintenance charger. 14.2V - forget it.

Not a bad idea about the timer as long as the timer mechanism works. Still prefer simplicity. Modern batteries lose very little charge over time. Even after 3 months of sitting disconnected (in above freezing temperatures), it will still have 30-50% charge left. How big of a deal is to charge it for a few hours?

My bike does not see a lot of use, 7,000 miles in 4 1/2 years and it has an alarm that pulls the battery down. I am not that good at keeping a tender on it, so it is probably lack of care. The battery uncharged measures 13.2V but apply load and it dies meaning the plates are shorted at their base.

The Yuasa charger is made specifically for these batteries, it is a 5 stage smart charger.

1.) Test and if the battery is faulty alarm.
2.) Test and attempt to desulfate if detected.
3.) Charge and reduce charging voltage as the battery nears full charge.
4.) Maintain a 10mA charge to maintain and repeat cycle if a load is detected.
5.) Repeat the whole cycle in 28 days.

 

[IG.]

So, you are saying the battery just died because it was NOT on a tender?

I see your dilemma - you may not ride for a few weeks, but when you decide to ride you want to make sure the battery is charged and ready for a ride. Depending on alarm, it may draw up to 15 mA. I actually had an argument with Scorpio a while back. Their alarm was drawing around 12 mA while they claimed it should've been a lot less. Don't remember exactly, but something along the lines of 4-6 mA without perimeter sensor being deployed. They agreed to replace my unit, and the new one was drawing in line with their claims. The reason I was so concerned with the extra current was because over time it significantly drains the battery. In a month, this would be:

0.010 A * 24 hours * 30 days = 7.2 Ah

A battery naturally loses probably at the average rate of 2 mA, so for a month this would be:

0.002 A * 24 hours * 30 days = 1.5 Ah approx.

So, for a 10 Ah fully charged battery, after a month of sitting, it would've naturally lost 10 Ah - 1.5 Ah = 8.5 Ah. Not bad, and very likely the bike can be started without extra charging. However, subtract another 7.2 Ah, and the battery is left with: 8.5 Ah - 7.2 Ah = 1.3 Ah - pretty much dead.

I'd say, you need an alarm switch. I had one. Disconnect the alarm when the bike is not used, but don't forget to turn it on for the ride. It will also be less annoying when you have to re-connect the battery a few times. Some alarms sound for a few seconds when they are first connected. So, if you need to disconnect and re-connect a battery a few times, it gets pretty annoying.

 

[smac]

Won't be too long before I need a battery, a little sluggish if the battery sits for about two weeks.

 

[1busa]

If your bike doesn't get ridden a whole lot where do you store it? If your not leaving it outside why leave the alarm on to constantly pull from the battery? If it's stored in a shed or garage your better off buying an alarm/motion detector for that and just buying a disc lock and run a kryptonite chain through the rim and swingarm anchoring it to something heavy. I have an alarm on my bike too but when I know it's gonna be sitting 4 a while in my garage I leave it off and just chain it up. If somebody was able to get into your garage and the alarm was your only defense all it takes is an Allen wrench and 2 seat bolts to gain access to the battery and disconnect the alarm..... the alarm is more for when you leave it parked on a street or in a parking lot cause the noise will get people's attention and frighten off inept thieves.

 

[jellyrug]

If your bike doesn't get ridden a whole lot where do you store it? If your not leaving it outside why leave the alarm on to constantly pull from the battery? If it's stored in a shed or garage your better off buying an alarm/motion detector for that and just buying a disc lock and run a kryptonite chain through the rim and swingarm anchoring it to something heavy. I have an alarm on my bike too but when I know it's gonna be sitting 4 a while in my garage I leave it off and just chain it up. If somebody was able to get into your garage and the alarm was your only defense all it takes is an Allen wrench and 2 seat bolts to gain access to the battery and disconnect the alarm..... the alarm is more for when you leave it parked on a street or in a parking lot cause the noise will get people's attention and frighten off inept thieves.

My alarm draws about 4 1/2 mA when the alarm is off (not armed), due to the RFID. Without the alarm, if I remember correctly it draws close to 1mA. Bike is safe in a locked up garage, only problem is it has a lazy owner who wants to just park it for 3 months and then jump on, twist the key and ride.

 

[IG.]

Finally, we figured out the real issue... lazy owner, LOL... you get credit for being honest, LOL. I would also be concerned with the gas sitting there for a few months - hope you are using fuel stabilizer or something.

 

[dadofthree]

You're three hours north. When you get the new battery installed give me a shout, I'll come get her for the winter

 

[GIXERHP]

Simple solution here,,, stock up on a extra Battery for the shelf on a tender!

My alarm draws about 4 1/2 mA when the alarm is off (not armed), due to the RFID. Without the alarm, if I remember correctly it draws close to 1mA. Bike is safe in a locked up garage, only problem is it has a lazy owner who wants to just park it for 3 months and then jump on, twist the key and ride.

 

[Queamore]

Hmmmm got a question. If u know ur not gonna ride it for a while why not just pull the battery out of the bike and put it in the closet in the house. That's what I do with my car battery.