Battery longevity test

[WuzzaCBXRider]

Both bikes have always been on tenders, on the Kaw a five+ year old OEM battery on a regular Deltran tender and the Busa, also a five+ year old battery but on a lithium tender. On tour the charging system does a good job if it’s in good shape but there’s really no way to test the battery other than doing a load test which to me doesn’t test it’s longevity as if it’s on tour, starting 7-8 times a day every day for ten days or so and sitting in a parking lot overnight.

I disconnected both tenders and I’ll try starting the bikes in a week or so. I thought of not starting them and just reconnecting the tenders to see how long it takes for the tenders to go green. That alone might tell me what I want to know, if either battery is likely to fail 8-9 days into a tour.

Which would you do in this test, start them after ten days or reconnect the tenders first?

 

[Berlin Germany]

at www.louis.de they offer a so called battery "monitor" via an APP at your smart phone

nice piece i guess and not very expensive

 

[RedBull]

Both bikes have always been on tenders, on the Kaw a five+ year old OEM battery on a regular Deltran tender and the Busa, also a five+ year old battery but on a lithium tender. On tour the charging system does a good job if it’s in good shape but there’s really no way to test the battery other than doing a load test which to me doesn’t test it’s longevity as if it’s on tour, starting 7-8 times a day every day for ten days or so and sitting in a parking lot overnight.

I disconnected both tenders and I’ll try starting the bikes in a week or so. I thought of not starting them and just reconnecting the tenders to see how long it takes for the tenders to go green. That alone might tell me what I want to know, if either battery is likely to fail 8-9 days into a tour.

Which would you do in this test, start them after ten days or reconnect the tenders first?

Terry , what we have finally realized . . .

Batteries cycle a finite # of times .

Bought one really good battery ,
swap it to the bike I am riding.

Can only ride one at a time !

So why own 9 batteries ?

That info should help .

Have a good week !

Take it easy bro.

Red , *<(;{)-



.

 

[Hayabusa Wannabe]

I thought of not starting them and just reconnecting the tenders to see how long it takes for the tenders to go green. That alone might tell me what I want to know, if either battery is likely to fail 8-9 days into a tour.

I have seen my motorcycle batteries quickly hit the target voltage and turn green but they could not provide any current to start the bike. While I do not think that a single start is a good predictor of battery life, the load test of starting the bike is more valuable than voltage readings which may become erroneous on aging batteries. I think multiple starts in a row is a better test, should one want to do that to the vehicle.

What we need is an excellent load tester, that actually can detect the conditions inside the battery. Techs, does this exist?

You are lucky with five year battery life. I am seeing all of my car and motorcycle batteries die in the third year. Coincidentally this happened to my car this morning.

 

[sixpack577]

I have seen new and old batteries die randomly, even after testing good.
I would carry a small jump box if I was traveling, and it's pretty amazing that something as small as a couple of stacked cellphones, weighing around a pound, can crank dead battery now days.

@Hayabusa Wannabe that sucks man,
as nothing seems to last like they used to anymore.
I had a '94 Toyota truck, and the starter went bad after almost 8 years, and nearing 200k miles...and I replaced the still good battery at the same time, as I figured Murphy would soon decide to kill it, lol.

 

[Bumblebee]

I have seen new and old batteries die randomly, even after testing good.
I would carry a small jump box if I was traveling, and it's pretty amazing that something as small as a couple of stacked cellphones, weighing around a pound, can crank dead battery now days.

@Hayabusa Wannabe that sucks man,
as nothing seems to last like they used to anymore.
I had a '94 Toyota truck, and the starter went bad after almost 8 years, and nearing 200k miles...and I replaced the still good battery at the same time, as I figured Murphy would soon decide to kill it, lol.

Unbeknownst to me, once the battery started to go on my 4 yr old '04 F150, it would sometimes randomly lock the doors...never knew why, it just would...

It happened to me on a few occasion and I thought it was just me accidently hitting the lock button.....

Once I thought this was the case, I purposely was very careful to not hit that button by mistake....thinking I had it solved, I started the truck and was doing something in the garage while it warmed up....and when I went to the truck the doors were locked...

The dealership was at a loss.....and I always carried my spare key after that....

One day at the dealership I was talking to the service manager near my truck when we heard the doors lock...I had the key in my hand but didn't press any buttons....an old guy was standing there and heard our conversation and said it was my battery...he said his did the same thing and when he changed the battery it never did it again...

I did that and it never happened again...

Long story to say random things happen all the time and are a challenge to diagnose.

 

[sixpack577]

Unbeknownst to me, once the battery started to go on my 4 yr old '04 F150, it would sometimes randomly lock the doors...never knew why, it just would...

It happened to me on a few occasion and I thought it was just me accidently hitting the lock button.....

Once I thought this was the case, I purposely was very careful to not hit that button by mistake....thinking I had it solved, I started the truck and was doing something in the garage while it warmed up....and when I went to the truck the doors were locked...

The dealership was at a loss.....and I always carried my spare key after that....

One day at the dealership I was talking to the service manager near my truck when we heard the doors lock...I had the key in my hand but didn't press any buttons....an old guy was standing there and heard our conversation and said it was my battery...he said his did the same thing and when he changed the battery it never did it again...

I did that and it never happened again...

Long story to say random things happen all the time and are a challenge to diagnose.

F150 key fob batteries will cause gremlins as they die too, and now they'll keep tripping the alarm an honking the horn...every few minute...ask me how I know, lol

 

[WuzzaCBXRider]

at www.louis.de they offer a so called battery "monitor" via an APP at your smart phone

nice piece i guess and not very expensive

Nice but it’s sold out.

 

[WuzzaCBXRider]

I have seen my motorcycle batteries quickly hit the target voltage and turn green but they could not provide any current to start the bike. While I do not think that a single start is a good predictor of battery life, the load test of starting the bike is more valuable than voltage readings which may become erroneous on aging batteries. I think multiple starts in a row is a better test, should one want to do that to the vehicle.

What we need is an excellent load tester, that actually can detect the conditions inside the battery. Techs, does this exist?

You are lucky with five year battery life. I am seeing all of my car and motorcycle batteries die in the third year. Coincidentally this happened to my car this morning.

I got over eight years from a Scorpion battery I used in my 82 CBX. Others have lasted 5-6 years.

 

[WuzzaCBXRider]

Unbeknownst to me, once the battery started to go on my 4 yr old '04 F150, it would sometimes randomly lock the doors...never knew why, it just would...

It happened to me on a few occasion and I thought it was just me accidently hitting the lock button.....

Once I thought this was the case, I purposely was very careful to not hit that button by mistake....thinking I had it solved, I started the truck and was doing something in the garage while it warmed up....and when I went to the truck the doors were locked...

The dealership was at a loss.....and I always carried my spare key after that....

One day at the dealership I was talking to the service manager near my truck when we heard the doors lock...I had the key in my hand but didn't press any buttons....an old guy was standing there and heard our conversation and said it was my battery...he said his did the same thing and when he changed the battery it never did it again...

I did that and it never happened again...

Long story to say random things happen all the time and are a challenge to diagnose.

It’s funny how a dying battery can impact a car’s electrics. When my battery gave up in my Corvette the horn would honk and the door locks would go crazy. In my Caddy the front doors would lock and one rear door would lock. The trunk would unlock and there were weird sounds coming from under the hood.

 

[Berlin Germany]

Nice but it’s sold out.

hmm - but here in germany still available at www.louis.de + part-no. 10037598
4 all those who can read german

 

[WuzzaCBXRider]

Well, the test, such as it was, proved something I guess. The five+ year old OEM battery in the Kawasaki started the bike right away. After I warmed it up it went back on the tender and showed fully charged within a minute. The six+ year old lithium battery in the Busa would not start the bike. Turned it over slowly but wouldn’t start it. Back on the tender and a half hour later it wasn’t quite up to 75% charged. Soooo, the OEM specs require a 175 CCA battery. They’re about $60-$100 most places. A 350 CCA lithium replacement is about $170. Which would you buy?

 

[sixpack577]

I put a Shorai in the '18 gsxr1k about a year and a half ago.
It works great, and saved about 8 lbs.
The only downside is it's battery tender connection. As the seat has to be off, and can't stay on, as this tender wire plugs into the top of the battery and is not low profile, which sucks.
I only used the tender once, as the bike sat for over 3 and a half months as I waited on parts to fix deer damage.
It had lights, but wouldn't turn over.
Within a few minutes on the tender, it fired up.
So, just an fyi, if you do get one of the several lithium batteries for it, and want to keep it on a tender, look for one that a pigtail can stay plugged into(no idea which ones that may be).

 

[WuzzaCBXRider]

I put a Shorai in the '18 gsxr1k about a year and a half ago.
It works great, and saved about 8 lbs.
The only downside is it's battery tender connection. As the seat has to be off, and can't stay on, as this tender wire plugs into the top of the battery and is not low profile, which sucks.
I only used the tender once, as the bike sat for over 3 and a half months as I waited on parts to fix deer damage.
It had lights, but wouldn't turn over.
Within a few minutes on the tender, it fired up.
So, just an fyi, if you do get one of the several lithium batteries for it, and want to keep it on a tender, look for one that a pigtail can stay plugged into(no idea which ones that may be).

It has a lithium battery as I said, along with a lithium tender. The pigtail is routed out to the right side and tied to the frame. Tucks in nicely behind the ‘pipe’ when riding. I remember it costing considerably more than the usual Yuasa AGM type but $170 vs $60 is (quite) a bit more. At 17 years old in a couple weeks with nearly 75,000 miles, the starter and stator will be getting tired so having 300+ CCAs vs 175 CCAs might come in handy down the road.

 

[mabupa]

Well, the test, such as it was, proved something I guess. The five+ year old OEM battery in the Kawasaki started the bike right away. After I warmed it up it went back on the tender and showed fully charged within a minute. The six+ year old lithium battery in the Busa would not start the bike. Turned it over slowly but wouldn’t start it. Back on the tender and a half hour later it wasn’t quite up to 75% charged. Soooo, the OEM specs require a 175 CCA battery. They’re about $60-$100 most places. A 350 CCA lithium replacement is about $170. Which would you buy?

Do you have any gadgets on your busa? I killed an expensive shorai and, thankfully, shorai was nice enough to exchange it under warranty. They did tell me those batteries can’t sit as long a the OEM yuasa with a small draw (I have USB ports and alarm). Mine did the gauge dance when I tried to start it. I plugged it into a tender and was charged in no time but it still wouldn’t start the bike and voltage dropped to a steady 6v after 1 crank. All that being said, I would get another lithium battery if I was you. It’ll probably serve you well since you seem to ride very often and a dead battery on a long ride would not be fun.

 

[WuzzaCBXRider]

Well, I bought the one on the left. It had the one on the right but was sevenish years old. The weight difference is amazing and the price difference was too. Although it only has 175 CCAs, it’s what the manufacturers recommended and what the first two batteries had so I’m gonna give it a try. After installation I hooked it to the tender and within a couple minutes it was fully charged. Started the bike with ease. Now I’m waiting for the temps to rise w/o any rain so I can take it for a spin. There is still a lot of debris on the roads around here.

 

[kml]

Terry , what we have finally realized . . .

Batteries cycle a finite # of times .

Bought one really good battery ,
swap it to the bike I am riding.

Can only ride one at a time !

So why own 9 batteries ?

That info should help .

Have a good week !

Take it easy bro.

Red , *<(;{)-



.

HOLY PHUCK!!!!

RedBull has a key board and he can type....
although in a rather odd fashion
still though,
It's a miracle.

LOL

cheers
ken