1979 r65 battery

[Roy Gavin]

I have a seven year old Motobatt AGM on my 1000 CC G/S which has a stock charging system and it still works like new, starts the hi comp motor instantly.
I like the best battery I can find, I dont ever want to find myself stranded or burn out a starter or regulator or whatever because I tried to save $40- on something which is going to last me 10 years.
And like Wobbly I am totally over the corrosion from a cheap wet cell - dealing with it is probably going to cost more than the extra cost of the best sealed battery you can buy!

[Wobbly]

A disadvantage of sealed batteries is they are less tolerant of overcharging. Unless the float charge voltage is chosen very carefully there is a real risk of doing more harm than good. They just don't need a permanently connected float charger so I don't use one. If the bike should remain unused for a long period, say over winter it would be much safer to do an occasional conventional charge.

The above is very important information !

At the shop where I work, battery sales soared when personal "maintenance chargers" were introduced. 70% of our work in now concerned with problems associated to ethanol fuels, the other 30% is cooked batteries. I actually get excited to do something different, like replace a cable !

Recent electric car research has discovered that batteries actually don't like to be fully charged. Therefore, most people don't have need of a maintenance charger. It was never as simple as "plug it in and walk away", especially if you don't understand the voltage and current output of the charger, or the requirements of your battery.

IMHO, most owners who ride regularly are much better off to simply disconnect the ground lead at the battery than to connect a home charger.

[Kurt in S.A.]

Recent electric car research has discovered that batteries actually don't like to be fully charged.

Are we still talking about sealed batteries? AFAIK wet-slosh batteries don't like to be discharged.

Kurt in S.A.

[barryh]

Lithium ion batteries have the longest storage life at approx. 50% charge. Perhaps that's what the electric car reference is about.

Lead acid batteries whether wet cells, AGM or Gel all suffer sulfation if not kept fully charged.

[Roy Gavin]

I think what is fully charged depends on the type of battery.
Motobatt suggest that anything over 12.6v is a good battery,below is junk, but is 12.6 fully charged and anything above overcharged, or is there a range between 12.6 and ,say, 13.2 which qualifies as fully charged.
And what figures do other manufacturers of different types of battery suggest indicates a fully charged battery, acceptable and junk level on their product.
This information is hard to find, I had to ask Motobatt as the information was not on their site at the time.
I dont think there is a one size fits all answer, but if anyone has a link to some verifiable information-----------.
Leave out Lithium or whatever types or this could go three hundred posts-----------

[Zombie Master]

I use one of these http:/http://saskbattery.com/ecommerce_183.htm

It needed some shimming to fit snugly. Very strong!

[barryh]

...or is there a range between 12.6 and ,say, 13.2 which qualifies as fully charged.

It varies so much that generalisations can only be a guide. My battery came with a detailed data sheet that specified rested open circuit voltage vs temperature and state of charge but even then there is a range of acceptable values. If you measure the battery when new then you have your own benchmark. Mine was a remarkable 13.05 volts.

This table gives generalisations but there are so many subtle variations in battery chemistry and construction that the manufacturers figures and your own experience are the best guide. For example to say a wet cell is 12.6 volts doesn't really pin it down as modern wet cell car batteries like the one in my car are more like 12.7 to 12.8 volts.

For what it's worth here is a standard table but as already said modern wet cells will be higher and some AGM's and Gels can be higher.

[Wobbly]

If you measure the battery when new then you have your own benchmark. Mine was a remarkable 13.05 volts.

Great table ! Thanks. I'm simply wondering if your reading and the table numbers are simple voltmeter readings or those made with a battery load tester.

I agree, there are so many battery types that the one-size-fits-all days are over. That's why I say the little slip of paper in the box with the battery is so important. 40 years ago, when there were only flooded wet cells available, they all pretty much said the same thing. These days it really pays to read and understand that information.

[George Ryals]

http://www.odysseybattery.com/documents ... 2_1214.pdf

Here's the Odyssey Battery Manual. Everything anyone would ever want to know about Odyssey battery charging and storage, etc.
Way more info than the little paper included with the battery.

[Zombie Master]

You really have to understand how new tech batteries work. A friend of mine was running a Shori. He did a complete rebuild of his Suz DR350. He made a wiring mistake that cause the Shori to discharge. So he charged it. After the rebuild he thought that he made a mistake that affected his compression release because the bike was hard to start. He tried to boost his Shori battery with a know good battery. When it wouldn't start the bike he tore down the engine again with the same result. It was the battery all along. That type of battery couldn't be boosted like a standard battery. This just happened.