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Battery Life


oldbird

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My '02 has the original one and with over 41K on the clock. It gets the Battery Tender treatment when not in use. Who else has long-life results?

My battery was fine for 40,000 kms or so until my stator fried itself than I had to replace it. I now have 91,000 kms and it seems fine. I have not replace the R&R but I'm hitting the road in a week and as well as new tires, chain and sprocket I'm having the charging system checked out. It's probably not a good idea to not use a tender but I start my ride once or twice a week when it's stored and run it till the fan comes on. No problem in 4 years.

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So you know, it lasts about 10 miles escorting a bike-a-thon (lights, blinkers, radiator fan, low engine RPM) before it will not restart a parked bike.

Mine had a hard time turning at the first stop so I kept it at higher rpms for the rest. It was going to be on of those "ohh... shit" moments.

My original battery lasted less then a year without "tendering". Replacement is going strong for over three years now but once a month I hook up my Optimate. Also, my bike maintains 14.8V @5000rpm.

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When I bought my 97 last year it had the original battery. Previous owner said he always put it on the tender. I replaced it before I went to NeXXT last year only as a precaution.

I had no troubles at all with mine while running the bike a thon low speed, fan running, and 4 ways on. I'm thinking of picking up a spare r/r that way I'm guaranteed to not have a problem with the original :icon_wink:

I'm still holding my opinion that the majority of r/r failures are the result of not maintaining the battery properly. The system is not designed to recharge a dead battery.

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4 years? Do yourself a favour and replace it anyway. At the very least, get it checked out. I've a new one this year even though I never had problems. Just because it continues to start the bike, does not mean it's good. They get small internal shorts between the plates that reduce internal resistance and increase the load on your Stator and Regulator.

Mileage has absolutely nothing to do with battery life BTW.

marty

I'm still holding my opinion that the majority of r/r failures are the result of not maintaining the battery properly. The system is not designed to recharge a dead battery.

:icon_thumbsup:

Not just an opinion. It's fact.

Never charge a dead battery in your bike/car. You're asking for trouble. Also, chances are if a L/A battery has been drained fully even only once, it's been damaged.

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Guest rockmeupto125

I replaced the original battery on my '99 this year. It was starting to show its age, but always started the bike. Stored inside unheated garage in winters, never had a charger on it.

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I had no troubles at all with mine while running the bike a thon low speed, fan running, and 4 ways on. I'm thinking of picking up a spare r/r that way I'm guaranteed to not have a problem with the original :icon_wink:

My battery was just fine this weekend at the bikeathon... but I ALWAYS promote switching to the R1 regulator... they NEVER fail.

:icon_wall:

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My 'bird is still on the original battery that came with it new in November '03. It

has been on a Battery Tender since the day I brought it home and it still seems

to be working as good as new. It rolls the engine over as well as the first day I

had the bike. The bike is kept in an unheated garage, however, the garage is

attached to the house and is fully insulated, so the temperature doesn't get below

the low 40s, even when it's in the 20s outside.

EDIT: I guess I should have included the mileage; it's at just a bit over 25k miles.

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With a battery tender, 5 years on the original ('99) battery - and it's still good. I only changed it out because of its age, and now I keep it in the shop for chasing 12v gremlins on other vehicles... it's stays on the tender.

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I had no troubles at all with mine while running the bike a thon low speed, fan running, and 4 ways on. I'm thinking of picking up a spare r/r that way I'm guaranteed to not have a problem with the original :icon_wink:

My battery was just fine this weekend at the bikeathon... but I ALWAYS promote switching to the R1 regulator... they NEVER fail.

:icon_wall:

heheh WRONG...i had one fail...of course it wasnt yammies fault...the stator fried it :icon_shifty:

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Off topic....but I have to ask, can we push start our bikes with the dead battery, if need be?

Did two weeks ago. Put it in second gear, my buddy pushed the bike a little bit (I didn't have a hill to go down), and then popped the clutch (making sure the the ignition was turned on).

It took surprisingly little speed to pop it, got it the first try.

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01 with 25K purchased August of 01.

Hate to jinx it, but it started fine tonight.

YUASA battery Rep. told me that the XX batteries are sealed, and that you should purchase one from someone who sell a lot of them. Sealed battery could mean lots of time on the shelf, since they were sealed in Japan.

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01 with 25K purchased August of 01.

Hate to jinx it, but it started fine tonight.

YUASA battery Rep. told me that the XX batteries are sealed, and that you should purchase one from someone who sell a lot of them. Sealed battery could mean lots of time on the shelf, since they were sealed in Japan.

My replacement wasn't sealed. I had to add the acid put the seal on and charge it up myself. When you give it the initial charge the acid gels.

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my 09/01 has the original battery - gets run weekends only, and does about 700miles over one or two days every weekend of the year. Never had a problem and still going strong! Never seen a tender either. Mind you, coldest winter temp here is about 5 degrees and it doesn't sit in the sun lots when not riding.

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You can push start a stone dead CARB bike, but if the bike is FI and is totally dead, you won't get it going because you will have no fuel pressure.

At the bike-a-thon, I still had power, just not enough to crank over. When I turned the key on I heard the pump prime up, and was able to push it fast enough myself, sitting on the seat, to dump the clutch in 2nd and start it up.

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You can push start a stone dead CARB bike, but if the bike is FI and is totally dead, you won't get it going because you will have no fuel pressure.

not quite correct mate - depends on how much your mates want to help you push or how long the hill is.

The alternator turns with the engine - turn the engine using the back wheel for long enough and you'll prime the pump AND turn it over with enough left to fire the plugs. The pump will run on bugger all volts and only runs for a second or two on my machine. Would take longer with a perfectly dead battery (if such a thing existed in practise) because of the electrical drain on it, but it could be done if you needed it.

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You can push start a stone dead CARB bike, but if the bike is FI and is totally dead, you won't get it going because you will have no fuel pressure.

not quite correct mate - depends on how much your mates want to help you push or how long the hill is.

The alternator turns with the engine - turn the engine using the back wheel for long enough and you'll prime the pump AND turn it over with enough left to fire the plugs. The pump will run on bugger all volts and only runs for a second or two on my machine. Would take longer with a perfectly dead battery (if such a thing existed in practise) because of the electrical drain on it, but it could be done if you needed it.

This is true.

But it would take a hell of a push like you said.

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heheh WRONG...i had one fail...of course it wasnt yammies fault...the stator fried it :icon_shifty:

Most likely it was the other way around. Think about it.

Please explain, b/c I thought my stator which was fried, was responsible for my battery dying, but you suggest otherwise. Not that I will totally understand the explanation. Is it possible for the R&R to last "forever", 100,000 + kms? As I've stated, I have 91,000 kms and I replaced the stator and battery at 45-50,000 kms. I've had no issues but I'd hate to get stuck, "out there" when we leave on Sat. Cheers

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Please explain, b/c I thought my stator which was fried, was responsible for my battery dying, but you suggest otherwise. Not that I will totally understand the explanation. Is it possible for the R&R to last "forever", 100,000 + kms? As I've stated, I have 91,000 kms and I replaced the stator and battery at 45-50,000 kms. I've had no issues but I'd hate to get stuck, "out there" when we leave on Sat. Cheers

What I'm saying is that chances are your battery was going first. When they age the plates start to warp inside, which causes them to short together. Not only does it draw more current from your system, but the battery heats up more and causes more plates to warp. The battery also loses it's charge faster, and takes more of the reserve just to start the bike. Eventually the battery will become the biggest load on your electrical system, and the excess current it demands will exceed maximum and create heat everywhere: the stator and regulator, as well as the Connectors and wiring. All this is happening without you having a clue because the battery still has more than enough in it to start the bike.

To answer your question, the stator and R/R should last forever if they operate within specifications. Heat is a solid-state device's worst enemy. Same with the stator. As it heats up, the enamel coating on the wires burns off, and the wires short together. this creates even more heat and you can see how the system can self destruct quite quickly.

Those who recommend a voltmeter have the right idea.

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