RE: Replacing original 2016 Battery - 2

I’m not aware of any fixed replacement date, if yours is fine I would just monitor it. My 2016 bike started to show signs on the Optimate charger that it was no longer holdings full charge and to avoid any risk of being unable to start the bike I changed battery about this time last year.

Sensors can be sensitive to low voltage. I replace batteries as soon as I notice a voltage drop. A sensor replacement is not an inexpensive repair…

A 12V battery tester takes the guesswork out of battery maintenance. Cheap peace of mind at around $50. As a bonus, most will also do charging system and starter checks.

Zitat von Moogus im Beitrag #15

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Is there a specified period whereby the battery in an RS should be changed?

My RS is 2017 with 12k miles, original battery. Everything appears to be running fine (going to regret saying that!)...should I consider a new battery?

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Zitat von Boxerboy im Beitrag #17

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I’m not aware of any fixed replacement date, if yours is fine I would just monitor it. My 2016 bike started to show signs on the Optimate charger that it was no longer holdings full charge and to avoid any risk of being unable to start the bike I changed battery about this time last year.

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Zitat von Mr. 36654 im Beitrag #21

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A cheap battery load tester seems to be my next tool purchase.

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Zitat von Lee im Beitrag #22

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Zitat von Mr. 36654 im Beitrag #21

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A cheap battery load tester seems to be my next tool purchase.

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I bought a Topdon BT100 March 2020 and it has stopped working.
It did not give accurate info for a load test.
It's handy for checking the % of charge and health of battery.

I used it mostly on our cars last year because we did not drive out of town enough to keep the batteries fully charged.

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I was searching just now for a motorcycle specific battery load tester. My 2016 battery lasted about 3 years.
I have an OTC 3181 that I bought in 2019 for the car, and it's a nice tool. But I am guessing way too much test load to put on our batteries.
I was just reviewing a channel I like on YouTube, and if you have a nice meter with a min/max function you may have some luck recording voltage min/max while starting your bike.
It's automotive targeted, but I it seems well-grounded and relevant and not some ubiquitous, copy-cat, subscribe-to-my-channel! fare. It's tailored to Fluke meters
https://youtu.be/u257N1Euoqg. I have a Fluke 88.

The only thing it would seem to me is getting a reliable spec reference for that "min value". In this car context, they talk about 9.6V being the threshold below which you have a bad battery.
Maybe if one knew the load or current draw of the starter they could invoke physics 101 Ohm's law or similar and figure out the healthy equivalent max voltage drop and measure away.

I do like the specialized tool, however, that let's you isolate the battery on a bench and test it.

Some of us are 6 years in with our OEM battery.

Battery will work perfectly - till the day it dies.

IMO, the first sign of a failing battery will be a slight reluctance to spin the bike over when trying to start.

Till that day comes I’ll keep mine on the charger between rides.

And that means 4 or 5 months through the winter without turning a wheel.

And I Do Not start the bike occasionally just to see if it’s “feeling OK”.

Zitat von wessie im Beitrag #25

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Zitat von basskleff im Beitrag #24

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I was searching just now for a motorcycle specific battery load tester. My 2016 battery lasted about 3 years.
I have an OTC 3181 that I bought in 2019 for the car, and it's a nice tool. But I am guessing way too much test load to put on our batteries.
I was just reviewing a channel I like on YouTube, and if you have a nice meter with a min/max function you may have some luck recording voltage min/max while starting your bike.
It's automotive targeted, but I it seems well-grounded and relevant and not some ubiquitous, copy-cat, subscribe-to-my-channel! fare. It's tailored to Fluke meters
https://youtu.be/u257N1Euoqg. I have a Fluke 88.

The only thing it would seem to me is getting a reliable spec reference for that "min value". In this car context, they talk about 9.6V being the threshold below which you have a bad battery.
Maybe if one knew the load or current draw of the starter they could invoke physics 101 Ohm's law or similar and figure out the healthy equivalent max voltage drop and measure away.

I do like the specialized tool, however, that let's you isolate the battery on a bench and test it.

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How often would you use such a load tester? Every time you use the device you will potentially reduce the life of the battery. Also, batteries often fail suddenly with little warning even if you tested it the day before.

For me, it is better to invest the cash in equipment to be prepared for a failure when on a trip. Buy a battery jump start pack and keep it topped up. Then there will be no need to have any anxiety about when the battery will fail.

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Zitat von wessie im Beitrag #25

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Zitat von basskleff im Beitrag #24

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I was searching just now for a motorcycle specific battery load tester. My 2016 battery lasted about 3 years.
I have an OTC 3181 that I bought in 2019 for the car, and it's a nice tool. But I am guessing way too much test load to put on our batteries.
I was just reviewing a channel I like on YouTube, and if you have a nice meter with a min/max function you may have some luck recording voltage min/max while starting your bike.
It's automotive targeted, but I it seems well-grounded and relevant and not some ubiquitous, copy-cat, subscribe-to-my-channel! fare. It's tailored to Fluke meters
https://youtu.be/u257N1Euoqg. I have a Fluke 88.

The only thing it would seem to me is getting a reliable spec reference for that "min value". In this car context, they talk about 9.6V being the threshold below which you have a bad battery.
Maybe if one knew the load or current draw of the starter they could invoke physics 101 Ohm's law or similar and figure out the healthy equivalent max voltage drop and measure away.

I do like the specialized tool, however, that let's you isolate the battery on a bench and test it.

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How often would you use such a load tester? Every time you use the device you will potentially reduce the life of the battery. Also, batteries often fail suddenly with little warning even if you tested it the day before.

For me, it is better to invest the cash in equipment to be prepared for a failure when on a trip. Buy a battery jump start pack and keep it topped up. Then there will be no need to have any anxiety about when the battery will fail.

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Zitat von Boxerboy55 im Beitrag #26

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IMO, the first sign of a failing battery will be a slight reluctance to spin the bike over when trying to start.

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I added a charge and heated vest cable yesterday and wondered why there was a styrofoam block in there. I presumed, incorrectly it seems, that mine had a smaller cheaper aftermarket battery fitted. Didn’t realise that was OEM.