Trickle charger for a motorcycle battery

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MonkeyMaw · Sun Oct 01, 2006 10:16 am

Since my bike is not road-ready yet, would it be OK to use this trickle charger we have for car batteries?

#2 Unread post by **Skier** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 11:20 am

Motorcycle Repair Guide wrote:I have found that it is best to use a 1 Amp or smaller trickle charger. Most motorcycle batteries are small and just can't take the high rate of charge that a 6 or 10 Amp charger gives. A general rule of thumb is that a battery should not be charged at more than 1/20 its rated capacity. As you can see, even a big motorcycle battery is maxed out by a 2 Amp charger. The battery should be charged till it is gassing (bubbling) freely, but then stop, don't boil all your water out!

http://www.dansmc.com/batteries.htm

Give it a read.

MonkeyMaw · Sun Oct 01, 2006 12:15 pm

Thanks. We'll have to look for a 1 amp trickle charger. It might be a while before this bike is ridden regularly.
The battery is only a few months old, but the bike has not been started and/or ridden much at all in the last month, so it is already drained to the point that starting the bike is difficult.
It may be dead by the time I get my brakes fixed, hence the need for the charger.

mydlyfkryzis · Wed Oct 04, 2006 8:02 am

That charger is fine. It is 1.5 amp. Just check the electrolyte level often and use distilled water to top it off.

I like the Battery Tender Plus. It has 3 stage of charging, bulk mode - absorption mode - float mode

Check here: http://batterytender.com/faqs.php

Because of the float mode, the battery doesn't use up the electrolyte as quick as a plain trickle charger.

Yuasa and some other companies make equivalents to the Battery Tender that are just as good. The Plus is about $40 if you shop around.

My battery is over 5 years old and in good shape.

MonkeyMaw · #5 Unread post by **MonkeyMaw** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 2:04 am

Thanks for the tip. We took the battery out of the bike, topped off 2 cells with distilled water and let it sit over night. It's working just fine now.
Now that my brake pads have arrived I should be able to start and ride this beast nearly every day. That should help the batt to hold its charge!

vicshere · #6 Unread post by **vicshere** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 5:25 am

here's my trick I have a trickle charger also.....what I do during the winter I plug the charger into a digital timer and set the timer to come on 2 times a week for about 4 hours.....and of course check you fluid level every month...but it seams to do the trick