What do you lads and lasses do when the your bike is largely dormant over the winter months, some say leave it on a trickle charger 24/7, others say hook it up to a trickler overnight once every couple of weeks...what is the general opinion and will leaving it hooked up all the time do any harm?
Depends on what your routine drain is. If you have a steady drain like a tracker, IMO a battery maintained is your option. If it's just the ecu a top up every few weeks might be fine. Whatever you choose, buy the best you can afford. The NOCO Genius G3500(UK) is my current favourite for all battery types. Andy
Should be fine to just plug in and forget. Most latest generation chargers are far removed from the early ones that used to boil the battery over time. Andy
My R1 battery came with a non branded battery. Had it on charge all the time with a cheap float charger now for what must be 8 years or more: same battery still going strong...
Next question is do we start the bike and let it run up to temp once in a while or do we leave it and only use it for a proper run out when weather conditions permit?
All my bikes are on Optimate chargers 24/7. Even through Spring & Autumn. Never had a problem. I don’t start the bikes up unless I am going for a run on them and then it has to be a minimum of 10 miles, salt free roads and dry. If they happen to get wet I wash off with cold (never warm or hot) water then dry thoroughly. My only other precaution is In the winter after any run I always top the fuel tank up with premium unleaded so they are always full.
If you do that then you will not get the oil up to operating temperature to burn off any moisture in it. The temperature gauge shows you coolant temperature and not oil temperature. As said you need to get it out and ride it or leave it alone.
For the battery, if it is fitted you need to charge it only when the voltage across the terminals decays to around 12.6v which will vary in time and temperature but a few hours on a bike smart charger every couple of weeks to a month is sensible if the battery/bike is in an unheated garage through the winter. Don't leave it on 24/7, although you can do so if you really need to. If you charge it this way (when it needs it) you will get a good idea of the condition of the battery, save electricity and eliminate the risk of damage or fire due to charger or battery malfunction (there is someone on here who had a fire due to an optimate failure). As the battery deteriorates with age, the time it takes to go from fully charged to discharged gets shorter and the risk of cold killing off a battery gets higher. By doing the intermittent charging routine and checking the voltage every few weeks you will be able to work out when the battery needs to be replaced because you will know how the speed of decay increases over time, this allows the battery to be topped up when it needs it and not overcharge it. It is possible to easily get 5-7 years from a decent quality AGM battery if the battery charging regime cycles it to fully charged on a regular basis. For the engine only run it if you are taking the bike out for a few miles of riding
Just start the bike up and leave it running all winter. The biggest hardship it topping it up with petrol twice a day, but it's no biggie. The battery won't go flat and it stays nice and warm. I'm not sure why most people don't do it. It saves on an expensive Optimate.
Trickle, all year round. Never done my bikes any harm, and has only ensured they are ready to at a moments notice.
My ZX6R's been on trickle 24/7 since about 2008 (?) - no problems at all, doesn't get ridden much and same battery. Just bought an Optimate Duo 1 for my 848 (through Bennett's [bike insurance] Rewards for £28). Happy days
