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Woops there goes my battery...


Roger Irrelevant
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'owdoo everyone!

Bike newbie after some product advice...

I'm looking to get a battery charger for my 56 plate YBR125

I don't use the bike that much, and every time I go to it the battery's flat.

I'm looking for something I can leave connected for longish periods (weeks?) which will be safe, and keep the battery nicely topped so I can just fire up and go when I want to use the bike.

Obviously I'd rather not spend too much if it can be avoided!

I know this is probably a really daft question, but being newbie to all of this I'd rather ask the Yam gurus than trust my own judgement and burn my house down!

Thanks in advance.

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Thanks Adam,

Is it just paranoia telling me to be wary of using a battery charger bought off t'bay?

You need an 'optimate'

I'd recommend mds for excellent next day courier delivery service

http://www.mdsbattery.co.uk/departments/department003.asp

:D

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I've got a 56 plate YBR too, so stupid girlie comment comin up - what's wrong with using the kick start to kick it over?

Or is it so drained that the always on headlight etc just kills it?

Forgive the ignorance, I'm really not sure!

I have left mine a week, outside, under a heavy duty cover in what is now colder and damper weather and it fires up without any real bother at all. You said you don't use the bike much - how long are you leaving it between rides?

The fact that I have to leave the choke on for 6 days (or at least it feels that bloomin long) is beside the point of this thread but is the only real problem I get with mine.

I'll be keeping an eye on this thread, hoping to learn summat.

Cheers.

Amanda

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Hi

You certainly need a trickle charger suitable for bikes - which probably means an output no higher than 1amp - don't use a car charger unless you want to 'cook' your battery!

Ebay's ok for most things, but my experience was that the trickle chargers here were no cheaper than you could by elsewhere (and be able to return it if you have a problem!)

If you are finding the battery is not holding the charge for long - discharge it and then 'deep charge' it with the trickle charger - you should find this helps.

Good luck

:rolleyes:

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Hi

You certainly need a trickle charger suitable for bikes - which probably means an output no higher than 1amp - don't use a car charger unless you want to 'cook' your battery!

Ebay's ok for most things, but my experience was that the trickle chargers here were no cheaper than you could by elsewhere (and be able to return it if you have a problem!)

If you are finding the battery is not holding the charge for long - discharge it and then 'deep charge' it with the trickle charger - you should find this helps.

Good luck

:rolleyes:

If you see a charger, ask if it's a trickle charger or an intelligent charger. My definition is that a trickle charger will provide a low charging current constantly; an intelligent charger will stop charging the battery once the battery voltage reaches a certain threshold. (Presumbly, the intelligent charger will start a charge cycle if the battery voltage drops below a threshold.) The Optimate 3 seems like a good product; if you don't use your superbike for 4-5 months of the year, £34 for the Optimate could keep your £90 battery going for a good number of years.

Avoid discharging a battery too much and DON'T discharge a battery by shorting out the terminals. Better to turn the bike lights on or use an inspecition lamp as a discharge load if you must discharge it. I don't think you can 'deep charge' a lead acid battery. (Not sure what you mean here.) If the battery isn't taking a charge, it's probably no good. Sometimes, you can recover a suspect battery by increasing the charging voltage; this requires a variable voltage source that has the ability to limit the current.

Be careful using car battery chargers, especially on the "high" setting. They are able to give out a high charging current which may be more than the charge rating of a bike battery.

As with most wet lead acid batteries, you ought to remove the fill stoppers/plugs when charging and ventilate the area well. (Sorry, it must have been that curry!) However, an intelligent/trickle charger probably won't require this.

Oh, one more thing; be careful not to short out the battery against the frame when attaching the chargers clips.

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Woo... thanks guys... lots of great advice... the seeming upshot being Optimate 3 is the go.

Well, I bought one over the weekend (35 quid including a free wall bracket... which was nice).

Fitted it to the bike no problem via the eyelet lead & fed wires through to a convenient spot to connect to the charger and tuck away behind some trim when I'm riding. Connected it up & was pleased to see it enter a normal charging cycle (instead of the dodgy-battery recovery cycle... I interpret that to mean my battery was flat, but not goosed. Happy days).

Left it alone for a couple of hours, & when I returned to it the charge cycle hadn't completed, but being me I disconnected it & turned the bike over. It spun up lively & the engine fired good style! Result! Put it back on charge overnight & by Sunday morning the charge cycle had finished & according to the Optimate the battery was A OK. Perfect. I'd recommend the Optimate... not too expensive, absolute doddle to fit, lots of features, and worked as per the tin.

Amanda, I doubt you're as much a newbie rider as me! Your CBT may be newer than mine but in terms of miles covered I bet you're streets ahead. I travel with my job and so am often away for longish periods. This plus house renovations plus all the usual life stuff means sometimes my YBR can go a good few weeks untouched. It is garaged though rather than outside, so hopefully the weather won't be too much of a concern. Before buying the charger, the battery really was flat though. It wouldn't even spin the starter. I was surprised but apparently it's not unusual for these little bikes if they get left as they are meant for daily use really.

As for the kickstart, maybe I'm just a spud, but the couple of times I've tried to use it I've not had much joy, especially with a cold engine. I've kicked it over when it had run for a while and was warm & it fired up no problem then. Like I said tho, I'm a complete newbie so there may be a knack to it which I'm missing.

In the past when this has happened I've always bumped it (kick it into gear & paddle it forward with the clutch out) and this fires it up a treat. I don't really want to be doing that regularly tho, and it's inconvenient because of where the bike's parked too.

Hope that answers your questions. I don't think you'll learn anything about YBR ownership from me though. I do think it's a great little bike however. I'd thought about selling it because I don't really use it, but the little fella's kind of got under my skin and I just can't bring myself to part with it. Wishing you loads of enjoyment and happy mileage with yours! RI

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