What did you do to your bike today?

[veracocha]

Cleaned my bike, smothered it with AC50 and stored it away in my garage for the winter. I now have a battery optimiser; do I leave that running through this period or do I need to give it a break once in a while?

[onesea]

4 minutes ago, veracocha said:

Cleaned my bike, smothered it with AC50 and stored it away in my garage for the winter. I now have a battery optimiser; do I leave that running through this period or do I need to give it a break once in a while?

My answer is give it a break, and try starting it after a week to make sure your battery still holds charge.  Others with much more knowledge will come along and say differently.

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

1 hour ago, veracocha said:

Cleaned my bike, smothered it with AC50 and stored it away in my garage for the winter. I now have a battery optimiser; do I leave that running through this period or do I need to give it a break once in a while?

My personal experience is that left on permanently (as they are supposed to be used) can still leave you with a dud battery. 

 

So I have both of mine running on a timer. They come on for 2 hours a day, set for 6.00am. I also have battery monitors on both bikes. I use CTEK chargers with the connectors with LEDs built into them. 

 

In the evening a quick glance tells me if the battery is still flashing green, yellow or red. A dying battery will therefore be shown up before it fails and leaves you stranded. 

 

Others will advise to leave it connected permanently.  You pays your money, you make your choice. 

[Gerontious]

I see little point in leaving a bike battery constantly connected.

 

I would leave it alone and not do anything until nearer the time when you are going to be riding it next. then charge it.

 

Ive had optimates for years and never used them as intended. My bikes have never gone unused for very long.. there are always nice days when the urge takes me. Even during the lock downs I left it alone. At the end of them I connected it up and the light turned green very quickly. under an hour. so, it didn't really need much in the way of charging anyway. I think we just become conditioned to do things in a certain way. even talk in a certain way. like MB says above "as they are supposed to be" - yes, the manufacturers want you to believe these things are crucial. but for most people they're not really. fortunately we dont live in a climate where there is deep snow and sub zero temps for 5 months and riding is actually illegal during that time.

[RideWithStyles]

19 hours ago, Interference Fit said:

I like the scout bobber far more but like the Sportster S HD, hear that the rear suspension is 'compromised'. A test ride is the only way I guess. I'm still drawn to the HD Sportglide, but expect the Stelvio or Multistrada to be a good Goldilocks perhaps. 

 

Yes it is, probably the best option if you were to get a HD would be to factor in a replacement aftermarket shock and maybe fork valve replacement...

 

dont get me wrong stel and MS are brilliant but they larger engines, so have loads of more power and torque throughout the rev range than you already have now which as you found out cant use or might not use so is wasted.  they are still designed to make very fast progress with less effort so trying keep it manageable for your maybe hard work, trying to enjoy it and engage rather than just to get there.
The cruiser is designed naturally to be more relaxed way delivering its power so unless its the duc which was designed to egg on and go fast. 
my humble opinion (ive been up and down capacity bikes a good few times and still get to ride the odd ones) the reality of what you could expect if you head down one route or the other.

 

on the the battery charger, as long as its a good one and not just a trickle or solar panel, just leave it plugged in especially if the bike is outside or in an cold garage as thats whats its designed to do if it get cold and loses a bit it works it up to keeps it healthy.
If its in a warm garage id do it once a month if it didnt have any real draws like alarms or trackers etc.

of course you could save electricity by switching it off it but it will only be using very, very, small amounts. 
battery can still just die naturally while being plugged it it cant give it cpr, so if that happens it was gonna happen regardless and at least it didn't do it while you was on a ride.

Edited December 17, 2023 by RideWithStyles

[peepae]

Getting ready to go to sleep - driving at 4:30 am to Folkestone then Netherlands from Calais

[Joe85]

3 hours ago, peepae said:

Getting ready to go to sleep - driving at 4:30 am to Folkestone then Netherlands from Calais

All the best!!!

[peepae]

16 hours ago, Joe85 said:

All the best!!!

Got there at 16:30 so not too bad, speeding flash in France

[bonio]

1 hour ago, peepae said:

Got there at 16:30 so not too bad, speeding flash in France

Ooops. Sooo many cameras on the main roads in France.

Did you smile for the pic? 

 

[bonio]

1 hour ago, peepae said:

Got there at 16:30 so not too bad, speeding flash in France

Reasonable weather for it. And 11 hours door to door isn't at all bad

[RideWithStyles]

17 minutes ago, bonio said:

Ooops. Sooo many cameras on the main roads in France.

Did you smile for the pic? 

 

The type of Smile with a full bum crack showing!!

[S-Westerly]

18 minutes ago, RideWithStyles said:

The type of Smile with a full bum crack showing!!

Bit chilly at this time of year!

[peepae]

43 minutes ago, bonio said:

Reasonable weather for it. And 11 hours door to door isn't at all bad

Yeah not too bad, everyone unfortunately lives all the way in the top of NL too - Delfzijl

[Joe85]

3 hours ago, peepae said:

Got there at 16:30 so not too bad, speeding flash in France

Don’t worry about it. I got 3 in the same trip 2023, never heard a thing.

[peepae]

2 hours ago, Joe85 said:

Don’t worry about it. I got 3 in the same trip 2023, never heard a thing.

What I read was that, there’s no deal between U.K. and France for speeding and traffic issues and as such if you don’t get an on the spot fine, you’re off the hook

[fullscreenaging]

19 hours ago, peepae said:

Yeah not too bad, everyone unfortunately lives all the way in the top of NL too - Delfzijl

 

Bet you’re glad you bought the suit. 
Have you tested it in the wet yet?

[fullscreenaging]

On 17/12/2023 at 15:48, veracocha said:

Cleaned my bike, smothered it with AC50 and stored it away in my garage for the winter. I now have a battery optimiser; do I leave that running through this period or do I need to give it a break once in a while?

You should leave it connected permanently. The optimizer will charge and discharge the battery in a cycle and keep looping until you disconnect. This will keep the battery in tip top condition. 

There should be some instructions with it

[Throttled]

I took my bike for a 30 minute ride, as that is the best way to preserve it over the winter. It also keeps me rider fit.

[geofferz]

52 minutes ago, Throttled said:

I took my bike for a 30 minute ride, as that is the best way to preserve it over the winter. It also keeps me rider fit.

Surprised that a mere 30 minutes of charging the battery is sufficient? Guess it depends how often you ride it. 

[onesea]

1 hour ago, geofferz said:

Surprised that a mere 30 minutes of charging the battery is sufficient? Guess it depends how often you ride it. 

It depends on the bike and also how often you ride it, bike batteries are small they don’t take much charging.  30 minutes was enough with my TDM if ridden once a fortnight. 5-10 minutes 2 a daily wasn’t enough to keep up if used to commute to work. Then it had data tool alarm that nibbled at the battery.

My CBR 125 has no issues with my commute to work.
 

[Throttled]

3 hours ago, geofferz said:

Surprised that a mere 30 minutes of charging the battery is sufficient? Guess it depends how often you ride it. 

 

Once a week, unless the weather is really bad.

[rennie]

I leave mine on all the time!

Hasn't let me down yet! 

[RideWithStyles]

Just leave it on.
its easy for the battery as it wont be starting a bike (from fresh charge-some discharged state) then running the bike while trying to skim the excess current to recharge the battery from losses it had to do which also depends on speeds/revs/ and the condition of the wired also charging system as a whole.

A good charger wil exercise it and keep it healthy where as most trickles and solar's dont.

[peepae]

9 hours ago, fullscreenaging said:

 

Bet you’re glad you bought the suit. 
Have you tested it in the wet yet?

Too many times already - glad to always be dry hehe 

[Fiddlesticks]

Today I put the new shock on the Explorer and regreased the suspension linkage. Bit fiddly, took too long, but a big improvement over the old one.