Battery charge

[Edbeef]

Hi,

I bought a bike last month and the guy assured me he had put a new battery in.

 

used it a couple of weeks no problems but when I tried to start it up after being sat for 8 days it was a bit of a tough ask to get it going. But of perseverance got it going though.

 

after that it sat for a couple of weeks and I had no option but to bump start it rolling down a hill.

 

my old zuki was faultless but I’m unsure why it doesn’t last.

 

once it’s running, it starts up again fine, both times I’ve had it out it has been run for 15 miles+ 

 

Maybe it just needs a long overnight charge. 
I’ve not had to do this before but would it be obvious the battery is old?

How long do you charge it up for and is there a specific battery charger that I need?

 

oh, and there is no kickstart on my bike

Edited July 28, 2024 by Edbeef

[husoi]

What bike are we talking about?

[Edbeef]

The tangerine dream - little keeway RKV 125

[Edbeef]

It’s a 2015 with 1,200 miles on the clock. Was sat in dry storage for a long while before I picked it up so that’s why i believe it’s a new battery.

 

maybe just needs a decent charge?

[husoi]

I don't know that bike.

However, if you have some kind of immobilizer that will drain the battery in a week.

A trickle charger will be your best friend 

[RideWithStyles]

Its a copy of a cbf.

As husoi says immobiliser/alarm.

Other is shortage from connection,loom or ground wire.

reg rec, stator.

But id be looking at how good is the battery first? Is it a new battery? second hand job? shite brand with a 100 or below cca?

it will most likely be (or should be) a normal lead acid battery so you can use a normal battery charger that is ok for acids, gel etc, not lithium only spec.

 

if none of those it’s a little bit more worrying. 

Edited July 28, 2024 by RideWithStyles

[Edbeef]

Thanks both, I’ll have a look under the fairing tomorrow and update the thread.

 

Ive no experience on this so would be really grateful for your input.

 

I assume by what you’re saying, the immobiliser/alarm be wired into the battery.

will this be obvious?

 

I’ll take some pics to make it a bit easier to assess.

 

thanks!

[RideWithStyles]

If aftermarket alarm/immobiliser especially on simple budget bikes the power supply and neutral will be taken directly from the battery but protected by a fuse. There maybe a safe ground wire that is attached to the frame, these type of bikes are very common for rusting under the paint also compromising the electrical system as a whole. Also check for cracking or worn wiring.

its not out of the realm or possibly the recifier regulator has gone which is goosing and killing a good battery, ull need a volt meter and a bit of time to figure that one out. Another member might be good enough to post or if you look up the thread search into the instructions of how to do it.

the other last potential and quite unlikely in this case is the stator.

[jr71]

if youre going for several days at a time without using the bike, it might be a wise to get a battery tender.

[angrybear]

The reason is that cheaper modern batteries are fairly crap, the lighter build materials don't hold as much charge,

I've also noticed that that all the last 3 I've bought for bikes & quad (sealed no-spill gel) show as "fully charged" at 12.4 volts, 

an old lead acid batteries fully charged was 13.2 volts.

[RideWithStyles]

Some batteries are better, just that they dont need extra capacity to fulfill that task if they are more efficient.

[husoi]

Makes me wonder if AGM manufacturers are giving up on them because lots of people are turning to lithium batteries instead.

I won't be surprised if lead content is much less now than it used to be with the excuse to make the battery lighter with the obvious saving in cheaper materials. 

[RideWithStyles]

Yes to a point, definitely with cars but bikes will take longer to filter out to the end of life.
the thing that is a concern with as bikes are kept for longer and the older the bike the more likely it can’t deal/not compatible with lithiums, and I don’t just mean starting but when it has to put charge back in the battery some just don’t well for the battery. Bit like the reason you can’t just use any battery charger for them.