2003 F650GS Dakar - sYT12CL Scorpion battery life

gblawler said:

I started out by testing how the Gerbing gear would work on my bike by buying a $10 volt meter that plugs into a cigarette lighter. I have the BMW 24 inch adapter that plugs into my accessory jack and ends with a cigarette lighter. I used a velcro strip to tie the volt meter on my handle bars where I could watch it. What I found was that I could turn the jacket and the gloves up full without dropping the voltage below 13 volts, even with the bike idling. When I added the pants liner, it was a different story. The only way I could run jacket, gloves, and pants at the same time was to cut the dual controller back a bit on both, or run at highway speed.

This was just a test. Once I realized there was a voltage issue, I started shopping for a permanently installed meter. One of the motorcycle magazines had a review of the Battery Bug and I checked the video promo on their web site. The video discussed the alarm feature that goes off if your voltage drops below 12 for more than 30 seconds (they mentioned heated motorcycle gear when discussing this feature). The Battery Bug cost considerably more than a volt meter, but I thought it would be an advantage to have a volt meter you don't need to keep watching.

I am in the habit now of turning the dual controller knobs all the way down as soon as I start to enter a town with stop lights or signs. I have found this is no problem anyway, because when you drop below highway speed, you don't need the extra heat anyway. As soon as I get back up to highway speed, I can turn the knobs back where I want them.

Do you use a charger like the Deltran Battery Plus or the BMW Maintenance Charger? I am interested in how that will work with the new AGM I have on the way. I have the BMW Maintenance Charger, and the manual says it works with wet cell, AGM and Gel Cell lead acid batteries. I am wondering how often I should charge it though. In the winter, I normally keep it on the charger all the time I am not riding the bike; I like to have a full charge on the battery when I start out with the Gerbing gear. In the spring, summer, and fall, I charge about every two weeks or the night before leaving on a trip.

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bmwgsrider said:

I'm curious... how do you hear the alarm while riding on the battery bug?

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bmwgsrider said:

I liked watching the volts and sometimes I did not pay attention to it. I found it interesting.

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jek_ict said:

Resurrecting this old thread as it is the only thread returned when searching PC310.

I just put an Odyssey PC310 in my F650. I was sick and tired of the 13 screws which required removal to inspect and add water to the stock battery. I still need to slide some foam under the Odyssey to help raise it up to the original battery's height, but other than that I had no fitment issues.

However, I am concerned about the electrical connections. Did anyone use some kind of adapter to convert the terminals to a vertical mount? With some work, the wires will reach the horizontal mount, but then they're held in place with a tiny little screw. Is there a better way to do this?

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henzilla said:

There is an adapter that comes with some of the Odysseys, though I have had some dealers try to sell it seperate.

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jek_ict said:

Alas, that adapter is not included with the PC310 and according to Odyssey's website is not compatible. It appears that it is time to visit the hardware store to kludge something together!

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