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Battery life

D

dbutterfield

New member
I know there is no real answer to my question but I am hoping for "an order of magnitude" result. I have operated with many "rules of thumb" such as change your oil every 3000 miles. Now my Toyota needs changed at 10,000 miles. As such I realize many of my old rules are outdated.

So, here goes. How long should/could my motorcycle battery last. I am riding a 2015 R1200RT with 40,000 miles on it. The battery is original and as such is 40 months old to me. If there is a date stamp on it I don't know as I haven't pulled it out to look. Would it be foolish to keep the original battery and go on a long ride in the back country of Mexico in October?

I would appreciate input and advice.

Thanks
Dale

ps I ride the bike at least once a week year around and often everyday. I just now, "finally", was able to search for a thread answering this question, sort of, but decided to let this one float anyway.
 
Last edited:
dbutterfield said:
I know there is no real answer to my question but I am hoping for "an order of magnitude" result. I have operated with many "rules of thumb" such as change your oil every 3000 miles. Now my Toyota needs changed at 10,000 miles. As such I realize many of my old rules are outdated.

So, here goes. How long should/could my motorcycle battery last. I am riding a 2015 R1200RT with 40,000 miles on it. The battery is original and as such is 40 months old to me. If there is a date stamp on it I don't know as I haven't pulled it out to look. Would it be foolish to keep the original battery and go on a long ride in the back country of Mexico in October?

I would appreciate input and advice.

Thanks
Dale
Click to expand...

Hello:

Not that I am an expert, but in your situation I would think I have three options:

1. Take the bike to a shop. They should be able to check both the voltage and the strength (forgot the specific units of measurement used) of the battery. Based on its strength, you should have a good idea how much life is left on the battery.

2. These days they sell very compact, light weight lithium based jump start batteries for about $100 - $120. A good quality jump starter should be able to jump start your motorcycle a multitude of times (if you believe the literature). Took one on a recent trip to Minnesota, and although I did not have to use it, it gave me peace of mind.

3. Buy a new battery. :)

Good luck with your search.
 
dbutterfield said:
If there is a date stamp on it I don't know as I haven't pulled it out to look. Would it be foolish to keep the original battery and go on a long ride in the back country of Mexico in October?

I would appreciate input and advice.

Thanks
Dale

ps I ride the bike at least once a week year around and often everyday.
Click to expand...

Hi Dale,

If you have had the bike since day 1 and ride once a week or more the battery probably will go for at least 4y, but since the replacement cost really is not bad I'd be replacing it for any trips away from a quick and convenient replacement were I going into the back country anywhere. I got this advice from the two BMW techs where I obtain service when I discussed the issue prior to a trip up into the Canadian Rockies earlier this summer. My '16 RT had 30K miles prior to the trip and I had them do a proper test on it and it was fine then, but as I say I will replace it right at 3y, that is my personal strategy for this issue.
 
Depends on many factors in my experience-
Location/climate
Frequency of use
Quality of battery
Luck
Complete discharge cycles
Battery Tender
IMO, anything past three years is a bonus.
OM
 
The big thing is to be looking for signs of failure. Usually hard starting, flaky electronics, etc.
Have the battery load tested.
This is a simple process but typically needs to be removed.

I have had experience in some batteries literally lasting 20 years and other gone in two.

The best thing is to have it checked with the load test. once you see that the load is going low or the above mentioned aspects, time for a new one.


here is a simple guide.

https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/how-to-test-a-motorcycle-battery
 
I have my own load tester, but when I travel beyond the comfort zone, I take an Antigravity Microstart lithium jumper with me.

Photo196-M.jpg

It bailed my fat out of the fire on a trip to Labrador a couple of years ago. Woke up and found the battery dead after a long day of riding the day before. There would have been no way to predict this particular battery failure. I'd have taken the jumper even with a brand new battery.

bibler-M.jpg
 
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beemerphile said:
I have my own load tester, but when I travel beyond the comfort zone, I take a Antigravity Microstart lithium jumper with me.
Click to expand...

+1 on the Antigravity. I bought one years ago and use it around the house regularly, and it goes on the road with me. From starting the lawn mower, charging phones, it's good insurance on the road... The charge LASTS with these units as well. It's not something you have to worry about discharging when not in use.

To your battery question, my 2005 RT went 7 years on the battery before a load test showed it was weakening. The bike was still starting fine with it, but I replaced it just because. I always tendered it over the winters. The service intervals are so much longer nowadays on most items related to our newer bikes and cars.
 
dbutterfield said:
So, here goes. How long should/could my motorcycle battery last. I am riding a 2015 R1200RT with 40,000 miles on it. The battery is original and as such is 40 months old to me. If there is a date stamp on it I don't know as I haven't pulled it out to look. Would it be foolish to keep the original battery and go on a long ride in the back country of Mexico in October?

.
Click to expand...

My RS is of the same age. Currently the battery is fine. I will likely change it next spring when the riding season starts. No hard logic to do this than it is easier/cheaper to change the battery on my terms than some where on the road or having a weak battery screw up a last minute trip.
 
Any battery, no matter how new, old, cheap or expensive, can fail at any time without warning. For the most part, when properly cared for, they last an amazingly long time. Keeping it on a maintenance device when the bike isn't being ridden is probably the best thing you can do to prolong its life. If the battery is not maintenance-free, then do check the fluid levels occasionally. Also occasionally, check the condition of the terminals and connections for tightness and corrosion. Give the battery a fighting chance.
 
It's been my experience that there is no set time for a battery to fail. I have had the last one year and up to seven years on my truck.
As a general rule of thumb I replace the bike battery every three years, specially when it looks like my LD trip will take me in very remote areas. YMMV
 
In the good old days of rather heavy wet cell lead acid batteries you could detect the decline of the battery by observing the no load standing voltage decline over time. This was a chemical deterioration that could be observed with a volt meter or a hygrometer.

With sealed VRLA (AGM, Gel, etc) they cram more thinner plates in to get performance but that makes the battery internals fragile. So the failure mode is often sudden breakage of a connector inside the battery. No warning! One and done.
 
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PGlaves said:
...So the failure mode is often sudded breakage of a connector inside the battery. One and done.
Click to expand...

Back in the olden days when the air was clean and sex was dirty, we used to salvage batteries with a dead cell by driving a large nail into each of the adjoining cells and wrapping the heads with multiple coils of wire. It often created a 10 volt battery with enough juice to start the old tractor (or car).

The motto back then was "Use it up; wear it out; do with less; do without." The concept of replacing something that was still serviceable was unheard of.

Lee
 
BlueWaterCooled said:
A digression, but where in the "back country of Mexico" do you have in mind' Stop in and say hello if you get near Guadalajara.
Click to expand...

The closest to you that we have been on the bike has been Zacatecas. I have been to Guadalajara several times but mostly by plane and bus. Our "back country" rides have been many and varied. Some of the most remote have been to the bottom of Copper Canyon for overnights in Batopilas (4 times). Creel is definitely a favorite town of mine. The only one bar kind of town.

Our upcoming isn't all that far South but is still "back country". We will be going to Alamos and then wandering around for several days. Arizpe is on the list with several crossings of the Sonora River. I always get nervous when riding a highway bike through water.

Thanks for the invite.
 
My factory battery lasted six about seven years, the Odyssey replacement is going strong after six years. It seems wasteful to replace a working battery after only 2-3 years just because it might fail.

As mentioned earlier. just carry one of many small jump start battery packs, and you won't need to worry about being stranded. Meanwhile, you have a way to charge your phone, Sena or laptop on the road, and the battery pack can be recharged from the bike (great for camping). Most even include a flashlight. Small units designed to start motorcycles can be as small as a cell phone. Somewhat larger units let you rescue stranded motorists and improve their perception of motorcyclists. Run your battery until it is truly dead.

Capture1.jpg
 
lkraus said:
As mentioned earlier. just carry one of many small jump start battery packs, and you won't need to worry about being stranded.
Click to expand...

I disagree. I have had two failures where a broken internal connector in the battery made it so that once started with jumper cables the bike would NOT continue to run once the cables were disconnected. You cannot count on the bike continuing to run once it has a physically broken cell connector in the battery. Maybe leaving the jumper connected will get you home a few blocks but not the 110 miles from the National Forest campsite to Great Falls, Montana as I once needed to travel to get a battery for Voni's bike.
 
PGlaves said:
I disagree. I have had two failures where a broken internal connector in the battery made it so that once started with jumper cables the bike would NOT continue to run once the cables were disconnected. You cannot count on the bike continuing to run once it has a physically broken cell connector in the battery. Maybe leaving the jumper connected will get you home a few blocks but not the 110 miles from the National Forest campsite to Great Falls, Montana as I once needed to travel to get a battery for Voni's bike.
Click to expand...

That sort of failure is not necessarily age-related, so a pre-emptive battery replacement is not a guarantee of a trouble-free trip. Replacing every component that might fail is not a practical option, neither is worrying about a potential failure after you have made reasonable preparations. There can always be an unanticipated problem.

(I wonder how long a bike will run on a Lithium battery pack...)
 
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