battery life

[Martin Slovakia]

Hi guys,
my friend had to change the battery on his F3s - (bike purchased last year in Maj) few days ago..
His bike is on charger when not driving on winter months and bike is in dry and clean condition.. really in his living room..
he do not have any crazy lights or any accessories that can drain the battery out.

so my question is, what is your experience? shall i be prepared to change mine after more then 14months of usage?
how I can be prepared for this while traveling long distances?

thanx for any comment,
Martin

[MisterP]

First question I would ask is -- what charger did he use? If not a true float charger, the battery can be overheated. Also, if a gel battery you can't use all conventional chargers.

So, I'm not sure it's as simple as a bad battery in a little over a year.

[Gray Ghost]

If a battery was not properly prepared before installing on a bike it will have a short life-span. If you are concerned about your battery you can make some tests with a meter, preferably a digital one, that will give you an indication of how your battery and charging system is doing.

Take a reading at the battery or jumper connections with key off. Should be close to 13 vdc. Turn the key on, the voltage should drop slightly. Then have someone hold the throttle wide open (keeps the bike from starting) and push the start button while you watch the meter. Take note of how low the voltage drops when the starter engages, should be around 1 volt. When the battery starts getting weak you will notice that the voltage while cranking will get weaker. Minimum voltage to start is 10 volts.

To check your charging system, start the bike and measure the voltage at idle (in Neutral). Should be a bit above the battery voltage you first measured. While still in Neutral, throttle up until you hit about 3000 rpm, you should get in the range of 13-14 volts.

[spyderCodes]

I tend to believe the charger your friend used cooked the battery.
Battery life seems to be in the same category as tire life on these beasties.
Meaning it's all over the map but they certainly should, with proper care, last much, much longer than a year.

[ralph12345678910]

If your friend put his battery on a CHARGER it probably did cook it. Are you sure he did, or was it a battery MAINTAINER.

[billybovine]

A friend of mine has a 2010 RTS with the original battery in it. Until a year ago it never saw a battery maintainer or charger. Every winter the Spyder would be stored for 4 to 5 months, not run and the battery was not disconnected. Every spring it would start right up except year ago spring, when he had to boost it. His comment to me was. "What a piece of s**t battery it is only 5 years old." This past winter he bought a battery maintainer and plugged it in for the winter. I don't think he has any plans to put in a new battery.

[Chupaca]

Rule of thumb... 3 to 7 years is good. There is no way to really know cause there are a number of thing or combination of things that can affect the life of your battery. Main thing, as mentioned above, make sure it is a mantainer suitabel for your battery type and not a charger. Maintainers keep the battery charged but will not charge a battery that has gotten to low or is dead. I would have both a maintaner and a charger but not a combo unit...

[Martin Slovakia]

Guys good tips.. thanx a lot!!!
and about the friend with no tendency of hanging his battery ))))))))))))

[asp125]

Also, repeated starting a bike in extreme cold or heat may shorten a batterie's life.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Xparent Skyblue Tapatalk 2

[ARtraveler]

I have never had a battery fail. I use a battery tender when I park the bike for the winter sleep. Never use a tender or charger during the riding season.

I replaced my 2010 battery in 2013--just because I was thinking it was time.

The 2011 will get a battery this season also.

[Jpquinn]

I'm probably going to jinks myself but mines a 09 still original battery has never seen a charger or maintainer and I'm in upstate NY so it sits all winter.

[No 2817]

A friend of mine has a 2010 RTS with the original battery in it. Until a year ago it never saw a battery maintainer or charger. Every winter the Spyder would be stored for 4 to 5 months, not run and the battery was not disconnected. Every spring it would start right up except year ago spring, when he had to boost it. His comment to me was. "What a piece of s**t battery it is only 5 years old." This past winter he bought a battery maintainer and plugged it in for the winter. I don't think he has any plans to put in a new battery.

I did the same with my 2008 GS, had the original battery up to 2015 when I got rid of the GS for the F3-T.

[Ron2andia]

I use the Deltran combo chargers based on recommendations from here... I use it when ever I have a few days I won't be riding and all winter... So far so good.

[spyderCodes]

If your Spyder is functioning normally there is absolutely no reason to connect to a battery maintainer during ryding season.
The electrical current requirement is not going to drain a good battery.

I think the radio on the RT series is problematic though.
As they age they seem to draw more current.
I have absolutely no idea what goes on inside the radio but the parasitic current draw increases.
My guess is the moisture inside the case starts some conductive path that in turn increases current flow.

[Sarge707]

My GS was at 6 Years when I sold it. RT is at 4 years.
I leave the RT on the Maintainer BUT because the F3 sm6 takes less energy sitting because of the older GS instrument panel I don,t put it on the maintainer until winter.

[Commander]

With all due respect, Ryding season is a very uncertain term. sometimes I ride a couple times a week, sometimes once a week, and I hate to say it sometimes every two weeks or so depending on the weather and other things.

What would be a rule of thumb on how long the is idle before putting it on the Battery Tender?

[monkeyboymorton]

I have left my F3 for 4 weeks and it started first time. Haven't seen a need for a conditioner yet, plus I don't have a garage!