One thing everyone shopping on this site probably has in common ¨C they all ride something that uses a starting battery! But even though a battery is one of the most basic parts of a motorcycle (or any vehicle), they can be pretty confusing, and we regularly get a ton of questions about them. Here are the most common ones, and the answers you¡¯ve been waiting for.
1. How many cold cranking amps does my motorcycle need?
That figure should be indicated by the manufacturer in your owner¡¯s manual, or you can just look at the specs on your existing battery to figure out how many CCAs you need.
One more note about CCAs: if you buy a battery with more CCAs than recommended, that¡¯s totally fine ¨C all you¡¯ll get is a better performing battery with more power on reserve when needed. You should not be concerned about a battery that is ¡°too powerful¡± for your electrical system when purchasing a new battery with more CCAs than your original equipment ¨C in fact, we recommend it!
2. Can I use a car charger to charge my battery?
You actually can, because both car and motorcycle battery are 12 volt battery. However, the much larger car battery charge at a higher amperage that can quickly fry a smaller motorcycle battery. If you do use a car charger make sure to use one that has adjustable current settings and don¡¯t charge it at anything higher than 2-4amps, and use a voltmeter to make sure you don¡¯t overcharge it. The recommended way, however, is to simply use a smart charger rated for a motorcycle battery for worry-free charging.
3. How can I tell if my battery is dead or dying?
Sluggish starts are the most obvious sign of a dying battery, but the real way to tell is to test it with a voltmeter. A healthy 12 volt motorcycle battery should ideally register around 12.7-12.8 volts at rest, but anywhere between 12.5-13.5 volts indicates a serviceable battery. Once a motorcycle battery drops below 12.4 volts, your motorcycle will struggle to start, and at under 11.8 volts, 12 volt battery are considered to be dead.
4. If my battery dies, can I recharge it?
Yes you can, but you can¡¯t do this very many times.
If you do have a dead battery, you can recharge it with a battery charger (this is preferred), or by jumpstarting your motorcycle with another motorcycle or a car. (Note: if you use a car to jump off of, make sure the car is not running ¨C the much higher current running from the car¡¯s battery through your motorcycle can fry your entire electrical system!)
Once you get the motorcycle running, make sure to ride it for a good while in order to get it fully charged again. At idle, your motorcycle will not produce enough voltage to recharge a battery, so even running the motorcycle for a long time will not charge it reliably. You must ride it to produce a load on the electrical system, or at least run the engine at a cruising RPM, for quite some time to produce the 13.5-14.5 volts required to charge the battery back up.
5. Should I remove my battery in order to charge it?
You can, but these days it¡¯s not receommended because of the more elaborate electronics systems that many motorcycles have. When a battery is removed, the ECU loses all power and memory, and when the battery is reinstalled and the motorcycle is restarted, it may run oddly for a while as it ¡°relearns¡± its fuel maps, throttle positions, etc. Think of it like yanking the plug out of the wall to turn off your computer, which can cause it to lose all of its memory, and will likely make rebooting it again difficult.
To avoid that, we instead recommend installing a trickle charger to your battery with a quick-disconnect plug. The ¡°pigtails¡± remain permanently installed on your battery, and when hooking up the trickle charger, you simply plug the SAE connector into the AC extension cord and it does the rest. That way your battery is always topped off, and your motorcycle¡¯s ECU never loses power and always retains it¡¯s important settings.
Got any more questions about batteries? Call us, email us, or just leave a comment!
