Just wondering, how long can I expect the battery to last if I leave it in the bike and don't ride it? I left my battery in the bike about 3 weeks ago because I intended on riding it a few times between then and now, but things came up unfortunately. Now it turns out I'll need the bike tomorrow, but I'm not sure if the battery is drained.

If the Battery is dead and won't turn over the Startter I would Roll it off.You should be OK after 3 weeks if you rode it a Pretty good Amount before you parked it.

I've started it after 1 month just fine.

The Suz OEM service manual gives you up to 1 month of non-use. After that you should recharge externally prior to using it.

Although the battery cannot tell the difference between night and day, the chemicals (acid) and element (lead) will change sufficiently in that time to give you grief if the battery is not at full charge.

I just got back to my bike and it seems to run fine. Although, not sure if it's because of the cold weather (~40-50 F) or something else, but when starting the bike cold with full choke, it won't start up unless I shake it a bit. If the bike is warmed up, it starts up just fine. Anyone have any ideas what this could be?

On the topic of battery life (somewhat) - Help me understand... How come a new battery comes with a bottle of acid to fill the cells, but after a few months when the cells start to lose fluid you can put demineralized water in there as a substitute? Is there a limit to how many times you can fill those things with water before the battery is no good?

Quote from: groff22 on January 16, 2007, 05:57:31 PM
On the topic of battery life (somewhat) - Help me understand...

The result of recharging the battery is a loss of 2/3 of a water molecule. The acid in the bottle is a solution - not pure acid. As the fluid is reduced with the hydrogen loss, you must add it back - mixed with oxygen - eventually to get the same concentration.

This is the basis of the specific gravity type of measurement of a battery's capacity.

The lead acid battery is almost explained in THIS PAGE

You can read down the page it discusses the sulfuric acid reaction with zinc. In the case of the GS battery, replace the zinc with lead. The lead acid battery has a reverseable reaction in that when we put the juice from the generator to it, the acid become stronger -- except that we lose some hydrogen charging it (the bubbles are hydrogen ...don't get a spark near it  )

If you ever take a Freshman Chemistry class, this is almost a mandatory topic of study.

starwalt, thanks. that is very interesting and makes a heck of a lot more sense now after reading through that page.

Cheers