After a long night in the cold-ish weather (<40F) my battery tends to drain enough that it won't start. After a good charge it starts right up.

Obviously I'd like my bike to start even on the coldest days, and I'm planning on adding some heated grips & USB ports, so I'd like as much juice as I can get.

I've read a lot of varying opinions on battery selection but haven't found a clear choice yet.

What is the best battery you could recommend and what should I expect, realistically, for cold starting and general battery maintenance?

Given my needs, should I really be looking at a battery tended for complete reliability? Thing is, I park it at a few locations, often outside - although I will be storing it in my shed more often as winter aproaches.

Thanks for any ideas.

Many battery threads on this group....

Any new battery should work fine, even in cold weather...unless your bike has some problem which is draining it.

USB ports really don't use devices which are huge power users...in the milliamp range....

Heated stuff probably does have a big power draw...But the strain comes on the CHARGING system.

I like the AGM type battery....Mottobatt...

Some say go big and get Shorei..(lithium type)

If you don't ride every day and its stored in cold...get a Battery tender Jr.


Cookie

Quote from: Tekime on September 30, 2014, 09:17:27 AM
After a long night in the cold-ish weather (<40F) my battery tends to drain enough that it won't start. After a good charge it starts right up.

Obviously I'd like my bike to start even on the coldest days, and I'm planning on adding some heated grips & USB ports, so I'd like as much juice as I can get.

I've read a lot of varying opinions on battery selection but haven't found a clear choice yet.

What is the best battery you could recommend and what should I expect, realistically, for cold starting and general battery maintenance?

Given my needs, should I really be looking at a battery tended for complete reliability? Thing is, I park it at a few locations, often outside - although I will be storing it in my shed more often as winter aproaches.

Thanks for any ideas.

I've ridden year around here in NE for 30 years in temps down to 20F.  If you have a good conventional battery and ride every day or two far enough to restore the charge you used last ride it should rarely be a problem.  I jumped my bike a few times each winter at most and that was after they sat unused for a week or 10 days or longer or when I'd used them 2 or 3 times in a row going short distances without getting them charged back up each ride.  I've kept my bike in a non electric garage so no Tenders used.

Put in an AGM battery Mar 09 and bike has been noticeably quicker starting in winter, rarely had to jump it with AGM, on 2nd one now.  Just before I got the AGM I got one of these and it guaranteed me a quick start every time

http://www.batterychargers.com/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductName=94026903

I'll put in another vote for the Motobatt AGM.

Cool. Thanks. Might be sold on the AGM! Shorai sounds nice but unless it's a total cold-killer not really worth the loot IMO.

Got a battery charger in my shed but it sucks having to remove the thing all the time. Prob just get a battery tender and start parking it out there when it gets real effing cold, then I can just plug it in no screwdrivers required. 

Honestly I'm just guessing it's the cold because it has only happened after two long, cold nights, but I noticed after riding for a good day and pulling the battery, on my tester/charger it was at about 80% IIRC. Not sure if that's typical for a little older battery or if I should be testing my charging system...

Yeah, I think for the price AGM is the way to go - its an excellent middle ground for features and performance and price. 
I did have an issue with the Bike Master AGM going out quickly on me (in one season), another member noted the same experience recently.  So I'd steer clear from that one... I went to the MotoBatt AGM MB10U and have had great performance so far.

- Bboy

Quote from: twocool on October 01, 2014, 04:33:08 AM

. . .
Heated stuff probably does have a big power draw...But the strain comes on the CHARGING system.
. . .

I have Weider electric gear totaling something like 60 watts and have the Ninja 250 wired for it, not the GS, but I doubt from an electrical standpoint they're much different. 

On that bike the alternator has enough capacity to power the heated gear and the stock electrics on the bike if RPMs are much above idle, something like 3k RPM on that bike.  What this means is that the gear will be drawing down the battery while at idle, so in stop and go traffic with a lot of "stop" one might eventually run down the battery and not have enough capacity to restart the bike.  One season I had a dodgy battery and would switch off the heated gear a few minutes before getting to my destination to ensure that the battery was getting charged.  I guess the message is, if you've got a high load and a stop and go riding profile, more battery capacity is better.  If you're mostly highway, it probably doesn't matter significantly.

Most bikes with shunt regulator systems don't have a great deal of over capacity for accessories and electric heaters are power hungry.  I don't know offhand how much extra capacity the GS has, but would be surprised if it's not less than 100 W with stock lighting.  The big touring oriented bikes have field regulator electrical systems and higher capacity alternators for just this reason.

Had a Motobatt MB10U in mine for a few years now - no issues with starting even on frosty mornings. Never had to use a tender even with short runs in and out of work.

Quote from: MarkB on October 02, 2014, 12:04:09 PM

Quote from: twocool on October 01, 2014, 04:33:08 AM

. . .
Heated stuff probably does have a big power draw...But the strain comes on the CHARGING system.
. . .

I have Weider electric gear totaling something like 60 watts and have the Ninja 250 wired for it, not the GS, but I doubt from an electrical standpoint they're much different. 

On that bike the alternator has enough capacity to power the heated gear and the stock electrics on the bike if RPMs are much above idle, something like 3k RPM on that bike.  What this means is that the gear will be drawing down the battery while at idle, so in stop and go traffic with a lot of "stop" one might eventually run down the battery and not have enough capacity to restart the bike.  One season I had a dodgy battery and would switch off the heated gear a few minutes before getting to my destination to ensure that the battery was getting charged.  I guess the message is, if you've got a high load and a stop and go riding profile, more battery capacity is better.  If you're mostly highway, it probably doesn't matter significantly.

Most bikes with shunt regulator systems don't have a great deal of over capacity for accessories and electric heaters are power hungry.  I don't know offhand how much extra capacity the GS has, but would be surprised if it's not less than 100 W with stock lighting.  The big touring oriented bikes have field regulator electrical systems and higher capacity alternators for just this reason.

Great info.  Maybe a bad idea but in a pinch would setting the idle high help at all? Would you have to set all up to 3k RPM for any benefit? Just thinking here..

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. Right now have a Motocross M221L2 installed, basically a $30 wet battery. Taking it out for a full charge periodically is helping, it's consistently down around 70-80%,.

Quote from: twocool on October 01, 2014, 04:33:08 AM

If you don't ride every day and its stored in cold...get a Battery tender Jr.

[/quote]

I ride a lot in the north east and it gets super cold some-times, I have a batter tender Junior and avoid the hassle of removing the seat to hook it up each time I ride (I always keep my bike in the garage) by using the permanent batter ring adapter that comes with it. You hook it up permanently to your battery and route the wire to somewhere you like on ur bike...mine can be accessed from the back of the bike but that certainly isn't the only configuration, then all u have to do is remove the cap and make the connection between the tender and the wire on ur bike, no seat removing no hassle and no more battery troubles!

Lynx124


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Cool!

When I attached the wiring for my GPS, I ran some wires from the battery to the frame on the left side... just a couple zip ties...I attached Anderson PowerPole connector....(Just about everything I own has Anderson powerpole, so I can connect anything to anything...chargers etc...)

So this connector is where I plug in the GPS when driving, but also where I plug in the Battery tender JR when parked in the garage during cold weather or periods of not riding.......

I leave it plugged in overnight until the green light comes on...then I take it off charge..the Motobatt will hold charge for weeks, if not months...if in doubt, I plug in the charger for another overnight

Cookie

Quote from: lynx124 on October 05, 2014, 09:32:53 AM

Quote from: twocool on October 01, 2014, 04:33:08 AM

If you don't ride every day and its stored in cold...get a Battery tender Jr.

I ride a lot in the north east and it gets super cold some-times, I have a batter tender Junior and avoid the hassle of removing the seat to hook it up each time I ride (I always keep my bike in the garage) by using the permanent batter ring adapter that comes with it. You hook it up permanently to your battery and route the wire to somewhere you like on ur bike...mine can be accessed from the back of the bike but that certainly isn't the only configuration, then all u have to do is remove the cap and make the connection between the tender and the wire on ur bike, no seat removing no hassle and no more battery troubles!

Lynx124


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
[/quote]

Quote from: Tekime on October 04, 2014, 06:49:21 AM

Great info.  Maybe a bad idea but in a pinch would setting the idle high help at all? Would you have to set all up to 3k RPM for any benefit? Just thinking here..

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. Right now have a Motocross M221L2 installed, basically a $30 wet battery. Taking it out for a full charge periodically is helping, it's consistently down around 70-80%,.

This was years ago, but the way I tested it was to load the system with an old sealed beam automotive headlight (~60W high beam) I had laying around and put a voltmeter on the battery.  At idle the voltage was 12.x, that is, not enough to charge the battery.  I gradually rev'ed up the engine noting the RPMs at which the voltmeter hit nominal charging voltage (about 14 v) and at which it hit essentially the maximum voltage (about 14.4 v where the voltage regulator holds it) and charge rate is maximum.  At the time, I was a little surprised that the limit wasn't all that much above idle (about 2x the Ninja's spec idle point), so maybe increasing idle would help the charging situation, but it would also affect drivability to have the idle that high.

A cheap and dirty way to do this without a voltmeter is to just look at the headlight.  It'll be a bit dimmer at idle and will get brighter with increasing RPMs until the regulator limits the voltage.