Battery issues

[edgelett]

I know a number of people have had battery issues with their FTR, and I know it's been frustrating for many.
But I wanted to share this.

Tony and I last both rode our bikes, (my FTR, his Harley) last week, I think it was Tuesday or may be Wednesday.
He went to ride to work today and his Harley was absolutely dead - would not turn over.
He's had 3 batteries on the Roadster since he bought it in 2016, the latest one is 12 months old. He got it serviced earlier this year and they said the battery was good it just needed a charge.
And yet here we are, a week later and his bike wouldn;t turn over.
He rode my FTR in instead.

it's very frustrating.

 

[mark.lb]

I’m not sure you can see it clearly in this picture, but each of my bikes stays on a tender when not in use. ( I was riding the Yamaha the day of the photo so it is not plugged in yet.)

I am still on the original battery on my 2019 FTR.

I know this is not practical for everyone - but tenders are cheaper than new batteries, and my bikes are always ready to go!

 

[edgelett]

I’m not sure you can see it clearly in this picture, but each of my bikes stays on a tender when not in use. ( I was riding the Yamaha the day of the photo so it is not plugged in yet.)

I am still on the original battery on my 2019 FTR.

I know this is not practical for everyone - but tenders are cheaper than new batteries, and my bikes are always ready to go!

Thing is though - a bike should be able to be ridden after 6 days without needing a tender.
my FTR, I can leave for up to about 2.5-3 weeks and it will start without issue. More than that and I pop it on the tender.
Tony's Harley goes dead after a few days. its really frustrating.
My 1998 Honda on the other hand - that will start up after up to 3 months of not being ridden. it's the most reliable bike on the planet I'm sure lol.

He did pop his Roadster on charge overnight, was able to ride in today without issue.

 

[mark.lb]

My 1976 Yamaha is the same. (There are no electronics or ECU.) I can let it sit for months and if it cranks it will start. It also has a kick start and I have push started it and even jumped if from a car in the past. I replaced the battery last year when I saw a date sticker on it and realized the battery was 6 years old! But it still sits daily on a tender.

 

[Max Kool]

You let it sit, for months, but daily on a tender? 🤔

 

[kiwi dave]

You let it sit, for months, but daily on a tender? 🤔

I do the same on bikes that I am not regularly riding.

But I use a timer on a simple charger, switching on for 15 minutes 6-8 times a day. After a couple to charges, it only takes a few seconds for the charger to register fully charged. The procedure hasn't let me down yet.

 

[Max Kool]

Of course it will start after months, because it’s been on a tender!

 

[kiwi dave]

Of course it will start after months, because it’s been on a tender!

I'm reacting to the school of thought that batteries possess a "memory effect" that makes it's capacity set to the past demands. I agree that with modern batteries it is probably not an issue any more, I'm just being cautious.

Memory effect now also found in lithium-ion batteries

Lithium-ion batteries are high performance energy storage devices used in many commercial electronic appliances. Certainly, they can store a large amount of energy in a relatively small volume. They have also previously been widely believed to exhibit no memory effect. That's how experts call a...

phys.org

 

[mark.lb]

Max: I purchased the Yamaha brand new when I was 18 years old. I will be 63 in one month. This bike was my primary transportation while I was in college at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. There were years it spent months outside in winter under a cover on campus. Back in the day I started it any way possible. It now lives on a tender because I am old and lazy.

 

[edgelett]

Of course it will start after months, because it’s been on a tender!

My Hornet starts after 3 months of not being touched, with no tender.
cause it's a Honda

 

[Breto]

Thing is though - a bike should be able to be ridden after 6 days without needing a tender.
my FTR, I can leave for up to about 2.5-3 weeks and it will start without issue. More than that and I pop it on the tender.
Tony's Harley goes dead after a few days. its really frustrating.
My 1998 Honda on the other hand - that will start up after up to 3 months of not being ridden. it's the most reliable bike on the planet I'm sure lol.

He did pop his Roadster on charge overnight, was able to ride in today without issue.

I’d be putting a multimeter across the terminals while it’s running Tash, just to make sure the Harley is actually charging…sounds like it’s taking enough charge to start but losing it either via discharge or it’s not receiving anything from the stator or the reg rec has a faulty diode…just a thought…the other thing is if it is showing decent charge at the terminals take the battery out and load test it. My load tester puts the battery under a constant load for up to ten seconds and will tell you via a meter on the tester if the battery is good or not…my last motobat from my thruxton was 6 years old but was failing to hold charge. Load tested it and it went straight to bad…👍😎

 

[edgelett]

I’d be putting a multimeter across the terminals while it’s running Tash, just to make sure the Harley is actually charging…sounds like it’s taking enough charge to start but losing it either via discharge or it’s not receiving anything from the stator or the reg rec has a faulty diode…

normally i would mate but it's been like this since day one and when we raised it with th dealer they said 'yeah thats just how they are.....' apparently the immobiliser is why it drains so quickly.
which is a shitty answer but not sure what else to do.

 

[Breto]

For peace of mind I’d do it anyway…just to make sure…👍😎

 

[donlycan]

I use a Tender religiously on every vehicle I own, both 2 and 4 wheels, except my daily driver.

 

[R. Warshawsky]

I’m not sure you can see it clearly in this picture, but each of my bikes stays on a tender when not in use. ( I was riding the Yamaha the day of the photo so it is not plugged in yet.)

I am still on the original battery on my 2019 FTR.

I know this is not practical for everyone - but tenders are cheaper than new batteries, and my bikes are always ready to go!View attachment 4271

Beautiful stable.