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V7 Special battery cover

metalman54

Tuned and Synch'ed
Joined
Sep 28, 2016
Messages
29
Location
Stockton, New Jersey
I recently bought a 2013 V7 and I also just bought a battery tender. I want to take the battery off the bike and put it on the tender for the Winter. The manual that comes with the bike mentions one bolt and a hook. I looked at the bolt and it didn't look like a torx or hex. What is it? Also, any hints on removing that right side panel so I don't break anything?
Thanks
 
Gotta love the Italian-English translated sections of the factory manual haha.

On my '13 Spesh (it's even the same colour as yours!) you first take out the small bolt in the side cover (the one closest to the injector cover) using an allen key. Then you can prise the side cover off, the other fixings are just barbed fittings (these are probably the "hook" the manual is referring to) pushed through rubber grommets. Careful of the grommets, they love to come off with the side cover and it's super annoying so I try and be as careful as possible removing one barb/hook at time instead of just ripping the whole thing off willy nilly...

Then you'll need a large phillips head screwdriver to remove the clamp that holds down the battery. After that you can wriggle the battery out a little to make removing the red and black battery leads a bit easier.

To put the battery back in just do it in the reverse order =) The only really awkward part is putting the red and black battery leads back on when the battery is half out...but I'm sure you'll manage! =)
 
Gotta love the Italian-English translated sections of the factory manual haha.

On my '13 Spesh (it's even the same colour as yours!) you first take out the small bolt in the side cover (the one closest to the injector cover) using an allen key. Then you can prise the side cover off, the other fixings are just barbed fittings (these are probably the "hook" the manual is referring to) pushed through rubber grommets. Careful of the grommets, they love to come off with the side cover and it's super annoying so I try and be as careful as possible removing one barb/hook at time instead of just ripping the whole thing off willy nilly...

Then you'll need a large phillips head screwdriver to remove the clamp that holds down the battery. After that you can wriggle the battery out a little to make removing the red and black battery leads a bit easier.

To put the battery back in just do it in the reverse order =) The only really awkward part is putting the red and black battery leads back on when the battery is half out...but I'm sure you'll manage! =)

Thanks. Perfect. Just the help I needed.

Much appreciated.
p.s. Is there a good shop manual that is available for our bikes.
 
No worries mate. If you end up getting Todd's ECU reflash tool then you'll need to know how to access the battery to plug the device in to power =)

Don't know about a good shop manual unfortunately...
 
No worries mate. If you end up getting Todd's ECU reflash tool then you'll need to know how to access the battery to plug the device in to power =)

Don't know about a good shop manual unfortunately...


Shop manuals are available in the downloads section. If you haven't made a contribution to the site, just make one and you will be able to download.
 
Is there any need to take the battery off? I've attached the tender connector to the battery permanently. It pokes out from behind the cover, so I can plug it in when I'm not likely to be riding for a few weeks, but can disconnect it and be out riding in an instant when clear dry weather permits.
 
Is there any need to take the battery off? I've attached the tender connector to the battery permanently. It pokes out from behind the cover, so I can plug it in when I'm not likely to be riding for a few weeks, but can disconnect it and be out riding in an instant when clear dry weather permits.


Shouldn't need to remove the battery. However I recommend you only leave the bike on a tender for 24 hours once a month. Leaving it on longer may result in over charging and shortening battery life.
 
I remove all my batteries. I put them on a shelf in the basement and once a week I put the tender on them and charge them. Better then freezing in a cold Wisconsin garage all winter.
 
Fairly confident most battery tenders have an auto shut off to prevent over charging, so there shouldn't be a need to constantly disconnect and reconnect the battery. I pulled my battery out, put it on a shelf (trickle charged) for several months last year over the winter. Come spring time, I had no issues with it.
 
Ah, you North Americans have cold that we can only have nightmares about. And my bike is kept in a garage integral to the house.
 
Fairly confident most battery tenders have an auto shut off to prevent over charging, so there shouldn't be a need to constantly disconnect and reconnect the battery. I pulled my battery out, put it on a shelf (trickle charged) for several months last year over the winter. Come spring time, I had no issues with it.


That feature is advertised, but as a battery ages, teh voltage the tender looks for can't be reached and the thing keeps charging. That can damage plates. The Un-manned vehicle program at Redstone Arsenal discovered this with their vehicles. Batteries on normal "tenders" were failing in short order. They changed to putting a thermister under the batteries and when a certain temperature was reached, the charger cut off. Battery life then increased significantly. It is a routine I follow and my batteries last 5 to 9 years.
 
I guess I will report back if my battery doesn't work in the spring. Fairly confident it will be fine as I know many people that have used this technique for many years without issues.
 
If you pull your battery and leave it on a tender you will be fine...my last one handled this way lasted 10 years.
 
I've read that the discharge rate on a lead acid type battery is slowed in colder ambient temperatures. This means leaving the battery in an enclosed but unheated space like the garage during the winter will result in less self-discharge than if that same battery is brought inside a warmed space like the basement. Some are afraid that severe cold will kill the battery by possibly freezing the electrolyte. However, freezing of the electrolyte in temperatures even as low as -20C apparently is not possible, according to the same sources. This might be corroborated with my personal experience. I am still using the OEM battery in my V7 even though the bike was left outside unprotected all winter long in Toronto its first year. The battery is still working and working strongly.

Having written all that, I still remove and bring my batteries inside. Old habits die hard I guess.
 
I've read similar articles and apposing ones. Until I see hard evidence suggesting otherwise, the battery will be stored indoors.
 
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