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Non-ride report: a flat battery

Godfrey

Godfrey

High Miler
GT Famiglia
Joined
Oct 1, 2017
Messages
869
Location
San Francisco Bay Area
Racer's been covered and waiting for my return since Dec 19 ... I was off on my holiday trip for two weeks, then suffered through a cold and pneumonia for two weeks plus once I returned home. Yesterday was warm, I'm feeling great: I head down to the garage, take the cover off, turn the key—Lights up! But hitting the starter button gave a pathetic "Whirr, click, click, click ..." until I shut the key off. Off I went to pick up a Battery Tender, of course, and it's been on the bike overnight. I'll check it after breakfast ... should be charged up now. :)

I know the battery was pretty much fully charged when I left. And I know that even when off, the ECU is drawing some small amount to power the clock, etc. And then there's the notion of a month's worth of cold soaking in the garage at the coldest time of year. But even so .. I'm curious. How long can a modern bike with all the electronic stuff sit without being started before needing a battery tender?

I know from experience that for my 2006 car it's about six weeks unless I disconnect the battery. Any experience with the V7s?

thx, G
 
The big difference between your car and the bike is the size of the battery. The car one will be three times the capacity no doubt. But the ECU drain will still be much the same. Guzzi do say in the owners' manual, if leaving the bike for more than 3 weeks, disconnect the battery.
 
Yeah, I figured that's about right. I didn't expect to be sick for two weeks getting back from my trip: I should have had it out and riding on the 6th. But Life seems to have a way of getting in the way. :)

Soon as I clean the kitchen, I'll head down and see if Racer's ready to wake up. :D
 
Sounds like a rough few weeks there.

Have you checked the weather for the next 10 days in our area?! Going to be awesome, highs around 70 with lots of sun.

When my original batteries go bad I have been switching to a Lithium battery like Shorai or Western Power Sports. Seems like with a "normal" battery ~3 weeks is the max I'd go without a trickle charge. With the Lithium I've gone as long as 6-7 months with no trickle charge and the motos start up instantly. (this on a variety of non Moto Guzzi bikes) I'm sure you are familiar with these batteries, but super light weight and no acid to potentially drain out.
 
With the Guzzis I don't let them go more than two weeks max. The V9 was recently drained after a week, though.
 
Pneumonia is nasty stuff. I heartily recommend avoiding it if at all possible!

Yes, the weather around here is going to be fab! I want to get Racer out and about today, do the tire pressures (I'm sure they're a little down since October!), then probably tomorrow I'll do the SAS block off installation, the last piece of my current modification plan. With luck, a ride to Alice's for lunch later in the week will give me the opportunity to wriggle up the mountains again. :D
 
Eldo1400 said:
With the Guzzis I don't let them go more than two weeks max. The V9 was recently drained after a week, though.
Click to expand...

With the notion that I'll likely need to charge Racer's battery more frequently, I'll re-plumb where I have the charger connection pigtail routed so that it's more convenient to get to. And maybe even see if I can get a power drop put in over where I normally park it in the garage ... right now there's just one stinky little power outlet in the entire garage and I have to park over there temporarily to top the battery up, or remove the battery entirely to get it near a power outlet. PITA....!
 
Godfrey said:
With the notion that I'll likely need to charge Racer's battery more frequently, I'll re-plumb where I have the charger connection pigtail routed so that it's more convenient to get to. And maybe even see if I can get a power drop put in over where I normally park it in the garage ... right now there's just one stinky little power outlet in the entire garage and I have to park over there temporarily to top the battery up, or remove the battery entirely to get it near a power outlet. PITA....!
Click to expand...

I had the same problem -- solved it with an extension chord. Now I swap a battery tender between the V9 and the Harley. Usually after five days sitting the V9 only needs 9 hours to go green on the battery tender. But after my last ride it sat one week and wouldn't crank. The 1400 needs a lot of juice to crank so the Eldo is on the Tender all the time. I'm taking no chances since I ruined one battery already. The FZ1 I can leave for a month and it will start -- inline 4 rice burner and it only makes 150 hp lol.
 
Sorry to hear about that. I use a BT+ on all of mine about every two weeks ... and keep one on our Mini 'vert, a garage princess that only sees dry roads in warm weather. Ditto the Cub Cadet garden tractor, tho it stays active in spring and summer.

Anyway, don't you live in Paco with its countless (and daunting) hills? Couldn't you just bump start it by pushing off and letting gravity work? :giggle:

Bill
 
An extension cord isn't a viable option in this situation. The only power outlet I can tap into is almost 75 yards away (this is a huge, secure parking facility for our 100 unit condominium complex; we have two titled parking spaces in it). To bring power to where I park, a line and conduit has to be tapped off the overhead lighting to bring an outlet somewhere close enough to run an extension cord and meet the condominium complex' requirements for power and fire safety.

Bill: I live in the flats of Silicon Valley. The nearest mountains and hills are 14-18 miles away. In particular, my garage is a semi-underground structure about 150 yards long and almost completely flat (although the concrete flooring undulates a bit). I tried doing a run and bump, but can't get up enough persistent speed to get it to start without having someone push me.

A booster battery for starting might work, if I can put a high-amperage connection interface on Racer. But for the very occasional need, eh? I don't think it's worth the effort and the ugly connector required. I'll just charge the battery up if I'm going to be away for more than a couple of weeks. It could work for quick-charge through the already-attached charging pigtail, if it has enough capacity. :)
 
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Follow up: Racer's battery was fully topped up when I checked after breakfast. He started right up, warmed instantly (courtesy the GT-Rx excellent map) and is ready to ride. I'll check tire pressures and head out in a moment... :)
 
Following follow-up: I haven't said today just how much I LOVE riding this bike.

A short ride today, over to a gas station to top up the tire pressures (both were five psi low), a little blitz around the back streets, and then over to the restaurant and theater to meet a friend for lunch and a movie. Racer runs perfectly and sounds beautiful. Can't wait to fit the SAS block off and get rid of the 'pop and fart' on the overrun... :D
 
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