Winter Maintenance - battery leads and paint

[soofsayer]

I think there was a slight preference for the ctek purely because the connection to the lead extenders looks slightly more robust. I'll let you know what I think when the one I ordered yesterday arrives. It would certainly appear that the CTEK could not be attached to two bikes at the same time because of the different checks that it performs, but it is definitely usable on cars because it has the capacity to manage the different power requirements of a car. And the video on their website states it.

I use 2 cteks, both same entry level xs model, one does the bike one does a car.

 

[RickS1K]

So... for now I decided to buy just one CTEK, but I got an additional set of terminal leads so I could try it out on both bikes. Fitted them all today, and the result is everything was easier on the 2020 R, which will be the same as a Gen 3 RR. On the R both battery terminals are screws, so they're easy to loosen and the orientation of the battery, with the terminals near the back means that the adequate but short extension cables have more wiggle room and can be comfortably accessed with the pillion/cowl removed.

With the Gen 2 RR, the negative terminal is a nut, which is more difficult to get a socket onto, never mind that the plastic collar on the extension leads gets in the way. I also had to orient the extension eyelet downwards, slightly decreasing the reach of the cables under the pillion seat. Added to that, the terminals are towards the front of the bike, which again reduces the reach vs the R. All in all this is going to make the extension cable just a little more difficult to work with.

With regard to connecting the charger to the extension cables that seems fine and they can be locked together with a satisfying click. However, when not attached and the extension locked under the seat, there is a rubber cap for the lead with a thin fiddly rubber tether and I don't have much confidence that it will stay in place if you hit a bump, it seems to prefer to do its own thing than fulfil the reason it's there and the tether loves getting caught in anything that'll take it.

I also had the fun of getting a call from the tracker service when I was dicking around with the terminals, but at least I know that's all set up properly too...

So that's a few things ticker off the list, lost more to do next weekend...

 

[phil]

I thread the leads through to the rear pegs and cable tie the end to the top of the peg hanger, it gets tucked away behind the hanger but still easy to use/plug in. The cap on the end works well. Mine is now over 10 years old.

 

[RickS1K]

Yeah, when I saw the length I had to work with on the RR I did consider that, but because of the cap I didn't see having it fitted externally as a viable option... maybe I'll change my mind when I've seen it working for a while.

 

[andyf]

I think I'm going to have to invest in a new car battery and use the old one to try and support the bikes battery cause I can't get a charger on it. it's a fecking pita keeping the tracker alive in winter....

Can't get a charger as in bike is stored somewhere without mains?

https://www.optimate.co.uk/products/optimate-dc and a big leisure battery (leisure batteries cope better with being discharged, but struggle to provide the current to start a car engine).

 

[alex]

Can't get a charger as in bike is stored somewhere without mains?

https://www.optimate.co.uk/products/optimate-dc and a big leisure battery (leisure batteries cope better with being discharged, but struggle to provide the current to start a car engine).

Yey a 3rd device! But thanks this is an option I'd not seen.



Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

 

[Katie]

Can't get a charger as in bike is stored somewhere without mains?

https://www.optimate.co.uk/products/optimate-dc and a big leisure battery (leisure batteries cope better with being discharged, but struggle to provide the current to start a car engine).

Liking this idea. Running two bikes is not normally too bad but with no sign of needing to commute this winter, it might be time to spend some winter cash

 

[Biker]

Can't get a charger as in bike is stored somewhere without mains?

https://www.optimate.co.uk/products/optimate-dc and a big leisure battery (leisure batteries cope better with being discharged, but struggle to provide the current to start a car engine).

I like that this DC charger covers both lead acid and lithium batteries

 

[alex]

I'm no electrician...how is this better than just serially connecting a leisure battery directly as if you're jump starting it?

 

[scooby]

I'm no electrician...how is this better than just serially connecting a leisure battery directly as if you're jump starting it?

in theory theres no difference as far as power goes,but as with all optimates,it monitors the batteries condition and varies the amount of amps it puts into the battery, i'm assuming this is what helps keeps the battery healthy,if it's just connected to another 12v source,all that does is keep it at the same level as the donor(and vice versa if the donor battery fails,then so will your bike battery eventually) battery,think of it like 2 glasses of water connected together with a straw at the bottom,they will always balance each other until theres not enough water to do so (was the only analogy of could think of...) but nothing else.

 

[alex]

in theory theres no difference as far as power goes,but as with all optimates,it monitors the batteries condition and varies the amount of amps it puts into the battery, i'm assuming this is what helps keeps the battery healthy,if it's just connected to another 12v source,all that does is keep it at the same level as the donor(and vice versa if the donor battery fails,then so will your bike battery eventually) battery,think of it like 2 glasses of water connected together with a straw at the bottom,they will always balance each other until theres not enough water to do so (was the only analogy of could think of...) but nothing else.

Works for me - I was assuming the same - it just works like one giant battery. I get that the Optimate is betterer...but then I could just use one of the powerstation batteries that has a 3pin plug and runs a normal optimate.

i.e. https://www.argos.co.uk/product/7124013

 

[alex]

in theory theres no difference as far as power goes,but as with all optimates,it monitors the batteries condition and varies the amount of amps it puts into the battery, i'm assuming this is what helps keeps the battery healthy,if it's just connected to another 12v source,all that does is keep it at the same level as the donor(and vice versa if the donor battery fails,then so will your bike battery eventually) battery,think of it like 2 glasses of water connected together with a straw at the bottom,they will always balance each other until theres not enough water to do so (was the only analogy of could think of...) but nothing else.

What do you make of this?
https://www.batterymegastore.co.uk/...sure-battery-victron-energy-battery-combiner/

 

[scooby]

tbh unless your bike is going to be sat there for a very long time,theres no real need for a leisure battery,any 12v battery will do (if thats the route you want to go) as the amount of drain on it from a bike wont make much difference,biggest issue this time of yr is temp,thats the real battery killer,so insulating it will help.

 

[scooby]

i've got a spare lithium bike battery that gets connected to the bike if it's going to be away for a long time,a lot easier (weight_+ size wise) to take into house to re-charge when needed

 

[alex]

Bike is sat for months, under ground, tracker draining the battery. In a garage 1 mile away. Swapping the 2 batteries is a ballache.

 

[scooby]

i dont mean swapping,i mean piggy back on via the existing optimate cables or an anderson plug

 

[Katie]

tbh unless your bike is going to be sat there for a very long time,theres no real need for a leisure battery,any 12v battery will do (if thats the route you want to go) as the amount of drain on it from a bike wont make much difference,biggest issue this time of yr is temp,thats the real battery killer,so insulating it will help.

Having said that, a leisure battery should hopefully last a lot longer between recharges?

Took the plunge and bought the DC charger (?75) and a leisure battery (?44 on Ebay) and now have it set up in my garage. Hopefully the KTM will start even when it's not summer!

 

[scooby]

Having said that, a leisure battery should hopefully last a lot longer between recharges?

that all depends on capacity of the battery (amp/hr or Ah),tbh shouldn't really make a difference if it's a leisure battery or not if it's just keeping your bike battery conditioned.1 thing that will help though if your using it in an outdoor area (as in unheated shed/garage) will be to put some insulation around it.nothing flammable though,just incase it shorts out for some reason....

 

[scooby]

saying that,looks like you have a bit around it :applouse:

 

[Katie]

saying that,looks like you have a bit around it :applouse:

Yep, it's nestled in a bed of polystyrene!


And dust, lots of dust :redface-new:


Oh, and went for a 75Ah battery (needed to be at least 1.5 x the bike battery) so should keep things sweet for a while before needing a recharge