| Author | Message | ||
     Jcbikes |
I want to pull the battery out of my xb12s because of cold weather and put it in a warm place. What do you lose from the instruments gages history when you do this? Clock? Trip miles? Total miles (I hope not)? thanks! | ||
| Buell666 |
just clock. your best be, however, would be to get a battery tender and hook it up to your bike. | ||
| Jcbikes |
Buell666...what is a battery tender and does it hook up to the battery terminals? | ||
| Buell666 |
its a trickle charger that puts a varrying load on the battery. it doesnt over charge it as to damage the battery. i think they come with all of the hookups to connect right to your battery. check out cyclegear.com, and they should have one. http://www.cyclegear.com/spgm.cfm?L1=2&L2=&L3=&L4=&item=TUC_21-2100 (Message edited by buell666 on December 04, 2005) | ||
| Midknyte |
You can pick one up very reasonably priced at your nearest HD shop. I think I spent about $20 on mine. Comes with "pigtail" connector that you leave on the battery so you just come home and can "plug it in..." after a ride | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
Walmart (please don't yell at me) has a Schumacher battery tender for about $16 bucks. I bought 3 and that minimizes the amount of switching from bike to bike that I have to do. | ||
| Jcbikes |
Thanks guys, I will pick one up! | ||
| Lastcyclone |
WALMART! How dare you even mention that word! Just kiddin. Merry Christmas. Everyone north of the Mason Dixon should have some type of battery tender, should come as standard equip. I know too many riders that don't know too keep a battery charged during the cold season and are very sorry come spring time. I always take it out of the bike and bring it inside, charge it 10 minutes per week and they last a long time. | ||
| Perry |
Or, just RIDE. As long as there is no ice/snow on the roads, I just get on the bike and ride. I rarely go more than a week without being able to ride at least once, and never more than two weeks. Fourteen (14) degrees F this morning, and I'm riding. Who wants to wait until spring?  I'm working on an electric jacket (homemade) and just installed heated handgrips, so that will make it even better! | ||
| Fullpower |
JC the battery, if fully charged, will be just fine in the cold. it will hold it's charge MUCH longer in the cold. the key-off-draw on the buell is very nearly ZERO, so you can leave the battery in without any problems. you do NOT need to store your battery in a warm environment, if you do keep it WARM it will self discharge faster. | ||
| Jcbikes |
Fullpower - I was always under the impression that batteries lost power in the cold. If you have an older battery, works fine in the summer but as soon as the cold weather comes, they fail. | ||
| Perry |
Nearly all batteries (including alkaline batteries) don't work as well in the cold because the chemical reaction is slowed significantly by very cold temperatures. Automotive lead/acid batteries are generally less susceptible to the problem, and are designed to withstand winter temps, but still will generate less cranking power in extreme cold. Fullpower is right, they will also self-discharge more slowly in the cold. And, when they are discharged the liquid in the battery can freeze and ruin the battery. When charged, the liquid will not freeze at normal winter temperatures. So, letting your battery discharge over the winter is a bad idea. If you keep it charged, it will be fine indoors or out. | ||
| Blake |
Agree, automotive type batteries self-discharge more slowly as the temerature drops. No worries. Leave it installed as is. A battery tender is always a good idea though.  |
