Member Contributer roadpupp Posted April 17, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted April 17, 2007 Hey all- My best buddy still lives in NYC. He has gone to the dark side after years of VFR riding and is now sporting A GS as well as an F4i. He only gets to ride the F4i once in a while and likes to keep the battery nice and fresh. He used to go through a battery every year or two when he didn't use a battery tender. He just moved to a new apt where he gets free motorcycle parking!! Lucky dog. The only down side is that there is no AC outlet anywhere near where the bikes get stored in the garage. He really wants to be able to hook the battery tender up for a few hours every weekend. Any thoughts? Solar is out as it is underground. I was suggesting getting one of those portable jump starters and setting it up with a battery tender SAE plug. He could then keep the portable unit charged up in his apartment and then plug them together and let them equalize to at least add some amperage to the bike battery (without removing it). He wants a real trickle charger and short of plugging his battery tender into an inverter which is then plugged into the portable battery/booster , I am stumped. Any thoughts on how to keep a battery topped off without AC power? I told him to just not worry about it, but he wants to do the right thing by his batteries. Damn BMW riders. Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Bling Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 How much trouble would it be for him to just remove the battery and keep it on the trickler some place where he as AC power?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer chris2992 Posted April 17, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted April 17, 2007 Deep cycle battery, hooked up to a dc/ac inverter, with a battery tender plugged in. Not efficient at all, but it would be a way to utalize a true trickle charger. You would just have to charge the deep cycle inside and carry it out to the bike to charge the small battery. Should work like a charm and charge the battery for a good 3-4 hours on full charge and who knows how long on float mode (days??). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest matt_c Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 My way would be somehwhat expensive. I have a Great Planes Triton Charger (for Model Airplanes =$135) that is DC Powered and is capable of digitally monitoring and charging Pb batteries. I would park a car near the bike if possible or another motorcycle and charge off of it. If the GS is ridden alot it would survive being the energy source. Especially if he were to do this religeously therefore not requiring much charge to top off the battery. -Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer FotoMoto Posted April 17, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted April 17, 2007 How much trouble would it be for him to just remove the battery and keep it on the trickler some place where he as AC power?? +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer roadpupp Posted April 17, 2007 Author Member Contributer Share Posted April 17, 2007 The F4I requires tools to get the seat off and on. My buddy wants the bike ready to ride when he is, so I doubt he will find that acceptable. I like the idea of charging off the BMW GS that he will be riding more often, but doubt he will feel it "tops up" the F4i battery sufficiently. I would say put battery tender lead on both bikes and hook them together after riding the GS!! I believe there is no good answer, and that he should just accept reduced battery life on the F4i as a reality and not worry about it. Thanks for the responses, I will pass them on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer FotoMoto Posted April 17, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted April 17, 2007 The F4I requires tools to get the seat off and on. My buddy wants the bike ready to ride when he is, so I doubt he will find that acceptable. Yeah, I hated that design on my old F4i but it only takes one 10mm socket wrench. If that's too much of a PITA, he can get quick release pins from Sargent seats or other places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLO97VFR Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 Or if there is a water faucet near by you could use an old car alternator with a diode and transistor pack with a voltage regulator and voltage cut off. Make a mount, (steel would be best), for the alternator. Then make some nice big blades to bolt to the front of the alternator (this to help spin as the water hits it). Place the alternator unit below the faucet and turn on water. Position the alternator so the water hits the enlarged blades. Route wires to said controls with a plug for the bike battery and your golden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer COS_VFR Posted April 18, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted April 18, 2007 How about a real long extension cord! Is there a light in this garage? Replace the light with an adapter that lets you plug in the battery charger. It would only charge when the light was on, but it might be enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer FotoMoto Posted April 18, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted April 18, 2007 Or if there is a water faucet near by you could use an old car alternator with a diode and transistor pack with a voltage regulator and voltage cut off. BRILLIANT! :beer: Or since they live in CT, move the apparatus outside under a rain gutter. Not going to be riding anyway if it's raining. Of course, you wouldn't have thought of that living in dry San Luis Ob-piss-poh...... Ob-biz-boh....... uhhh.... Ubb-bish-puh. Whatever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer blkrabit Posted April 18, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted April 18, 2007 A garage with no AC is called a closet! :beer: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dan Posted April 18, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted April 18, 2007 One quick ride for 10 miles or so a couple of time per month should keep the battery fine. FYI-I have a garage with all of the outlets I could want but riding the bike is much more fun that plugging it in. Best, Dan PS: Am I actually the first person to suggest that he ride it more often? Must be because it's not a VFR, huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuldogg Posted April 19, 2007 Share Posted April 19, 2007 The long extension cord seems like the best alternative along with an easily accesable wire lead to the positive battery terminal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer roadpupp Posted April 19, 2007 Author Member Contributer Share Posted April 19, 2007 The long extension cord seems like the best alternative along with an easily accesable wire lead to the positive battery terminal. Picture an industrial garage with surface mount linear fluorescents in vandal proof enclosures. There will be no plugging in. Plus it is more of a challenge to do this "wirelessly". So far it looks like he is going to go through the effort to buy an inverter and a portable jumpstarter with a cigarette lighter receptacle on it. Looks like about $120 in gear plus shipping to achieve it. Kudos to him for being so attentive to his babies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer roadpupp Posted April 30, 2007 Author Member Contributer Share Posted April 30, 2007 Update- He found a portable jumpstarter battery at Costco. It has a built in (very small) compressor and a built in inverter. So it will allow him to plug in his battery tender to the device's inverter. A pretty compact kit for what he needed. fir only $60. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer rbertalotto Posted May 1, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted May 1, 2007 I'd try a solar panel to see if there is any voltage with available ambient light. I'm not sure, but I think you will get something under flourescent lights? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer roadpupp Posted May 1, 2007 Author Member Contributer Share Posted May 1, 2007 Fluorescent lights would not put any power into PV (photo voltaic) panels. They do work well to trickle charge sail boat batteries that sit outside though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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