Guest sparkyd31 Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Hi guys, For 20 bucks I just bought a Schumacher battery maintainer at walmart.Many have said on vfr world and this site that it's a great buy for keeping your battery in good shape.Seeing I just spent 80 bucks what's another 20 right? My question is.........Should I take my battery out of my bike this winter and bring it to my heated basement and keep the maintainer on it all winter or can I leave my battery in my bike that sits in my 20 degree garage all winter with the maintainer on it? It takes no time at all to take it out but I might like to start it threw the winter months once a week to keep everything oiled inside the motor. What are your thoughts? thanks sparkyd31 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Hi guys, For 20 bucks I just bought a Schumacher battery maintainer at walmart.Many have said on vfr world and this site that it's a great buy for keeping your battery in good shape.Seeing I just spent 80 bucks what's another 20 right? My question is.........Should I take my battery out of my bike this winter and bring it to my heated basement and keep the maintainer on it all winter or can I leave my battery in my bike that sits in my 20 degree garage all winter with the maintainer on it? It takes no time at all to take it out but I might like to start it threw the winter months once a week to keep everything oiled inside the motor. What are your thoughts? thanks sparkyd31 It will be just fine in the bike in the garage. I left my battery in my Audi for nearly 17 months in an unheated garage, just unhooked it. Hooked it back up, car started right up. On a maintainer you shouldn't have an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 You're better off not running your bike unless going for a ride, and batteries actually like the cold. I leave mine in the bikes and swap the chargers back and forth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileyrock Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Just ride year round! :fing02: see this post also http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=46504 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soichiro Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 You're better off not running your bike unless going for a ride, and batteries actually like the cold. I leave mine in the bikes and swap the chargers back and forth. Yeah, if you cant actually go for a ride your better off not starting it. It's hard to do, I know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer y2kvfr Posted October 29, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted October 29, 2008 You're better off not running your bike unless going for a ride, and batteries actually like the cold. I leave mine in the bikes and swap the chargers back and forth. It's tough to be you isn't it Seb!?! For what it's worth: My '00 has the original OEM battery. Yes, it's been IN the bike since before I took delivery in April 2000. NEVER been out. Religiously on a BT Jr. Now, that isn't to say that the headlights have started to dim when at idle. But I do live in New England and have an unheated garage. The same can't be said for my John Deere tractor battery that exploded this spring. Ooops, thought it was a maintenance free battery. Guess not. Which brings up my next point: If your battery is the 'maintenance' type, make sure you have proper fluid levels! Battery gone bad... Not my VFR's battery, but from my lawn tractor. This is what can happen when you charge a battery and don't have proper fluid levels.<br /><i><b>_*BANG*_</b></i> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 When I winterized my VFR last off-season I left the battery in the bike and stuck my cheap Wally World tender on it. It was fine thru the winter months and on into riding season. Also, I did not start the bike again 'til I was actually going riding. Soichiro is right...hard to go awhile without hearing the sound of your motorcycle! Have to make do with YouTube videos thru the winter months. :fing02: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer johnmark101 Posted October 29, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted October 29, 2008 Wash the bike, change the oil and filter, plug in the battery tender, don't start it until you are ready to ride. It will be ready to go when spring arrives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer HiDesertMLB Posted October 29, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted October 29, 2008 Wash the bike, change the oil and filter, plug in the battery tender, don't start it until you are ready to ride. It will be ready to go when spring arrives. :fing02: Battery tenders are worth every penny. Highly recommend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 Wash the bike, change the oil and filter, plug in the battery tender, don't start it until you are ready to ride. It will be ready to go when spring arrives. :fing02: Battery tenders are worth every penny. Highly recommend! Don't forget the Stabil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer backonabike Posted October 29, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted October 29, 2008 You're better off not running your bike unless going for a ride, and batteries actually like the cold. I leave mine in the bikes and swap the chargers back and forth. Seb, why are you better off not running the bike unless you takr it for a ride. Is it because of condensation building up in the oil? And if so couldn't you just run it until the fans kick on and then maybe a little more, that would be enough to burn off the moisture wouldn't it? Just curious? Sorry about the thread jack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 You're better off not running your bike unless going for a ride, and batteries actually like the cold. I leave mine in the bikes and swap the chargers back and forth. Seb, why are you better off not running the bike unless you takr it for a ride. Is it because of condensation building up in the oil? And if so couldn't you just run it until the fans kick on and then maybe a little more, that would be enough to burn off the moisture wouldn't it? Just curious? Sorry about the thread jack. Because it's not good to let the bike idle for extended periods of time(i.e., the time it would take for it to get hot and kick the fans on), and if you fire it up and rev it to warm it out faster, you're going to foul out your sparkplugs and shorten the life on other parts as well. Condensation won't occur until you shut the bike down and let it cool, the moisture will build when you turn it off. So, the more often you start it, the more moisture you get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 A little off topic, but is there a good, non-painted piece you connect the negative battery charger lead to? Seams like things are pretty well painted up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tightwad Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 A little off topic, but is there a good, non-painted piece you connect the negative battery charger lead to? Seams like things are pretty well painted up. Connect it to the battery negative terminal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 A little off topic, but is there a good, non-painted piece you connect the negative battery charger lead to? Seams like things are pretty well painted up. Connect it to the battery negative terminal Says to definitely not do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tightwad Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 A little off topic, but is there a good, non-painted piece you connect the negative battery charger lead to? Seams like things are pretty well painted up. Connect it to the battery negative terminal Says to definitely not do that. It says to not connect the negative to ground? Rather to the frame of the bike? If that is what you need to do, then any bolt in the frame should work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 A little off topic, but is there a good, non-painted piece you connect the negative battery charger lead to? Seams like things are pretty well painted up. Connect it to the battery negative terminal Says to definitely not do that. It says to not connect the negative to ground? Rather to the frame of the bike? If that is what you need to do, then any bolt in the frame should work. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 You're better off not running your bike unless going for a ride, and batteries actually like the cold. I leave mine in the bikes and swap the chargers back and forth. Seb, why are you better off not running the bike unless you takr it for a ride. Is it because of condensation building up in the oil? And if so couldn't you just run it until the fans kick on and then maybe a little more, that would be enough to burn off the moisture wouldn't it? Just curious? Sorry about the thread jack. Because it's not good to let the bike idle for extended periods of time(i.e., the time it would take for it to get hot and kick the fans on), and if you fire it up and rev it to warm it out faster, you're going to foul out your sparkplugs and shorten the life on other parts as well. Condensation won't occur until you shut the bike down and let it cool, the moisture will build when you turn it off. So, the more often you start it, the more moisture you get. What he said, and the moisture won't burn off until your oil temp comes up not just your coolant temp. Your oil temp won't usually get high enough to burn off the moisture unless you ride it for a while, so it will be in your engine cases all winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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