Hey, I have had quite a few chargers and the best one I have used is the "smart charge" range made by RING. Its brung quite a few flat batteries back to life that other so called smart chargers wouldnt do anything with. I have also tried the cheaper aldi/lidl smart charge series which charged the battery fine but started to overcook the battery if left on for a few days(its meant to be used in constant use but I got water coming out the breather hole after 2 days) The RING charger actually turns itself on and off rather than just lowering the charge current to a very low level (trickle charge) I have never used the optimate range so cant comment on them but I just want folk to be aware NOT ALL SMART CHARGERS ARE EQUAL! I would also like to add I Never had to replace my bike battery in 3 years, I always charged the battery and then disconnected the leads so there was absolutly no drain from any electrical sources. hooked it up to my ring unit to check charge status every other month but it never moved from 100% charge and it was still stored in the bike in the garage! once season start just hook up the bat terminals n away I went.
You, and the evidence of me having to push start the bike to go for my Mot and having to get a push to leave the mot , convinces me that I am buying a motobatt for £40, pronto!! Thanks!!
Ok peeps, I think my battery is probably on its way out & as the bike has had two different batteries in its lifetime, here is my question to the tech heads: Which is better, a higher CCA or a higher capacity (Ah)? I only ask as the original Yuasa (YTZ10S) has 8.6Ah & 190CCA, & the Yuasa on there at the moment (YT12A-BS) has 9.5Ah & 175 CCA? Not really interested in going down the Lithium battery route, as I'm not thin enough too care about saving weight Thanks to Martin for the link to the Motobatt.
Go with the higher CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) this is how much current the battery can provide when cranking the engine over which is when you really need the higher current rating, once the bikes started the charging system on the bike takes over to provide the required power for the bike and top up the power removed from the battery during starting process!
Just ordered myself a new Motobatt battery (Thanks again to Martin for the link). I managed to find a voucher code online and ordered it from their website for £42.89 inc 24hr delivery Fully Sealed Motobatt Battery MBZ10S | Honda CBR 1000 RR ( RR6/RR7 Fireblade 06 - 07.) Coupon code:FBC010 (10% discount). Now my next question is, will the charger the Father-in-law has in the garage be ok to charge/condition this battery? It is a Ring RSC8 Smart Charger and states it is safe to use on most types of lead acid batteries including Gel, AGM and calcium. Motorbike batteries up to 20Ah & 180 CCA. It also states that it charges at a rate of 2A. Is this too high a rate for a motorbike battery, as I see most Optimate & dedicated conditioners have a charge rate of 0.8A? Here is a pdf of the manual: http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=ring%20rsc8%20manual&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CE8QFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bigship.com%2Fdl.php%3Fdoc%3D119&ei=mml2UbWeB8WfO_H3gIAP&usg=AFQjCNFWvCwktVQQjXEPriDQAhTvzaoKJQ&bvm=bv.45512109,d.d2k Sorry for all the questions, just don't want another goosed battery!
Ray, I have the same ring charger it will be fine for charging the battery! I have used it to bring ColinBr's blade battery back from the dead when his charger refused to do anything with it! Used it on mine many times it monitors the battery charge status and cuts power when it needs to, I have also used a few so called motorbike safe chargers aldi/lidl 0.8A chargers and couple of other non branded models and they cooked my battery causing water to spring out the breather hole! I left the smart charge unit plugged in charging the battery for almost two weeks with no problems with it set on the default 2a setting, once the battery is charged you hear it shutting off an on as needed.
I may be wrong but I also think the motobatt units come pre filled with battery acid and pre-charged. Wouldn't hurt the battery to fling the rsc8 on it anyway to top it off tho.
Most batteries have been a long time between manufacture and sale, they naturally discharge, as do all batteries. You will lengthen the life of the battery if you charge it before subjecting it to the load that drops across it when starting the bike. If you hook it up to a Optimate or whatever it considerably lengthens the life of the batt, my last Blades batt was still fine after 5 years and 80k, just on the charger most nights.
Look what turned up just after 10:00 Bloody good service! Now connected to the Father-in-law's trickle charger for a little top up
