So after 2 months of snow and bad weather it was sunny today and I thought to go for a quick ride but the bike wont start, starter triggered but after that battery was dead, tried to push start but no luck. Can anyone suggest good battery brand and model? I don’t have covered garage or access to trickle charger its just a open parking with a cover can any battery survive the Aberdeen winter or I should assume a new battery is needed every summer?
Sounds like your best bet will be to remove the battery when you lay the bike up for winter. Keep it indoors on trickle charger and then refit come spring
I've used Motobatt on a couple of bikes and have found them decent. Mine are kept indoors all the time though so im not sure how they'd perform being left outside through winter.
I use a Halfords solar charger. Works even when overcast, but I am down South where we have 8 hours of day time during the winter!
You need amp hours so would suggest you stay with Lead acid, also Lithium doesn't like a deep discharge. I don't use it on my bike as its in a garage, but my backup car is permanently connected to an Oxford Solariser and its been fine keeping the battery from draining. For outdoor use its ideal as it is weather proof. Some of the Oxford covers have a window specifically for the solar panel. Re brands I used Motorbatt, powerline and no name budget (as well as lithium) but I prefer to stick with Yuasa if I see one on a deal. Yuasas just fit better. ABSs use the larger battery size to look for YTZ10S variants
Bought a Motobatt last year for my rr9, certainly turns over easier now and seems to hold charge longer even when the bike isn't being used on a regular basis, is a very bright yellow though.
As boothman mentioned, if you don’t use your bike for prolonged periods, then best to disconnect it. My lfp battery with over 2 years of use has only been charged by the bike except for when I first got it. It has performed well down to 2° even after 2 weeks of non use.
I have a lithium and and have a solar charger set to 13.4 v I will not use the bike until the sun comes out, this has worked fine for me for the last 10 years
