#Motorcycle batteries manual#
#Motorcycle batteries plus#

More isnвЂ™t necessary, but it can be beneficial depending on the setup of your bike.ДЇinally, itвЂ™s really important to check size, something thatвЂ™s often overlooked. When changing your motorcycle battery, you always need to at least match the recommended minimum of both CCA and Ah. ItвЂ™s not a big deal when youвЂ™re starting your bike, but it is if youвЂ™re running extra lights, gadgets, or heated clothing. In practical terms, if you compare two batteries with the same CCA, the one with the higher ampere hours willДeliver the same output for longer. So an eight ampere hour battery provides eight amps for one hour or one amp for eight hours. ThereвЂ™s no harm in buying something with a higher rating, and doing so is usually advised if you start adding electrical or electronic accessories.ДЄh: An ampere-hour rating is the equivalent of one amp of charge being supplied for one hour. The number provided by the bikeвЂ™s manufacturer is a minimum. In real terms, itвЂ™s that initial burst of power required to start your motorcycle.

#Motorcycle batteries manual#

Your ownerвЂ™s manual and your existing motorcycle battery should give you two pieces of vital information: the cold cranking amps (CCA) and ampere hours (Ah).Д¬CA: Technically, the CCA is the number of amps your battery supplies at 7.2 volts for 30 seconds when the ambient temperature is 32вЏ. Just about all motorcycle batteries are 12 volts, but there are notable performance differences that set them apart, and these differences have a big impact on cost. If youвЂ™ve got a fully loaded touring bike, stick with AGM. In a nutshell, if youвЂ™ve got a lightweight sports bike and youвЂ™re trying to save every pound, lithium-ion motorcycle batteries are great. On the downside, Li-ion batteries are costly and sluggish in cold weather, and they donвЂ™t handle lots of accessories well. If you smash one to pieces, all you have is a smashed battery. Li-ion batteries can be made much smaller and as much as 70% lighter, and theyвЂ™re completely safe.

#Motorcycle batteries plus#

They are solid-state, like a camera or phone battery, and so maintenance-free, plus they typically last three to five times longer than an AGM equivalent. Lithium-ion motorcycle batteries are the most recent development. It isnвЂ™t a vast difference, but itвЂ™s enough to restrict their popularity. Second, theyвЂ™re more expensive than AGM batteries. You can jump-start them OK, but you canвЂ™t rapid-charge them. These share all the benefits of AGM batteries, are largely unaffected by temperature fluctuations, and are highly resistant to vibration, all of which makes one ideal as a motorcycle battery. Gel motorcycle batteries are filled with a jelly-like combination of sulfuric acid and silica.

With no real negatives, this has become the most common type of motorcycle battery by far. Without the liquid between the plates, it can be made thinner, so it requires less space. The other big benefit for motorcyclists is that with nothing to spill out, the battery doesnвЂ™t have to stay upright. The AGM motorcycle battery is a natural development from the standard lead-acid battery, which uses dry-cell technology. These batteries are cheap, but the big disadvantage for the motorcyclist is that if you tip one over, you get acid everywhere. It is a combination of lead plates, sulfuric acid, and distilled water that remains a reasonably efficient way of storing a charge, although it needs regular checks to maintain fluid levels. The standard wet-cell vehicle battery has been around for over 150 years. The four options are flooded wet-cell lead-acid, absorbed glass mat (AGM), gel, and lithium-ion (Li-ion). The outer boxes might look the same because they all have to fit within a given space on your motorcycle, but the chemistry inside can differ.

If itвЂ™s running flat regularly, you could be overloading the system. Accessories like extra lights, satnav, intercom, and heated motorcycle clothing all put additional demands on your battery.