Motobatt piece of #!%

[nick crisp]

:agree


I have a Motobatt and it's give me a couple of years hassle free starting including weeks of non use over the winter months. I'm also skeptical about trickle chargers as from what I've read vehicle batteries are not designed to be constantly charged or to be at maximum charge for extended periods and that their life can be shortened by doing so.

Would I be correct in saying there are trickle chargers, and 'maintenance' chargers, which are two different things in the way they work? A trickle charger will charge constantly, unless it has a cut off circuit that kicks in when a preset maximum voltage is achieved. A maintenance charger will alternately charge and then draw on the battery, as if it were in use on the vehicle, and so it doesn't just keep the battery at full charge constantly?


I used to have a spare battery for one of my previous Fazers, and it was kept on a maintenance charger for months. Did the battery no harm as far as I could tell.


Left my current one in an unheated shed for a couple of months this winter, and it was flat as a pancake when I pulled the bike out again. Put it on a charger, and it was fine for a few rides. Left it for about a week and it was flat again. Charged it for two hours yesterday, and was able to take the bike out around the Lake District for a few hours. I've put it back on the maintenance charger for now, but will be replacing it before I head for Spain next month, just for peace of mind.


I usually use Yuasa batteries, but if I remember correctly, they weren't all made in Japan, and the Japanese-made ones were of better quality. For a time, they were much more expensive too. Can't remember now where the others were manufactured, and don't know if this is still the case.