How long will an unused battery last?

[Loyly]

Evening lads,

I've got a Motobatt AGM battery sitting in my bike garage at home that I bought in 2016 when the battery on my T595 Daytona went a bit flat. I never did fit it as I bought a CTEK conditioner a couple of weeks later that rescued the lazy-starting battery that I had fitted, and it's worked fine ever since. The Motobatt battery hasn't even been out of it's box.

Will it still function or have I left it sitting too long? I don't have a multimeter to test it with at the moment.

[Biker's Nemesis]

People may scoff but don't leave it on the floor, place it on a piece of wood or wrap it in something off the floor.

[Ed.]

Not sure if it's still ok but plugging it in to the battery conditioner can't hurt?

[Dog Star]

Weird - I was going to ask the same question, but the other way round.

The teeny-tiny moped battery in my R1 died when the bike was only a few months old, obviously I wasn't going to go bikeless for weeks while a warranty claim was sorted out, so I bought a new motobatt (in matching yellow, which Jazoli would love) and motobatt conditioner.

So now I have a brand new Yamaha battery which I can use when the motobatt gives up - if indeed it does. Mine is in the house as I figured warmer might be better for it, but I've not put it on charge.

[Biker's Nemesis]

It takes nothing to flatten a new R1 battery by turning the key just past the off position.

I would give it a charge and stick it on your bike to see if it's ok after a few weeks of use.

[Dog Star]

Biker's Nemesis said:

It takes nothing to flatten a new R1 battery by turning the key just past the off position.

They are a total pain in the arse.

Those lithium things look like the business, however what puts me off is that if you discharge them too much then they're toast - very expensive toast. What with having a tracker fitted the risk of accidentally running the battery low is quite high if the charger gets forgotten.

[Biker's Nemesis]

Dog Star said:

They are a total pain in the arse.

Those lithium things look like the business, however what puts me off is that if you discharge them too much then they're toast - very expensive toast. What with having a tracker fitted the risk of accidentally running the battery low is quite high if the charger gets forgotten.

I had a lithium battery on my old track R1 for 4 years and never had a problem leaving it on the bike for 4 years, I did bugger it by leaving the ignition on when the clocks were off though.

[Dog Star]

Biker's Nemesis said:

I did bugger it by leaving the ignition on when the clocks were off though.

Bosh! There you go then! You'd think there would be something in there that would prevent them from discharging below a certain point.

[Loyly]

Biker's Nemesis said:

People may scoff but don't leave it on the floor, place it on a piece of wood or wrap it in something off the floor.

Cheers, will do.

[Ho Lee Kau]

Dog Star said:

Biker's Nemesis said:

It takes nothing to flatten a new R1 battery by turning the key just past the off position.

They are a total pain in the arse.

Those lithium things look like the business, however what puts me off is that if you discharge them too much then they're toast - very expensive toast. What with having a tracker fitted the risk of accidentally running the battery low is quite high if the charger gets forgotten.

For some bikes the Li-Ion batteries are cheaper than standard ones. Not to mention over 2kg lighter.

I've had a Li-Ion battery in 954 for over a year now.
The bike stands for weeks without movement, then I run it for 20km and stick it back in storage.
It never had problems starting up.
The GSXR1000 and Daytona 675 that undergo the same procedure with the same frequency have standard batteries and I had to pull and reload them because they lost so much juice the bikes did not start anymore.

[Dog Star]

My issue is that there is always a slight drain on the system from immobilisers etc and for me there's a tracker in the equation too. I get a flat battery within a week. That would be a toast lipo battery if I forgot to lob it on a tender. At least a normal AGM battery isn't totally ruined if you run it down.

[plastic orange]

I'm not impressed with motobat batteries. I bought 2 - 1 for my Blade and 1 for my X11. The X11 one lasted 14 months and was totally knackered whilst the blade one is still ok, so there's a 50% failure rate for me. Out of all my biking mates, most have had the same thing with them, with one even leaking.
You may be lucky though.

Pete