Battery -- replace as preventive maintenance

[blackyam]

Hi. I have a 2010 R1200RT that has the original battery. The battery has not given me any trouble yet, but I am wondering if I should replace it soon anyway.

 

Do y'all replace your batteries after a fixed number n years as preventive maintenance, or do you wait for signs of trouble before replacing your batteries? What would be the signs of trouble? I really don't want to be stranded some place because of a bad battery.

 

(I'm sorry if this has been discussed lately. I'm not good at searching the archives.) Thanks.

 

---John.

[areyouolsen]

Right now, I have a battery voltage display on my radar detector (other stand-alone units serve the same purpose) and just monitor the battery before I start the bike for lower voltage capacity.

 

Before that, I would just ride until failure. I can always push-start it and get to where I need to be. Your comfort level with that attitude may be different than mine, though...

[Guest Kakugo]

Sadly, experience tells us BMW OE batteries can die a sudden death without warning. That's what happened to my brother on his GS.

 

I was lucky in the fact mine started giving signs of senility: upon start the >ESA!< warning message was occasionally displayed, but quickly disappeared and no error code was stored. I finally decided to change battery after one morning I got slower start than usual.

 

That's your call: an ordinary battery is relatively cheap and can be changed after a couple of years without losing too much money. More exotic batteries (like Odyssey or Shorai) are considerable more expensive but should also last considerably longer. I say "should" because even among these highly regarded brands duds pop up.

[Skywagon]

Depending on when your bike was mfg...your battery could be as much as 50 months old...e.g. bike built in Dec 09 is 10 model. If you buy a good battery to replace it and get the same service life (which by the way is a long time), you are talking about less than $2.50/month.

 

For me...I change mine cautiously every 3 years and put the one out of my bike in my burglar alarm. I've been stranded a couple of times on bikes (never battery), and I would have gladly paid the cost of a new battery for it not to happen. Battery cheap - Towing Not Cheap.

[Tri750]

4 years is a good healthy life for a factory battery. Let it go. Whatever your doing, of its battery tender use or just ride it regularly, keep doing it.

 

On Canbus GS's two years is about it. RT's, 4 at the outside with good battery care.

I won't get onto what brand to buy as folks here get rather passionate about brands of battery.

 

It's not that the factory batteries die suddenly, it's the Canbus system. If voltage drops below a certain level, the system won't allow the starting system to try to prevent damage to the electrical system. Cars gave had that for years.

My '03 F150 is the same way, voltage too low? Sorry, won't even try. No slow cranking allowed.

My R1100RT for example will slow crank as will other models. It won't start, but it will crank.

 

Canbus GS's use a 14a battery, some early ones came with a 10a and a plastic spacer. That's why they should get the boot at 2.

 

[dirtrider]

clip--

 

It's not that the factory batteries die suddenly, it's the Canbus system. If voltage drops below a certain level, the system won't allow the starting system to try to prevent damage to the electrical system. Cars gave had that for years.

My '03 F150 is the same way, voltage too low? Sorry, won't even try. No slow cranking allowed.

My R1100RT for example will slow crank as will other models. It won't start, but it will crank.

 

Canbus GS's use a 14a battery, some early ones came with a 10a and a plastic spacer. That's why they should get the boot at 2.

 

Morning Tri750

 

I guess I don't understand how the CanBus has any effect on starting voltage.

 

The Can Bus (C-A-N or Controller Area Network) is strictly a communication bus that the bike's modules use to talk to or communicate with each other.

 

Now I can see the BMS-K having a low voltage protection built in & can see the ZFE having a low voltage protection cut-off but the CAN is just the messenger not the controller or decision maker.

 

It seems that if your bike is starting just fine one minute & won't crank the next because the battery failed by dropping to a voltage/amp capacity below what is required to start the bike that would be sudden battery death wouldn't it?

[marcopolo]

To answer the original question, yes, I have replaced a battery as a "preventive" measure. It was before a long ride to the west coast and the original battery was still in my RT. I figured if I broke down, it wouldn't be because of the battery. It was relatively cheap insurance in my mind.

[JR356]

Agree with DirtRider and he is probably aware of the following:

 

The problem is that years back when the system was introduced folks including dealers and mechanics started calling all electrical faults "can bus"instead of the correct BMS-K.

This has unfortunately been carried on,many folks perpetuate this nomenclature,including a lot of BMW sites and their members.

 

JR356

[RTinNC]

My bikes are always on a battery tender and I usually get 5+ years out of a battery. But yes ... if I had a 5+ year old battery and was about to take a long trip I would swap it out. After 5 years I figure it owes me nothing and the cost of a new one is cheap insurance.

[WestyLancs]

My 2006 RT battery was still cranking fine after 6 years - stored on a tender when not ridden.

Finally swapped it out for a brand favoured in these pages, but with no obvious signs of failure imminent.

 

Towards the end of its life, I did invest in a pair of motorcycle jump leads, figuring they'd get me started if

the battery did fail, and I could also help out anyone I came across with battery problems.

 

As an aside, whenever I connected my GS-911 with the original battery I always had an 'ABS battery voltage low'

error, which was 'no longer present'.

Since changing batteries, I have never had that error show up.

Not sure if that was an indication of the OEM battery failing, or just difference in cranking output between the old and new batteries.

 

As always, it's your call on when to change, but if undecided, a cheap pair of jump leads / booster cables could give peace of mind in the interim.

[elkroeger]

Get yourself a battery charger. I use a battery tender Jr. Cold mornings (close to freezing), or after a long sit (a month or more) are the most likely times to see battery senility. My motto is "use it until it becomes a hassle". I'll replace the battery when it becomes mandatory to use the charger on a regular basis. Seems like most people get 4 years out of their battery, give or take. I've heard 7 years.

 

I was in O'Reilly Auto Parts yesterday. There was a (loud mouth) guy in there with a battery that was 8 years old. "but it sat unused for most of that". He was hassling the clerk about using their charger, and how to tell if it's really hopeless or not, and maybe he could add new electrolyes, and... and... and. Crimony sakes! You would't put your 102 year old grandmother on life support, would you? It doesn't matter that she sat on the couch her whole life....

[blackyam]

Hi, everyone. Thanks for all the advice. I decided to change my battery. I already had a service appt scheduled for next week, so I called my dealer today to tell them that I also want to change the battery then. Cheers.

 

---John.