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What did you do with your bike today?

893316 Views 12256 Replies 560 Participants Last post by  gunsmoker, 
Johnnystriple
Me and my lady went for a nice ride on the Street Glide to a nice restaurant in Evansville, Ind. It has been a beautiful day.
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Joel_The_Mole
mike721 said:
In my experience batteries have not been lasting long recently, it seems the quality has gone down, how many years did you get out of the one that died? They used to go 5-8 years for me, recently I'm lucky to get 2-3 out of a battery, no matter what the brand.
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Keep in mind that higher cranking amps for the same size battery generally means a more fragile battery.
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hogcowboy
I wonder who makes the Big Crank, there aren't many USA battery factories, one of the biggest is 25 miles from where I live, East Penn mfg. and they make Deka and others that are sold as private brands.
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From what I saw a few years ago Big Crank and Deka were one in the same. Big Crank is probably Monday and Friday batteries. 🙄😁🤣
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mike721
Joel_The_Mole said:
Keep in mind that higher cranking amps for the same size battery generally means a more fragile battery.
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That's interesting, thinner plates I guess so they can squeeze in more?
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mike721
Has anyone ever tried a lithium battery in their bike?
I've seen them a few times at shows and they are impressively light and the CCA and AH specs are awesome on paper but I'm not sure how they work out in the real world. I especially worry about cold, my bike often sits out for 16 hours in well below freezing weather while I'm at work, the oil gets nice and thick and I need all the CCA I can get to get that thing turned over.. if it doesn't it's a long walk home.. :)
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Joel_The_Mole
mike721 said:
That's interesting, thinner plates I guess so they can squeeze in more?
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That is my understanding. Buying batteries with just enough CCA has served me well over the years since I was told that by a battery expert.
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pdcomm
Joel_The_Mole said:
Keep in mind that higher cranking amps for the same size battery generally means a more fragile battery.
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Guess I've been lucky .
I always buy AGM with the most cranking amps / Amp hours in the size required . Never a problem . Always more joy . ;)
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hogcowboy
mike721 said:
Has anyone ever tried a lithium battery in their bike?
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I’ve not tried one and the only negative I’ve read was when they die they do it rather suddenly with little warning. Don’t know if that’s a fact or just one person’s opinion of them after having one leave him stranded.
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hogcowboy
You might find this interesting when it comes to lithium batteries.
ampedoutdoors.com

Why we do not sell Lithium Cranking Batteries!

The advancements in modern day fishing have caused many anglers to seek out the major advantages of lithium battery products. Amped Outdoors has been on the leading edge of providing technologies that are in the best interest of their end users by supplying some of the most advanced lithium...
ampedoutdoors.com ampedoutdoors.com
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RogerC60
On the BMW forums I visit, several people have tried lithium batteries and found their engines turn over slowly when the weather is cold. You also need to consider whether your motorcycle's charging system will properly charge a lithium battery. Lead acid (liquid), AGM, gel, and lithium batteries all have slightly different charging requirements.
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ChiefGunner
And don’t forget the Christmas horror videos of someone buying a lithium battery scooter and charging it and the scooter bursting into flames.
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Calculon
I walked right by it to get the battery for my snow blower. 😢
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D
Been using lithium batteries on all my bikes for past 10-yrs now. Won't ever go back to lead-acid. So much less maintenance.
  • can sit 3-6 months without losing charge
  • no need to string extension-cords all over garage to charge bikes that have been sitting (or remove for charging on bench).
  • much more cranking power for same size package (or much smaller/lighter package, my track bike has tiny 4-cell lithium battery).

Yes, lithium batteries have higher full-charge voltage 16.8v, so they'll be slightly undercharged with existing charging systems. That's OK, as it'll extend their lifetime not being charged to 100% all the time. About 90% is optimal.
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D
Replacing fork-seals and fork-oil on CBR600RR today:
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H
I admire you guys that know how to do stuff. My Husband was that way too. He could fix anything. Me, I'm still waiting for my brother to get a chance to come help me try to find that short on Bike.
Today I had to move Bike over to get at the shelves with my seed starting supplies, and I checked the battery tender. Still green lights. Tire pressures still good too.
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Offcenter
Knowing how to do stuff comes from trying and learning from the experience.
No one ever taught me how to do this stuff. I guess I just had a natural interest in fixing things since I was a kid.
If you get in there and try to fix your bike, you'll learn. And it will just get easier as time goes on.
Just rebuilt the clutch slave cylinder on mine yesterday.
Working fine again.
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Easydrifter
Today I replaced the carburetor on my 250 scooter with a new one, also put a new coil on it and replaced all of the fuel lines including the filter and replaced all of the vacuum lines, also used new clamps on all of the hoses. Good thing parts are cheap for cheap Chinese scooters. It's running good in the shop but still need to put all of the plastic body panels and seat back on before the test drive.
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ChiefGunner
Looking back through here it looks like I forgot to post the results of my valve check and adjustment. I also replaced spark plugs and cleaned air filter.
The front cylinder all valves were at 0.0 except for one exhaust which was 0.02mm and even then it was tight, so that was basically 0 and not worth messing with. The rear cylinder all were at 0.0 except the left exhaust which was a loose 0.04mm. I adjusted that one and brought it to 0.0
After reassembly and testing the bike starts immediately and runs both quieter and stronger and the best part is my mileage went from 35mpg to 41.9mpg!
Well worth the effort and I saved myself $1200.
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mike721
DannoXYZ said:
Been using lithium batteries on all my bikes for past 10-yrs now. Won't ever go back to lead-acid. So much less maintenance.
  • can sit 3-6 months without losing charge
  • no need to string extension-cords all over garage to charge bikes that have been sitting (or remove for charging on bench).
  • much more cranking power for same size package (or much smaller/lighter package, my track bike has tiny 4-cell lithium battery).

Yes, lithium batteries have higher full-charge voltage 16.8v, so they'll be slightly undercharged with existing charging systems. That's OK, as it'll extend their lifetime not being charged to 100% all the time. About 90% is optimal.
Click to expand...
I like the higher amps available but I keep hearing they have issues when cold. Have you tried one in cold weather? How did it perform? My definition of cold is sitting for at least 12 hours in 10f weather.


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mike721
hogcowboy said:
You might find this interesting when it comes to lithium batteries.
ampedoutdoors.com

Why we do not sell Lithium Cranking Batteries!

The advancements in modern day fishing have caused many anglers to seek out the major advantages of lithium battery products. Amped Outdoors has been on the leading edge of providing technologies that are in the best interest of their end users by supplying some of the most advanced lithium...
ampedoutdoors.com ampedoutdoors.com
Click to expand...
I see they mentioned cold weather too.
I think I’m staying away from them for now.


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mike721
I decided to wake up my 45 year old Honda from its winter slumber so I unplugged it, put it up on the center stand, turned on the fuel and pulled out the choke.

The good news.. it started on the second kick, hey it’s a Honda :)

The bad news.. 30 seconds after it started I noticed a rapidly spreading puddle of oil under the engine! Like most unrestored antiques it seeps a bit of oil here and there normally but this was serious, like a pint of oil on the ground in a minute serious.
Uh oh!!!!!

I shut it down and looked for the source of the huge leak, was easy enough to find, the oil filter housing was pouring out oil. I checked and the bolt was tight, so I looked further.

I cleaned up the mess and drained the oil and unbolted the housing, looks like over the winter the o ring shrunk and it was leaking there. I had a new filter and o ring so I changed it, filled the oil, ran it and no leaks! Hopefully it stays that way.

I wonder if the o rings I have are bad, they came in a box of parts with the bike, might be 30 years old.for all I know. If this one leaks after a while maybe I’ll buy new and try that.

I cleaned the chain and lubed it, lubed the clutch cable, added air to the tires and then took it out for a short ride.

I know from experience that 35f is too cold to ride that bike for long with no wind protection or possibility of using heated gear so I only rode 20 miles, I was very chilly by the time I got back but it ran like a top, of course it did, it’s a Honda :)


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