The battery on my DRZ

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powderhoundbrr

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Any bets on whether the battery I took out of my DRZ in the fall and then stored in my nice warm basement for the winter will take a charge this weekend.

I meant to put it on a trickle charger but forgot. Should I just go buy a new one or will this one still work? Any thoughts?
 
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Guest

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unless its several years old, stored indoors, with no draw on it, should be fine.

Charge it up, and go riding.:hb:
 
Rib Eye

Rib Eye

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Hold on there - two years in a row I have done this for my DRZ400 - removed the battery & trickle charged in the fall - let it sit in a cool garage - come springI have had a dead, dead battery. Both times the battery won't take or keep a charge. Maybe just bad luck?

But in any case - try charging your battery up first, then the battery sit over night. The next morning install it and try a few engine start-ups. A good battery should turn over your engine several times with no problems. But if you only get a couple of starts before the battery starts to die - well, sorry to say but your battery didn't fair the winter and you should consider a new one.

Good luck
 
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blackelmo

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I keep mine on a battery tender whenever I'm not riding and it stays in the bike all year long, but then again Chilliwack has a warmer winter than Kimberley.

If you do need a new one Thumper Talk OEM store sells the stock battery for $65.00 plus the $10.00 yearly membership fee.
 
tomcycle

tomcycle

Past President DSBC 2004 -2018
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Do yourself a favour, take that battery to edmonds and have them check it, I think they may even charge it for you at no charge. Proper storage and charging for a lead acid battery is specific, just throwing it back in the bike and crossing your fingers is not the right way. The charging system in your bike is only to keep the charge up and not recharge the battery.

A poor battery will destroy your charging system on your bike, melt electrical connections and burn out your starter. All of these are expensive to fix, and can be prevented with proper battery maintenance.

Canadian Tire has some really nice electronic battery chargers that go on sale all the time. most of them have three stage charging and a host of other cool features. 12 amp charger usually goes on sale for 50.00 bucks and you can use it on your car. If you have an electric vest plug you can set it to 2 amp charge and hold, and just plug the charger in when your bike is in storage. (in other words you can use it like a battery tender)

Tom
 
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J-ROCK

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Try to keep your charging rate at .7amp and no more then 1amp.

Anything more then that will damage your battery and shorten it's life.
 
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cactusreid

Active member
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what ever you do-don't just set your battery on the concrete floor of your garage!! i don't know the science behind this,but i do know that it sucks the life force out of any battery very quickly! put it on a shelf or at least on a 2x4 off the floor.
 
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Bugsinteeth

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This may open up a can of worms but what the hell.

When I bought my DRZ I was very aware about the bikes reputation for eating batteries. I tried to treat it well over it's first winter. Despite my efforts it was kaput in the spring. The bike, bought new at a local dealer, was still under warranty so I explained my situation.The dealeragreed to replace my battery at no charge on the condition that I purchase a charger from him and follow his recommended proceedure for winter battery care. The charger is a Yuasa brand and I think was less than fifty bucks.

So:

Remove battery from bike, clean it,(as required based on batt type fill cells to appropriat level with distilled water)store in a warm dry place. Note: adding distilled water was not necessary part of proceedure for DRZ

Once a month hook up battery to charger and charge until it goes green or float, REMOVE FROM CHARGER . ( I put a sticky note on the battery and write the date of last charge because I will forget)

Repeat monthly proceedure until winter is over.

reinstall and ride.



I don't claim to be a battery expert. All I know is this proceedure works. I never replaced my battery again despite many seasons of hard use.

Dealers perspective to justify above proceedure:

YUASA charger is a quality product made by or possiably for, the company that supplies quality OEM batteries. Cheepo one's don't necessarily do as good a job.

Battery tenders (battery left hooked up on float all winter) often cook or kill batteries.

I certainly have read a lot of dead battery stories after being hooked up to Tenders . Dealer says in spring guys come into his shop(scratching their heads) all the time and wonder how theirpampered /tendered batteries left onfloat charge all winterhave gone south. This dealer does not carrythe Tenderbrand in his store nor does he recommend leaving a motorcycle battery on float all winter. No matter what the brand of charger.

It's possiable I got hosed into buying a new charger and he(the dealer) sticks the knife in by goguing guys intospending an extra $50 bucks in spring when they knock onhis door with a dead battery.Even I'm not cynical enough to believe that. I've been dealing withthis guy for many years and trust his word.As stated above I am no battery expert and won't be arguing the merits of battery tenders here.

All I know is the above stated proceedure has worked well for me over many winters.

Paul N.:)
 
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nvdrzboy

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I wasn't aware of any issues regarding DRZ's appetite for batteries, nor did I worry too much about my battery, that was just my excuse to ride year round (strata bylaws dictate that it has to be insured, so what the heck). Of course, that's probably a whole lot easier in the lower mainland than it is in the Kootenays! Same holds true for my current bike too.

OTOH, I rented a house for a couple of years and the owners needed us to ensure their car remained running, so we used a trickle charger, never a problem.

So powderhoundbrr, it's been a few days since your post, did the battery work?
 
Phoenix

Phoenix

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Can't imagine it being a DRZ specific problem, any battery left long enough without doin' it's thing will suffer. I live in a condo but haven't insured for year round road use the last couple of years( storage insurance of course). Same battery since new (Feb. '05), my procedure is to start the bike every two weeks or three, run up to operating temp and thats it. Must have the battery gods on my side;) cause still no issues three years on.
 
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powderhoundbrr

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Well put it on the charger for a few hours and the ole girl fired right up. Turning into good riding weather too.
 
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cloudsuck

Member
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I have a '06 DRZ and tried "the olde garage door light socket to power a crappy old charger trick". My battery was totally flat come spring because the leakage of this charger was too high.

I did some reading about chargers and found the CTEK Multi 3300

https://www.shopatron.com/product/part_number=56-158/560.0.23205.0.0.0.0

http://www.ctek.com/EN-US/Buy-US-Charger.aspx

If you have a discount at Lordco you can get them for around $65 there.

This charger recovered my AGM battery. I just permanently installed the loop ring connector leads to the battery terminals and ran the quick disconnect out to the side of the battery cover where I can connect the charger easily after I ride. Make certain to only use the charge setting that has the motorcycle icon.

You can also use this unit for other auto or RV type batteries. It is a good one.
 
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J-ROCK

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If anyone needs a discount account at Lordco... say your from Blackflag4x4.com
 
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