Carry an extra battery?

So my 990 left me stranded... Again ! Due to a dead battery. I'm considering carrying an extra battery now when I head out solo into not so traveled areas. I'm wondering if I could get by with a small Ballistic 4 cell to act as a jump start battery, just because it's so small is my reason for that choice. Has anyone done this? :huh

The small battery (you haven't mentioned its Ah and CCA capacity) won't be able to start the LC8 engine on its own so you will have to parallel it with the stock battery. With the stock one being weakened due to repeated starting attempts, it will damage your other smaller battery very quickly. I had a 6Ah battery in parallel to my stock Yuasa and it (the small one) got killed pretty quick say, within 1-2months.

I run a dual battery setup (having a non-ABS S version helps) using two 10Ah batteries in parallel, no isolator. Proved its worth when a riding buddy had his battery die on a ride and i loaned him my 2nd battery for the rest of the ride. So yes, i'd say you will have to carry atleast a 9-10Ah battery for jump starting in the worst case that your stocker is dead. If you have a 950 then an 8Ah battery will be fine IMO as it has lesser current draw (no FI pump, injectors, sensors etc). Edit - just sawq you have a 990.So you need the larger Ah capacity.

I carry an extra Shorai with me and I charge both the Shorai in the bike and the spare one on regular basis with Shorai's special charger. The extra battery is less than one kg (about 2 pounds) and the charger weight is about nothing. This is a safe setup in my mind. I know some may disagree.

Any of the LiPo 8 cell batteries will start an LC8. I used a 8 cell TurnTech for two years as my primary battery in my 950 until I upgraded to an Earth X 18 cell.

An 8 cell carried as a back up would be less than 2 pounds.

what about using a RC battery like a Turnigy? They are much cheaper, you can easily make up some jumper cables to jump the bike or your buddies bike.

Something like this? I have no idea if it would work but these RC batteries put out an astonishing amount of power. I don't think the amp hour really matters since the starting cycle is so short.

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__10096__Turnigy_5000mAh_4S_35C_Lipo_Pack.html

Just as important question is:

why is your battery dying?

When the bike is running low RPMs and you are in slow technical terrain the rad fan will be running most of the time. This puts a lot more load on the charging/battery system when the lights are on as well. Some riders install a light switch (or you can pull the light fuse) to turn off the lights when in this situation to save the battery. Maybe try that when you are out next time.

MZ

RC batteries lack the CCA to reliably turn a bike engine over repeatedly.

This thread is quite informative on different battery technologies and their pros-cons.

I have a fairly new battery but the cold just kills it. I left it outside last night as an experiment.. It was on a charger all night the night before and then sat all day and night and it's dead right now. It's a big worry laying in the tent at night and wondering if it will start. I have taken the battery out and stuffed it in the bottom of my sleeping bag for the night and had success, but that is a pain in the ass.

I'm blaming some of this on the cheap Bikemaster battery I installed. I just don't think it's as powerful as the Yuasa I replaced. I'm going to install a stock Yuasa and try an 8 cell as a backup and see what happens.

You either have a bad battery or a leak. Somthing drawing juice when in the off position. That battery should start the bike after a couple weeks of below zero temps. Check accesories and see what is powered when the key is off. I.e. GPS, phone charger, grip heaters, etc. My 990 will start at -9 F, did it last week after sitting for a month.

I've been thinking this thru after suffering a dead battery in the middle of nowhere too. Luckily I was able to get a jump for my bike.

First step was to get the Euro headlight switch so to save juice when offroad. Second is to pick up a LiFePo battery.. the smaller Shorai's seem compact and light enough solution.

But they do not like cold weather....

sounds like you've isolated problem to a battery not holding charge.

recommendations is replace with a quality AGM like Odyssey. if saving weight over $$$ makes more sense, then go with Earth-X ETX36 or Shorai LFX36 for adventure duties.

currently those are the only two batteries I can recommend for an adventure bike that will be far from home, especially doing cold campouts.

to make sure there's no parasitic drain and your charging system is working properly.

you will need a known to be correct meter. a $3 harbor freight meter will do just fine, once it's been checked against a reliable meter like Fluke 87V.

take any primary lithium battery to a store that sells Fluke meters (HVAC) then measure cell with both meters.

1. after charging your lead acid battery overnight with preferably a conventional charger. some battery tender charge so slow it could take days.

2. after allowing battery to rest overnight to bleed off surface charge. lead acid battery should read about 12.85V for flooded PB, 13v for AGM if holding full charge.

3. a basic charging system check is to measure voltage at battery, while revving engine to medium rpm. 13.8v to 14.2v is the normal range. note intermittent charge issue are the worst.

4. to check for parasitic drain, set your meter to measure amp in series. then hook in series with disconnected ground with everything off. ck with bike mfg to find out normal drain rate if any.

for more info ... visit my LiFePO4 testing thread .. link in sig

I live in Arizona

I've been cold in Arizona.

But for me it's cold below 55. Below 40, I'm curled in a corner, covered in blankets crying like a baby. I've heard it gets colder, and frozen water falls out of the sky in great drifts. But that's crazy talk.

It's warmed up a bit.. Now it's 26 but battery is still dead. :eek1

Maybe I should move to AZ or San Diego and be done with it...

So as a test I tried this quick setup and it started the bike. That's a battery for my 525 and 10 foot jumper cables from Autozone.

Good to see you can get it going wih that tiny 525 battery. I have a 530 and the battery is tiny too.
While you have that jumper setup use a meter in series with one of the jumper cables to see if current is flowing with switch turned off. Might be a bad battery in the first place but it would be good to check if noticeable current is flowing when the switch is off. Another possibility is the charging circuit is not working so well on your bike. The battery will eventually run down to nothing and won't start.

MZ

Based on what I have seen with those RC batteries, I'd beg to differ. I'm going to buy one to try out. This will be a test not for an RC battery to perm replace a bike battery, but as a ooops, battery is dead and I need a jump in the middle of BFE. Out comes the RC pack with alligator clips and vroom.

They are cheap enough and I already have a balancing charger.

So here's the vehicles I'm going to attempt to start with it. I'll take videos

Husqvarna TXC 511 Fuel injected (not even going to parallel the current battery, just see if the RC battery will start it cold as the "sole" battery)

CBR600, same deal. This bike has a Shorai

FZ1, bike has a Yaesu AGM. I'll see if the RC battery will start this bike without the original battery hooked up, and then I'll drain the bike battery down to where the solenoid is clicking and then parallel the RC battery and see what happens.

Ninja 650, bike has no battery

don't use RC li-po batteries on 12v motorcycle systems. voltages are not compatible. a 4s or 3.7v x 4 = 14.8v nominal, operating voltages are 3.5v x 4 = 14v (empty) .. fully charged 4.2v x 4 = 16.8v (full)

RC li-po packs are lithium cobalt which are inherently dangerous. nominal voltage is 3.7v... 3.5v -4.2v fully charged... go 1/2v over 4.2 .. there's a good possibility battery will go into thermal runaway (explosion) search RC forums for li-po fires ...

Boeing 787 uses lithium cobalt cells that need all sorts of safeties to prevent battery from going into thermal runaway.

unlike LiFePO4 batteries which are inherently safe... 3.3v nominal voltage... 12.8v to 13.3v delivers 90% of useable current. fully charged at 14.6v

12v system typically charge at 13.8v to 14.2v... so a 12v charging system in good condition cannot overcharge a LiFePO4 battery.

If you really just want to carry an extra battery and want to make sure it's charged at all times then I would recommend one of those expensive light weight ones on KTM twins. Mount it in the underseat storage and run power cables from the main battery through a battery isolator to the battery under the seat. Then have jumper cables for that oh shit moment. You would only need to run two wires so setup would be a breeze.

Or make sure to run accessories like heated grips through a circuit that shuts off with the ignition.

Also load test your battery.