The New And Improved Unofficial R65 Forum V2
Technical Discussion => BMW Technical Q&A, Primarily R65 => Topic started by: barcelona_r65 on January 11, 2011, 05:26:50 AM
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Hey ... I'm really REALLY getting tired of changing my battery every 18-24 months ... has anyone replaced theirs with an Oddysey dry cell battery? ... How'd it hold up?
Any recommendations for how to not drain my battery on my short ride home at night? ... I'm getting tired of push-starting every other day!
Is there a headlight bulb that consumes less?
http://www.batterybank.net/odyssey/BMWMotorcycle.html
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Works great. Mine has been in my bike since September 2006. However you will need a Odessy Battery Charger and you should use it when ever the bike is at home and parked -- especially if you have the original 280 watt alternator.
I have the 2.5 amp Deltran Waterproof connected to my bike as the standard 800Ma Waterproof or the bottom of the line 1.25 amp charger will not bring the PC680 back up to full charge if it gets discharged for some reason.
Whatever charger you buy, it must be Odessey specific.
Good luck.
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Is there a headlight bulb that consumes less?
All batteries have shorter lives in hot climates. Wet cell types are more affected so you might well be better off with an Oddessy.
I don't know about lower wattage main headlight bulbs. For a daylight running light I use a 20W halogen bulb in the pilot light fitting. It's obviously not a focused beam, surprisingly bright though and saves 3 amps and you would still have a good headlight when you need it.
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I have a battery here that has the same dimensions as the one used in the R65 but is used in a different application. Three of those batteries in series is used to power an electric scooter. I believe it is called a deep cycle battery. It's designed to continuously power high demand electronics while not receiving charge at all. Downside is weight. It significantly heavier than the normal battery. But who cares? It the bike that's carrying it, not me.
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I don't know what the cost of an Odyssey battery is in your part of the world, but they have gotten a bit too pricey for me .
I would do some research to see if you can get a generic SLA/AGM type battery instead .
SLA/AGM, sealed lead acid, absorbed glass mat, in case you were wondering .
The two that I have had, were manufactured in Viet Nam and of course China, I would think they would be readily available in your area .
This is what I'm currently using in three of the bikes .
http://www.staabbattery.com/product/UB12220-V.html
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It looks like I can get an Odyssey over here for 99€ total ...
I think my mechanic was gettin' me for 60€ for the standard "wet" battery that I've been having to change every 2-3 years on average ...
Looks like it might be worth it ...
I'm not sure I understand the "charger" comment by Semper Gumby or if I have the original 280 watt alternator ... hmmm
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are you keeping the revs above 3K? I was having battery charging problems until someone pointed out that I had been riding like a wuss and needed to keeps my revs higher
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I'm not sure I understand the "charger" comment by Semper Gumby
Different battery chemistry needs slightly different charge voltages. Ideally maybe even the voltage regulator should be adjusted to suit.
I think Snowbum has some info on making voltage regulators adjustable.
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are you keeping the revs above 3K? I was having battery charging problems until someone pointed out that I had been riding like a wuss and needed to keeps my revs higher
Carlos (my mechanic) explained to me that the alternator doesn't charge until it reaches 1800rpm ... I've been conscious of my revs, brake light at traffic lights, headlight, and everything since then.
Rather than "wuss", I pride myself as the "cat that cruises along through the city on my old black beast! ... only rivalled by the posers on their dime-a-dozen-Harleys ..." ;)
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I have had a Odyssey 680 in my bike for several years.
I don't know where people get the idea that the charger has to be "Odyssey specific".
These batteries ARE different from traditional wet cell batteries in that they encourage the use of HIGH amperage when charging. I use the 10 amp setting on my auto battery charger for about 30 minutes. Has been working like a champ all these years.
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Ok now ... here's a twist...
Since so many of you are talking about chargers, is there something I've missed? ... I've never "charged" my bike ... Am I a numbskull or was I to assume when I bought my bike 12+ years ago that it needed to be "plugged in" at night? :-?
I park it in a garage, and turn it off and lock it ... and that's that.
I guess that if I didn't live in the city I could park it in my home, and cover it with a blanket, and pamper it with all sorts of extras ... but I'm 100% urban and don't know if I could even swing convincing the garage owner to let me "plug my motorcycle in at night" ... I'm sure I'd at least get a crazy look out of him if I were to ask ... :D
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All depends on how the bike is ridden .
If you are in city traffic, stop lights every mile or kilometer, the engine rpm doesn't get up to where it's doing much more than providing enough power for current consumption, let alone charging the battery .
When I first got my R65, my commute to work was 5.5 miles (9km) and 13 stop lights .
If I didn't put the battery on charge, or take the bike out for an hour or two run at highway speeds on my weekend, I could only go seven days before the battery wouldn't turn the starter .
I've got an eleven mile (18km) drive to work now and nine miles (15km) are at 65 mph (105kph), no charging problems with this usage .
The R65 only gets used on weekends now, so I put a float charger on it while it's not being used .
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I've never "charged" my bike
For maximum life a battery has to be fully charged all the time. That can be achieved by riding regularly enough and fast enough or if not by a top up charge say every weekend. There are other variables like temperature and some battery chemistry's take neglect a lot better than others but in the end it's fully charged or a shorter life. There are no other options.
I'm astounded that Odyssey claim their batteries last 2 years before needing a charge @ 25[ch730]C (77[ch730]F) but then they also say that standard batteries last 6-12 weeks before needing charge In my experience even with a brand new battery that's too long and with an older battery it's just nonsense.
When I'm using the bike every day I charge the car battery once a week and when I'm using the car ....
I suppose I'm a bit obsessive but my last car battery lasted 11 or 12 years and I expect at least 5 years out of a standard wet cell bike battery.
OK if I am obsessive it's because I used to look after a bank of computer back up batteries that cost £000's to replace so we used to try and get a good life out of them.
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I don't know where people get the idea that the charger has to be "Odyssey specific". <snip>
Experience and a low battery on an early morning when the bike wouldn't start last winter. I realized my Deltran 1.25 amp charger wasn't enough. I had to take the cage. Very disappointing. I have the 2.5 amp Waterproof and now have no worries... 8-)
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Odyssey chargers appear to be automatic 3 stage devices which is desirable and will be kind to the battery but can't be essential otherwise an airhead alternator wouldn't charge it.
What an Odyssey seems to need according to it's specification is a slightly higher than normal charge voltage at 14.7 volts which is effectively what Rob is doing when he switches to the high current setting on his charger. A battery charger has to supply a higher voltage to drive a higher current. Automatic chargers set this at a specific value sometimes adjustable internally with a pot. In the ideal world an airhead voltage regulator could also be adjusted up a little to match Odyssey battery characteristics.
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Just becareful that your "high amp" non-Oddessey charger doesn't exceed 15 volts or you will do damage to an expensive battery.
caveat emptor!
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.... an airhead alternator wouldn't charge it. ...
Are you saying that without a charger, my alternator ... even if I were to ride from say here to Madrid and back, would not be able to fully charge an Odyssey battery? ... wow ... this is getting complicated!
I spoke with my mechanic about this today. He says that he has access to and installs Genesis dry-cell batteries (128€ + 35€ charger)and has many pleased customers with them ... Will the Odyssey FIT without having to modify the tray/wires/etc? ... Carlos says that he drops the Genesis right in ... not fuss ...
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I've had several Oddysey batteries in the past and just used the same trickle chargers we've always used on the BMW batteries. No problems for me - and I don't ride daily. My Oddysey batteries outlasted my BMW batteries. They are getting a bit expensive, though. So this time I've bought a generic battery...we'll see how it lasts.
Interesting thing. We bought this most recent battery from O'Reilly Auto Parts store. Had to special order it and wait 2-3 weeks for it to arrive. No problem since it's in the middle of winter/holiday season and we wouldn't be riding anytime soon (plus I had others if we did want to ride.)
Got the battery just before we headed to Atlanta for the holidays and left it until we returned. As we were checking it out before installing it, Graham noticed that there was no acid in the battery! Huh - that was a first. We went back to O'Reillys and they offered to SELL us some battery acid - 6 quarts worth!!! They said that not all the batteries they sell came with acid, like their motorcycle batteries. :o Interesting thing was we had recently special ordered 2 small batteries for our dirt bikes that came in a box, dry, but with the acid included separately. Quick and easy - turn the acid container upside down on the battery and it self-fills. O'Reilly's seemed completely unphased by the ridiculousness of selling a battery that is completely useless without the acid. ::)
Luckily I still have a good relationship with the dealership I used to work for and they took care of me. Now that's one for the books!
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Will the Odyssey FIT without having to modify the tray/wires/etc?
Yes, it drops right into place. The terminals are a little tricky though. Just different.
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The charging system on your R65 will charge the battery properly regardless of type, as long as the engine speeds are at least in the 4000-4500 rpm area .
Highway speeds are what the charging system is designed for, not in city type use .
The requirement for 'static' charging, charging not done by the charging system, is for a higher voltage to keep the battery at a peak level of charge, batteries tend to last longer if kept at the higher charge level when not in use .
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Are you saying that without a charger, my alternator ... even if I were to ride from say here to Madrid and back, would not be able to fully charge an Odyssey battery? ... wow ... this is getting complicated!
Not at all.
I was saying that our airhead's do charge it so Odyssey's requirement for a special charger is therefore invalid. (The statement was an over simplification but lets not make it even more complicated).
However in a perfect world and particularly for those who do short journeys maybe our airheads could charge it at a slightly higher voltage than they do for a standard wet cell but not too high as Bill points out and that's probably the reason why Odyssey recommend auto chargers.
Any automotive charging system must be a compromise when faced with different journeys with batteries of different chemistry and slightly different charging requirements. It is possible to make our charging system adjustable if you seek perfection. Snowbum covers this in great detail. Most will see this as an unnecessary complication and that's fine.
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We went back to O'Reillys and they offered to SELL us some battery acid - 6 quarts worth!!!They said that not all the batteries they sell came with acid,
It's not uncommon for mail order batteries to be sold unfilled they have the excuse of transport regulations but a store should have filled it for you or supplied the acid in those special tubes.
At the risk of going on and on about battery care I hope everyone realises that a new battery is not ready for use when you put the acid in. It needs charging !
As ever Snowbum provides for perfection if you want to do it right.
http://bmwmotorcycletech.info/newbattery.htm
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Ok ... so throughout all this "hub-bub" I'd decided to get this problem out of the way ... hence I lean on all of you, dear friends ... and I truly thank you all for your input....
Here's what's gone down: I still have my old battery ... and I haven't had to push-start in 3 days now! (I start it early morning, lunch, after lunch, quittin' time ... and a couple other times each day ... let's say an average of 6 starts per day ... and typically only city-riding ... with far too many traffic lights) But I've changed my riding "style" a bit in an attempt to charge and keep charged my battery ... focusing more on higher rpm's ... I even changed my morning route to include about 10k of open highway (80km/hr limit, though ...)
Bottom line? ... I've got my battery up, charged and working ...
Trade-off? ... I am now spending as much or more money on gasoline (more km's higher rpm's, etc ...) than it would have cost me to get the Odyssey w/charger and have my baby runnin' just fine ...
Risks? I ride almost always with my "position" light only (the little one, parking light? Not sure what it's called in English ... but it's the dim bulb linked w/rear light) instead of the low beam (as is required by LAW here!)
Benefits? ... I get more ride time ... and am surely diggin' that ... even if it's just my morning commute ... once the warm weather arrives it'll be even better!
Next topic! ... what replacement bulb(s) can I use to reduce battery consumption? Are there LED's out there that will do the trick without draining my battery? (... or my wallet!!!) ....
Thanks y'all! ;)
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There are new, longer lasting (claimed) Lithium Ion batteries now availble for Goldwings. They my also be vailable for other bikes. Check this out:
http://wingstuff.com/pgroup_detail/41_Home_New_Products/32651_Shorai_Gold_Wing_Battery_Worlds_Lightest_Longest/?goto=%2Findex.php
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Some more info from the Shorai website:
http://www.shoraipower.com/s-49855-R65LS.aspx
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what replacement bulb(s) can I use to reduce battery consumption?
I think I already mentioned that one option is to substitute the 5 w "parking bulb" with a 20w halogen. Even if it wasn't halogen a 20w bulb is a lot more than 4 times brighter than a 5 w because of increased efficiency. They really are at least 10 times brighter. Worth a try for a couple of euro's. You need to search for a BA9s Halogen.
(http://)
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An LED bulb in the pilot light (parking light) will economize power, same for the rear lamp, although a red LED behind a red lens will be a bit dim and unnecessary. In this country LEDs for the R65 pilot are available from Paul Goff, though I don't know if he has a white one for the rear lamp. I'm sure there are suppliers in the US too.
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I saw this on another site.it involves switching the parking light wire so you can run with the parking light on instead of the headlight.
http://www.roadkill.com/~davet/moto/euromod.html
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That looks like a good source to bookmark: http://www.roadkill.com/~davet/moto/bmw.html
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That really is a good site. The link to Jim Buchanan's article on the BMW charging system appears to be broken though. Strange as his other articles are ok. Here's a link to his own web site.
http://www.buchanan1.net/motorcycles.shtm
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She sat in the garage all weekend ... I parked her at 9:30pm on Friday after riding home with the headlight on ...
Last night (Monday) at 9:30pm I went down to start her ... and she cranked right up! ... that's a first in a LONG time for me!
Like I said, longer commute to work (and higher RPM's) ... but the ride is nice, it keeps me charged (battery too) and all's well (the gas money is worth the 25mins of open road!)
;)
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But officer,I was just trying to keep the battery charged.
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But officer,I was just trying to keep the battery charged.
;D
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...Like I said, longer commute to work (and higher RPM's) ... ;)
randall wrote:
But officer,I was just trying to keep the battery charged.
That's RPM's ... not MPH's ...
(well,you busted me ... maybe just a little more of the MPH's too!)
::)