Gel Battery

[308]

Anyone have any insight to battery issues? I have a 2004 1150R with the gel battery. The bike sat for a year in the previous owner's garage before I bought it from him with under 100 miles on it. The battery needed a charge but otherwise has operated fine in the 1300 mile I've put on since until the other day when it suddenly went dead on a short errand trip. Fortunately it turned the engine over just enough to start the bike and I made it home OK. I put it on the charger overnight and it has been fine since without any more charging.

[bimrluvr]

You probably have nothing to worry about. In general, short trips are more taxing on a battery cause the trip is too short to recharge the battery. With a battery that sat for a year, it probably was deeply disharged unless it was kept on a trickle charger. If you keep it on the charger between uses it should be fine, and more so if its a charger made for use with the gel batteries.

Enjoy you're new bike, welcome to the board, and post pics!!

[riders]

I also have a 2004 1150R which will be 3 years old this May. The battery starts the bike fine but I was wondering if I should go ahead and replace it since it is so hard to get to and I don't want to be on a trip and have it die???????????????????

[tor1150r]

I had battery issues with my 04.
Bought the BMW charger (gel friendly model, with trickle) and it helped a little. Problem was I had a dud battery. Warranty replacement - I'll have a brand new one come this spring.

I recently attanded a BMW service seminar. The tech also stated that it's the short trips that take toll on the battery. They claim that initial start-up uses close to 50% of the juice, and recommend a 30 minute ride to bring the juice back up.

[leno]

I would be tempted to put a new one in. This bike does rely on the battery a lot and sitting for a year is not going to have done it any good and likely some harm. so I would think you might have a 80% working unit. Okay most of the time but bound to kick you in the nuts just when you need it.

[priapismic]

If there's ever the slightest doubt as to whether there will be enough juice to get you started, go ahead and replace the battery, it's worth it for the peace of mind.

I had similar issues with my early release '04. I ride the bike regularly, it never sits for more than a week (and usually not that long), so I've never felt like I needed a battery tender to keep it charged. Plus, when I do ride, the shortest trip I make is 25-30 minutes to work and back. Most of my trips are for a spirited ride, lasting upwards of several hours. So, when my battery showed weakness and failed to start just once (it was then two and a half years old), I didn't hesitate to replace it at my earliest opportunity. Oh, it held a charge from my old trickle charger and got me started several more times, but I'd rather have the peace of mind that comes with a new battery.

[CycleRob]

308,
Sitting for a year may not damage a gel battery IF it wasn't hooked up in the bike and powering the parasitic clock and Motronic memory loads. I'd say leno has it right with his 80% power remaining figure. Your battery was run down by those parasitic loads and will have to be replaced soon. If you want to test it, turn the key on with the headlite's high beam on for 5 minutes, then operate the starter on a cold engine with no fast idle or no throttle so the engine intentionally cranks WITHOUT starting for a max of 30 seconds. I bet the cranking speed starts to slow down after less than 10 seconds - - - indicating a previously neglected, thoughtlessly abused, permanently damaged battery that should be replaced.

A good battery will pass this test with a barely perceptable change in the cranking speed tune.

[vintagecycle]

Anyone one know if the Deltran Battery Tender Plus will work okay on our batteries?
Deltrans' website says it will charge GEL batteries but I'm wonderin if BMW is just a little different, requiring the BMW charger.
I don't want to buy another charger unless I have to....

Dan

[bimrluvr]

Deltran builds the BMW tender for BMW. The company has confirmed (according to e-mails posted by others) that the programming of the BMW version is a little different than the rest. Supposedly, any 3 or 4 stage gel battery charger should be OK. Frankly, for the $10 difference, I just got the BMW charger from Chicago BMW for $62, just so no one can argue if I ever have a warranty issue with my less than 1 year old bike's battery.
CycleGadgets.com carries the Deltran labeled version for BMW gels.

[vintagecycle]

Thanks for the reply bmrluvr!

[Badger]

I've got the Deltran Junior and use it with my '04 r1150r......so far so good.......I don't leave it on full time, just use to charge up if the bike has been sitting for more than a cold week or two......already had the unit when I got the beemer.....couldn't see paying $$$ for a "bmw" unit.