Kawi2strokes.com Forum

After 8 years, my ZX10 battery has expired , so , onto E-bay for a cheap Chinese Gel battery, 12v 10ah. This thing came thru the normal post, no restrictions, plugged it in, bike starts and is good, took 1/2 a second to start after sitting for a month. Now I am going away for a week or so, and I have the battery sitting on the bench, doing nothing. So my question is, will this be O.K. and what is the life expectancy of a gel battery, that might not do much for a period of time? My charger will do 4amps, so I can't really do a 1amp trickle charge, and I don't really know if it needs anything! Anyone care to comment on gel batteries and inattention?!

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"One day, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching." : anon.

Ride your bike and charge it well before you leave and it should be fine when you return in a month.
If it is out on the bench already and you rode the bike for a bit, same deal.
I finally invested a few bucks and bought a better charger with different AMP settings.

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Bad decisions make the best stories.

Going away for a week? No problem. Why'd you pull it?

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H2B..... H1E..... Z1B ..... RD350...... X6 Hustler..... TS250.... CB750 ..... CB550...... and a Bomber!!

Thanks Steve, yeah it is just new now, just wondered where/when it got its initial charge, and how long that will last just sitting around.........?

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"One day, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching." : anon.

It's almost certainly an AGM, not a gel type. A new one should hold a charge for a long time, definitely months. I use cheap AGMs in my motorcycles, and I've had one sit in the bike, unused, for several months without a problem. I got about five years out of the $20 one in my H2 before a couple accidental full discharges killed it. I think the 18 amp-hour one in my Guzzi was $34.

AGMs are sensitive to overcharging, so you're right not to use a 4 amp charger on it, unless it's a "smart charger".

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If it surges, that's normal, upshift.

Thanks Jim, it's labelled a gel, and just the fact it came thru the normal mail leads me to think it is !? I think I'll go away and forget about it! (Holiday in Robe, S. A. - the crayfish ((lobster) capital of the World!!

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"One day, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching." : anon.

OK Rod, my error, but I get my AGMs from normal shippers too, no special treatment. In fact, I bought a wet 6v battery for the DT100 last year and it came with its acid in a plastic bottle with the empty battery, regular shipping. I'm not sure that's really allowed, but that's how I got it.

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If it surges, that's normal, upshift.

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"One day, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching." : anon.

You would get an argument from me on lobster fishing Rod.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QJKWc0nvac

I fished lobsters amongst other sea critters for years myself in PEI Canada.
Video was shot aboard the boat owned by Brad Richards Mom and Dad last year.
If you're not into hockey, he plays for the Rangers.

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Bad decisions make the best stories.

Hey, I said Lobsters, not shrimps, Steve!! I'm actually on the quality control/tasting end of things - just a family holiday to taste the local product, fishing, free dog beach, etc! Cheers!

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"One day, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching." : anon.