Why Does My Motorcycle Battery Keep Dying?
Does your motorcycle battery keep dying and you're not sure why? If so, we'll run through some of the top reasons why this is happening to your bike and what you can do about it.
Non-Use
By far, this is the most common reason motorcycle batteries keep dying. Very few motorcyclists are lucky enough to be able to ride on a regular basis and as a result, their bikes sit. While they sit, small electrical loads can gradually discharge a battery. This is especially common during winter storage. What can you do about it? Use a quality battery maintainer on a regular basis. OPTIMA ORANGETOP motorcycle batteries also have a POWERLINK dongle that allows you to remotely turn your battery on and off, without having to go digging for your battery, removing seats or body cladding.
Old or Worn-Out Battery
Motorcycle batteries are consumable items with finite lifespans. They are moving closer to their end of useful life every day after they come off the assembly line, whether they are in a bike or not. A quality auto parts retailer can load-test your motorcycle battery, if you suspect it is on the way out and many will offer this service for free.
Parasitic Electrical Draw
Alarms, trackers, clocks, ECUs, cameras and other accessories can consume electricity while your motorcycle is turned off. If that is happening with your bike, you can either combat that draw with a quality battery maintainer or you need to disconnect your battery, to prevent it from getting discharged. In the event your battery does become deeply discharged, if you are using an OPTIMA ORANGETOP motorcycle battery, they are equipped with our CPR system, it will automatically disconnect your battery from those draws when it reaches a specific discharge point. That will hold enough energy in reserve to start your bike one more time and get you home safely.
Short Rides
We know some folks think it's a good idea to periodically start the engine on a stored motorcycle. We can't speak to any benefits this may offer from a mechanical standpoint, but if the bike is not run at speed for a long enough amount of time, the charging system will not be able to replace the energy consumed during storage and starting. Do that often enough and the battery will become completely discharged. Meanwhile, you are placing a tremendous strain on the charging system of your bike, which was designed to maintain batteries near a full state of charge. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, your battery would be much better off, if you just kept it on a quality battery maintainer while it sits in storage.
We know the "easy" solution for many motorcycle owners is just to replace their battery. Doing that can appear to resolve the issue for a while, but if the underlying source of the battery issue remains, the issues will eventually manifest themselves again. Keeping a battery properly charged with a quality battery charger is not hard and it is the most effective way to maximize battery performance and lifespan.
Many chargers come with remote connections, that allow you to hard wire and mount charger cables to your battery that you can access without having to dig for a battery that may be buried somewhere in your bike. Take advantage of these maintenance opportunities and you may find yourself spending a lot more time enjoying your bike and a lot less time dealing with battery issues.
Non-Use
By far, this is the most common reason motorcycle batteries keep dying. Very few motorcyclists are lucky enough to be able to ride on a regular basis and as a result, their bikes sit. While they sit, small electrical loads can gradually discharge a battery. This is especially common during winter storage. What can you do about it? Use a quality battery maintainer on a regular basis. OPTIMA ORANGETOP motorcycle batteries also have a POWERLINK dongle that allows you to remotely turn your battery on and off, without having to go digging for your battery, removing seats or body cladding.
Old or Worn-Out Battery
Motorcycle batteries are consumable items with finite lifespans. They are moving closer to their end of useful life every day after they come off the assembly line, whether they are in a bike or not. A quality auto parts retailer can load-test your motorcycle battery, if you suspect it is on the way out and many will offer this service for free.
Parasitic Electrical Draw
Alarms, trackers, clocks, ECUs, cameras and other accessories can consume electricity while your motorcycle is turned off. If that is happening with your bike, you can either combat that draw with a quality battery maintainer or you need to disconnect your battery, to prevent it from getting discharged. In the event your battery does become deeply discharged, if you are using an OPTIMA ORANGETOP motorcycle battery, they are equipped with our CPR system, it will automatically disconnect your battery from those draws when it reaches a specific discharge point. That will hold enough energy in reserve to start your bike one more time and get you home safely.
Short Rides
We know some folks think it's a good idea to periodically start the engine on a stored motorcycle. We can't speak to any benefits this may offer from a mechanical standpoint, but if the bike is not run at speed for a long enough amount of time, the charging system will not be able to replace the energy consumed during storage and starting. Do that often enough and the battery will become completely discharged. Meanwhile, you are placing a tremendous strain on the charging system of your bike, which was designed to maintain batteries near a full state of charge. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, your battery would be much better off, if you just kept it on a quality battery maintainer while it sits in storage.
We know the "easy" solution for many motorcycle owners is just to replace their battery. Doing that can appear to resolve the issue for a while, but if the underlying source of the battery issue remains, the issues will eventually manifest themselves again. Keeping a battery properly charged with a quality battery charger is not hard and it is the most effective way to maximize battery performance and lifespan.
Many chargers come with remote connections, that allow you to hard wire and mount charger cables to your battery that you can access without having to dig for a battery that may be buried somewhere in your bike. Take advantage of these maintenance opportunities and you may find yourself spending a lot more time enjoying your bike and a lot less time dealing with battery issues.
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