A little advice required

Luimni

Well i finally got my first bike this weekend and im thrilled, except the battery was nearly flat so i didnt get too many chances to let it cut out on me:rolleyes:

Instead of getting upset with the dealer that i bought the bike off, i leaped into action and bought a battery charger (i would need one anyway from what i hear) but how long does a battery take to recharge fully (stupid question i know- but hand on my heart i have no idea)
Its been charging now for 24 hours and still recharging which is fine but usually how long does a 12v battery take ?? The only reason i ask is because i am wondering if the battery is knackered completely and recharging it is a waste of time.

Secondly, getting the battery out was awkward with some well hidden bolts and got me thinking about getting some kind of bike lift/hoist/table.
For what i need to use a lift for, it probably isnt worth getting (is it?)
Does anyone have or need a lift or is it worth it.

Sorry i know im jumping the gun, as i havent even put the bike in second gear yet but im just too excited about the whole bike thing!!!!

I have seen those hydrolic lifts with the bike supported on 2 forks for about 150-200 quid but is the bike stable on those lifts.

Sorry to sound like a kid in a candy store but ive been looking forward to getting a bike and getting into biking including all the maintainance that goes with it for a while now and to be honest a flat battery and recharging it is a huge novelty right now. So i might as well enjoy it now cos in a few years time i could be stuck in the middle of nowhere on a wet dark night with a dead battery which i dont think i will enjoy as much.

Thanks to all on the site for your previous advice over the last month or so from other threads to others newbies which i have learnt a lot from.

Thanks...

Idleater

What bike is it?

Elfish

Did you get a dedicated bike charger eg Optimate or similiar?
If you had an almost knackered battery to begin with, and you are using an Optimate, you could be going through deep discharge recovery, which can take a long time, think I've had it on for more than 36 hours - it cycles thru a charging phase, then checks the battery and if it isn't able to hold the new charge then it goes through the whole thing again. So you're ok at 24hrs.

If you've used an ordinary car battery charger (or one that has a sticker on it for bikes but says in the fine print that it is only marginally suitable for bikes) then I'd be thinking that its time to plug out and check battery.

Congrats on your new bike, what is it?

Ride safely - the cars ARE out to get ya!

subway

eh, if you bought a bike that had a flat battery chances are the bikes been sitting up for a while.
there could be issues in future with it golding a charge and you will have a much harder time of it then.
youd be best to ask for a new battery right now instead of paying for one in six weeks.

i also dont know who told you that youd be charging your bike battery all the time.
if you drive it every day you should never have to charge it

and welcome to 2 wheels

Luimni

Thanks for the advice, I just realised that i started two identical topics and apologies for that, when i tried to start the first topic it told me to log back in which i did and say that the topic wasnt posted so i reposted the topic or something .....

The charger i have is a car/bike Halfords one, with a dedicated switch for a bike. The bike was fine Saturday but Sunday morning it wasnt starting and the starter sounded like it was losing power so i switched on the lights and they started to fade so i assume its the battery. I was thinking of buying a battery so at least i would know where i stood with it but as it was Sunday and Halfords was the only place around open i bought the charger. But i will pop the battery back in this evening and see (fingers crossed)

The bike i bought was an Aprillia 125 Classic which i thought would be a perfect starter bike for me as i like those cruiser type bikes. Not the best time of year to be starting to ride cos it only leaves me the weekends to practice. I have been talking to a guy about lessons but i want to get used to the bike (co-ordination of gears throttle glutch) before i get them.
Bought some great books about bikes off the web which gives me a good grounding and i would recommend them to anyone starting off like me. I think its called the "police motorbike (riders) handbook" or something. But its no substitute for proper training, before anyone corrects me.

Great site and thanks for the warm welcome.

Will keep you appraised of the battery situation...

subway

dont let the weather put you off.
i started biking in january a few years back.

as you say theres no substituion for training,
but practise is more important than anything.

get your self a reflective jacket and take to the roads.
take it slow and dont be intimidated by cars,
youll get the hang of it in no time.

Del2005

I'd say at a rough guess the battery is knackered. If it was OK on Saturday and not on Sunday and if you hadn't left the lights on, or kept starting and stopping the bike without letting in run for a few min every time to build up enough of a charge to replace the amout used to start the bike, then I think the dealer may have charged in up for when you bought the bike and hopped you woulldn't come back.
Leave the battery charging for as long as you can, as it will do no harm. Then install in and go for a good run on the bile, or leave it running for 30/40 min and then try and restart. Leave running for a while again and then try and restart tomorrow. If it doesn't start battery is dead and get a new one off dealer. If you leave it too long they'll say you did it, as a battery is a consumable and not covered under warrenty.

subway

just to note, from what i understand,
a lot of bike alternators wont kick in below a certain rpm so the battery wont be charging if its just idling.
youll have to take it out on a spin for at least 30 mins to get the battery charged up.

Luimni

It starting to make a bit of sense now, I was starting/stopping it a bit and was using very low revs when i was getting it moving due to learning to ride in a smallish yard out the back of the house. So i wasnt really going for too long before i had to stop usually resulting in it cutting out!!! (Im a bit easy on the throttle, dont want to end up in a wall)
I will get there though, I will put the battery back and give here a bit of a spin (if i can)

Great stuff.

P.S . Subway- its not the weather that puts me off, it the driving in the dark in the middle of the countryside. I dont get back from work til 6:30 and i can bearly find the gear lever in the daylight at the moment let alone in the dark..

Slowly but surely!!!!!

subway

that what its all about

but seriously, as soon as youve put in a few hours at the weekend,
and if you can put in at least half a days riding on saturday and sunday,
youll be familiar with the controls.

after that you should be well able for some night driving.