loony888
g,day all, i'd like to spew forth a few small suggestions about electrical gremlins, and a simple, very cost effective way to prevent them giving grief. First off, i'm no motorcycle mechanic, nor am i an auto electrician, i'm a distribution electrician, the big stuff, and i'm no fancy pants office bound engineer, i work in the field and get dirty for a living. That said, i have 30 odd years tinkering with all kinds of bikes, with the last 20 or so with V Twins and one thing i can say with certainty is nothing in the bike world will chew through a battery faster than a big V twin. Our bikes have a piston dia. of 4" or so, that's big, similar in size to a small block chevy, or a 351 cleveland, they're a V configuration too, and they have a huge battery and charging system, our bikes have a very small battery and charging system by comparison, sure we have 2 cylinders, they have eight but still, it requires a lot of current draw to get the bike to turn over, and it's current draw that kills our bikes and causes numerous problems with our electrical systems. As a bike sits idle in the garage there's a circuit that the battery is connected to, often there's an alarm but even if there's not there's a lot of electrical wires, relays, diodes etc all juiced up ready for action, this, over time drains the battery, which is a pain, but lets say you try to start the bike, it turns over slowly but eventually fires into life, great! you're able to ride, and "she'll be right! the alternator will charge it up". yes, it will, but by using a low battery you will put excess stress on the cells of the battery, you will generate much more heat in the main cables and the connections, and you will cause accelerated wear to the brushes and windings of your starter motor. As voltage drops, the bike demands more current to compensate for the higher resistance, add loose or corroded connections to the mix and you can, if you're unlucky burn out a connecting plug, melt insulation from cabling and wires and fry the starter.
If however you use a battery tender your battery stays fully charged and electrically stimulated, it doesn't build up sulphur deposits which accumulate on the plates eventually causing a short in the battery between cells, nor does the bike demand huge current to start the bike which saves the starter from extra work, and they are overworked as they are! Also, low voltage in the battery contributes to poor running as the injection system likes to be run between 13.8 and 14.2 volts, if the charging system is pumping everything into the battery it can't supply the rest of the electrical circuitry properly. It's scenarios like these that cause issues with gauges and most importantly, the regulator/rectifier, overload the circuitry and they burn out. Our bikes have a reputation for these being dodgy, i put it to you that every V twin i've ever owned has had a reputation for dodgy regulator/rectifiers, and it all comes down to the same reason.
If you're lucky enough to ride your SD every day you will be one of the guys with no issues whatsoever, but if, like most of us, you're just too busy to ride daily, and you find your bike sitting idle for longer than a week or so do yourself a favour and get a battery tender, install it, use it and be safe in the knowledge your bike will start easy every time.
oh, and flick the kill switch, it opens the circuit to most of the bike reducing battery drain until you DO get a tender.
paul.
If however you use a battery tender your battery stays fully charged and electrically stimulated, it doesn't build up sulphur deposits which accumulate on the plates eventually causing a short in the battery between cells, nor does the bike demand huge current to start the bike which saves the starter from extra work, and they are overworked as they are! Also, low voltage in the battery contributes to poor running as the injection system likes to be run between 13.8 and 14.2 volts, if the charging system is pumping everything into the battery it can't supply the rest of the electrical circuitry properly. It's scenarios like these that cause issues with gauges and most importantly, the regulator/rectifier, overload the circuitry and they burn out. Our bikes have a reputation for these being dodgy, i put it to you that every V twin i've ever owned has had a reputation for dodgy regulator/rectifiers, and it all comes down to the same reason.
If you're lucky enough to ride your SD every day you will be one of the guys with no issues whatsoever, but if, like most of us, you're just too busy to ride daily, and you find your bike sitting idle for longer than a week or so do yourself a favour and get a battery tender, install it, use it and be safe in the knowledge your bike will start easy every time.
oh, and flick the kill switch, it opens the circuit to most of the bike reducing battery drain until you DO get a tender.
paul.