The battery of the motorcycle is always at work. Even if your bike is parked, the battery of the motorcycle discharges in short time intervals, which is called “self discharge.” When the temperature rises, the process of self discharge also speeds up drastically. As a result, the battery is permanently damaged as it has discharged for too long. Gone are the days when the bike would work smoothly off the engine, because nowadays bikes do not have a kick starter. If suddenly the battery happens to die down than there is no option of the bike starting at all.
Batteries of the motorcycle do not like inactivity. And if they are unused for long periods of time then this will result in building up of sulphation on the plates of the battery. This will also affect the performance and run time of your bike and it will also become very difficult to charge. So it is very important to keep a check on the bike’s battery. The battery is one of the most ignored and overlooked components of the bike until the time it stops functioning.
Follow these 5 Quick Tips, and you will be on your way to understanding and better maintaining your bike's battery:
1) Clean up and grease the nodes/ terminals
The terminals of the battery can easily accumulate muck and dirt and finally oxidise and corrode. Due to this the charge of the battery is reduced. So it is very important that the electrodes of the battery are kept greased and cleaned during every service. Though cleaning of the nodes might seem a small task but is considered as an important step in maintaining the bike’s battery.
2) Avoid overloading the battery
Charging of the battery has its own limitations though we like to accessorize our bikes with bulbs, LEDs and cell phone chargers. The battery of the bike will die if you overload the battery and there is not much power drawn out. It is important to accessorize the bike depending upon the power that is drawn or else it will leave your bike stranded.
3) Know your battery
There are different ways to maintain the batteries as there are different types of batteries that are available. For example if you have conventional battery then make sure that proper amount of fluid is added to it and it is maintained properly. For maintenance-free batteries you will have to clean the terminals and spray protectant or silicone on connecting hardware and on the terminals.
4) Keep a check for any shorts or wiring faults
All the parts of the bike that work on battery are connected to the CDI of the bike and with the internal wiring system. Hence it is very important to keep a check on the wirings of the bike. And also keep a check that there are no bruises or cuts of the wire that might cause some serious issues or problems.
5) Replace your battery in time
There are many people who think that it is not important to get the battery replaced in time. If this is ignored then later on when the bike refuses to start then one has to get the bike towed away in the middle of the road. Hence it is very important to keep a check on the battery and get it replaced in the timely manner.
For the proper maintenance of the battery, keep all the mentioned points in your routine. Take proper care of your bike and it will definitely take care of you!
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