Can I charge the battery by starting the bike once a month & letting it tick over?
Motorbikes are meant to be used (not sat in a shed for months on end!). The best way to maintain a healthy battery is to use the bike regularly. It is NOT advisable to try & maintain your battery by starting the bike up once a month & letting it tick over for 5-10 mins. This method actually uses more power to start the bike than the charging system will put back in at tickover & will, over time, flatten the battery. When a bike is ticking over, the charging system is normally only putting a minimum voltage level (around 12 to 12.5 volts) through the system. This isn’t enough to charge a motorbike battery. As the rev’s increase (e.g. when the bike is being ridden), the voltage level being put back into the motorcycle battery increases to around 13.5 to 14.5 volts & it’s the extra power being produced when the bike is being ridden that charges the battery. A discharged battery can sometimes be brought back to life by taking the bike out for a long run & really using the gears & the rev r
