Weak Battery

[Bones]

18 month old bike (and therefore 18 month old battery) used daily for 80 mile commute (so fully charged) but the last few mornings, because of the cold, it has struggled to spin the motor over. I can tell when it struggles as the display flickers and reverts to total miles from of the usual Trip1. This morning was particularly cold and it just would not spin her over, just click, click. Fortunately had a spare battery in the garage, connected them in parallel and got her started. Hopefully she will start for the journey home. My questions are - is there a more heavy duty battery available that fits? What battery success/failure stories do you have? Is that about as long as I can expect the battery to last considering I rarely use the heated grips and there are no other bling accessories fitted?

 

[Navigair]

I have the same problem with my 15 month old GS. Nippy Norman seems to have the answer with a high capacity replacement, but £ 99-00

 

[Dahoum]

Bones, charge it now cos it sounds like it will struggle - especially if it has a weekend off.

Do a search on Hawker Odyssey batteries. I will be getting one for mine soon as I've had to charge the current OEM once already since the cold snap started.

 

[turnipbmw]

Its funny how a cold snap kills a battery.

Would have expected more than 18 months though.

 

[jonnie comet]

18 month old 'bike........Warranty job?.......

 

[redcastle]

This battery issue comes up again and again.

forget the farkles
forget the cheapo BWM replacements
get a hawker odyssey.
motoworks do a complete kit with brackets etc

honestly its a no brainer, best reliability upgrade you can do

 

[bumpy]

Its funny how a cold snap kills a battery.

Would have expected more than 18 months though.

A battery is a chemical reaction. It is a known fact that the rate of a chemical reaction approximately halves for every 5 degree drop in temperature.

So if you compare your battery at a mild 20 degrees to a Winter temp of say -5 degrees then the battery chemicals react at 1/32nd of the rate. It will still have the same wattage output but will deliver it at a more sluggish rate.

This is only the start of the problem, you can add to this the additional viscosity of the oils etc.

 

[Bear]

My battery died at almost 2 years old with 2 weeks warranty remaining. What perfect timing.

 

[Technopole]

As the poster above say the Hawker Odyssey sorts this problem out. I did it just a couple of months ago, and am very glad I did. £90 turns your bike from a problem back into relibale and fun. Just do it!

 

[Tilly]

Had the same problem with my R1200RT last year when it was left out in the frost whilst working the bike show at the NEC. The bike was only 2 months old.
Replaced the original BM battery with a Hawker Odyssey from www.motorworks.co.uk and haven't had a problem.

 

[Bones]

Thanks for the replies. The bike has actually started fine the last couple of mornings as it’s been a fair bit milder (and a damn site wetter!!). I will use the tip of pulling the clutch lever before starting (apparently gives the starter motor less to do as it doesn’t need to spin half the clutch) and will invest in the Hawker Odyssey replacement battery as they are obviously highly rated. This site is invaluable for tips like using the Hawker Odyssey battery which I would otherwise have not have heard of.

Is a battery actually covered by warranty? I would have thought it was classed with consumables in the same way as tyres.

 

[cookie]

Is a battery actually covered by warranty? I would have thought it was classed with consumables in the same way as tyres.

many people here have had them replaced FOC.

 

[babu]

many people here have had them replaced FOC.

I got a new one on the guarantee. They gave me another useless, low quality flashlight-battery that was unable to crank the motor in low temperatures and that gave in after about a year; like the first one. Yet another design/quality failure in this bike. Luckily there seems to be a workaround for this one; buy a decent battery. Not covered by guarantee though. Or has anybody managed to get bmw pay for one? As they should btw.

 

[jonnie comet]

Is a battery actually covered by warranty?

....Sure is mate.....

 

[PLODER]

quick question about battery warrenty . i had a new one after 18 months , does that give me another 2 years on the battery or just 6 months like the rest of the bike .

 

[GSmonkey]

Any item replaced under warranty is only guaranteed until the end of the warranty period.

 

[wilddog]

Thanks for the replies. The bike has actually started fine the last couple of mornings as it’s been a fair bit milder (and a damn site wetter!!). I will use the tip of pulling the clutch lever before starting (apparently gives the starter motor less to do as it doesn’t need to spin half the clutch) and will invest in the Hawker Odyssey replacement battery as they are obviously highly rated. This site is invaluable for tips like using the Hawker Odyssey battery which I would otherwise have not have heard of.

Is a battery actually covered by warranty? I would have thought it was classed with consumables in the same way as tyres.

Good advice re clutch lever, i also give the throttle a bit of a twist at the same time.
Works for me. Sounds obvious but i know some bikes won't start if you go near the throttle.