Tips to Maintain a Motorcycle Battery

The lifespan of any object depends on “how you maintain it.”

It is like a universal law in the Motorcycle World. From a cruiser bike to a single battery, everything needs special maintenance and care to achieve its maximum life. Plus, you also need to understand the fact of a limited life.

Nothing lasts forever.

So, do not believe your brand new battery will work as your partner until the end of your riding days. No, absolutely not. There is nothing that is designed to last forever. Everything has a limited life span, even a battery, which is approximately 2 years. Although, you can manage to increase that considerably if you maintain your battery properly and make sure it is being charged through the vehicle charging system or an external charger if needed.

Anyways, that’s not all. Today, we are here to give you some tips on maintaining a motorcycle battery properly.

Don’t miss it.

Motorcycle Battery Types

Well, I can tell you straight out that there are two types of motorcycle batteries available on the market.

Sealed Maintenance Free Type
Cell Type

In the old days, if you remember, the motorcycle battery was a lead-acid cell type, which contained an electrolyte solution – a solution of distilled water and sulfuric acid.

These batteries sometimes lose water during charging. This became a common problem with cell type batteries, also known as “Wet” cell batteries. As a result, these batteries became quite messy and less efficient compared to the modern maintenance-free type that uses the absorbed glass mat technology, which holds the electrolyte solution. These maintenance-free batteries don’t let the level of electrolyte solution drop like cell batteries during charging.

In the last few years, sealed maintenance-free type batteries have become very common in motorcycles.

Read our review of the Best Motorcycle Batteries to see what types of batteries are popular among motorcyclists in 2024.

Myth

The biggest battery myth is that people think that batteries store electricity.

Bullcrap!

If that is what you think, you need a lesson from the book of fundamental science. I am not going to bore you but I must clear your doubt.

People! Batteries are devices that store energy in a chemical form and convert that chemical energy into electrical energy when required.

The reaction causes the motorcycle battery to “discharge” and charging the battery reverses these changes. Just make sure you don’t leave the battery in a partially discharged state, it can shorten its life expectancy.

So, it will be better to use a smart charger for this.

Check for Electrolyte Levels

As I said, lead-acid batteries contain a mixture of sulfuric acid and distilled water. According to the manual of the battery, you shouldn’t need to add acid to it but when the battery performs the chemical reaction, some of the solution will evaporate over time.

So, to maintain the electrolyte level and ensure the battery is functioning perfectly and delivering its maximum life, it is important to do a monthly check-up and, if necessary, add some demineralized water to it.

Oh, yeah! One more thing.

Don’t overfill the battery with the demineralized water; otherwise, it can lead to damaging acid spills.

Stay away

You must be wondering what we are talking about?

Well, of course, it is the battery. And we are giving you the warning to keep your motorcycle away from extremely high temperatures as well as extremely low temperatures.

Direct sunlight can reduce the life of your motorcycle battery so it would be better to park your motorcycle in the garage or under cover. But that’s not all. Extremely low temperatures are also very dangerous for motorcycle batteries.

Many professional riders suggest keeping your bike under cover. A bike battery can only live to a temperature as low as -18 degrees. At very low temperatures during the winter, it is very difficult to start the engine. Low temperatures reduce the battery’s ability to supply the sustained current required for starting.

Don’t forget that. Extremely high or extremely low temperatures are harmful to the battery and can shorten its life span.

Charging

Lead-acid batteries have a voltage depression charging memory that may not allow it to properly charge unless it experiences the highest capacity charge.

A partially discharged battery is no good for your motorcycle. So, my tip is to use a smart charger to ensure your motorcycle battery is fully charged and in a working state.

A cell with such memory is, for the most part, faulty and there is no way to repair them. The same thing applies to modern maintenance-free type batteries, as well.

Cleaning

Batteries usually self-discharge over time, if they aren’t being used. This mostly happens at high temperatures and when it gathers dust and dirt that will eventually build-up on the top of it, which becomes the reason for the discharge. So, I would suggest you clean the battery with a clean cloth every other day.

Safety Advice

Motorcycle batteries are highly corrosive. Try not to come in direct contact and don’t let your skin, eyes, clothing, and metal surfaces come in contact with it.
Wear gloves and use eye protection whenever you are planning to work on a motorcycle battery.
Never short circuit the battery terminals with metal objects like tools, rings, jewelry, watches, etc.

Conclusion

I hope you liked these tips and follow them to maximize the life of your battery. If you have any questions or want to add something, then please don’t forget to comment on the section below.