O.K. to charge battery in place??

[mx916]

Anyone know if charging the battery while it is in the bike is. O.K. ?
I would assume there should no problems. If you know of potential problems, or had bad experiences, let em know.

[WildKat]

If my bike is going to sit for more than a few days during the riding season, I just put the battery tender on it, while its still in the bike, to keep it nice and fully charged.

Over the winter though, I pull out the battery and keep it on the tender.

[Anonymous]

I charge it in my bike all the time...just make sure you have a motorcycle battery charger...not a car charger.

[Nate91kat]

I like to pull mine out so I can check the fluid level and fill it if needed. I'll usually charge it on a piece of wood-I think I read something in the manual about not letting the batter sit on a conductive material otherwise it'll lose some of it's charge.

[FatBlue]

If my bike is going to sit for more than a few days during the riding season, I just put the battery tender on it, while its still in the bike, to keep it nice and fully charged.

Over the winter though, I pull out the battery and keep it on the tender.

+1

[Mr. Clean]

It's fine to charge it on the bike, I use my tender all the time that way. Never EVER sit a battery on concrete for an extended period (longer than 24 hours) unless you want to ruin it. Somehow the concrete sucks the life out of any automotive battery. I know from experience with a brand new battery that was good one day and so dead it wouldn't charge 48 hours later.

[Zukiman]

I use a Battery Tender with the battery in the bike. Been doing it for years and I've never had a problem with it.

[DreKat]

i take mine out in the fall and put it in the snowmobile that way it stays charged all year round

[The CyberPoet]

Basically, bottom line:

Pre-98, hasn't been replaced with a maintenance-free battery yet:
Take it out, use a 1.5 amp/hour charge rate or lower, with the caps loose on the battery. Check and fill electrolyte levels both before and after charging, using only distilled water.
Why remove it? Because it can boil over if it's overcharged, and will off-gas hydrogen (which may, depending on the battery temp, include battery acid vapors carried in the fumes).

98+ or any pre-98 with a maintenance free battery:
Leave it in, charge at 0.8 amp/hour charge rate or lower, preferably with a float charger designed for motorcycle batteries (virtually any charger putting out 0.8 amp/hour will be). I highly endorse Deltran's Battery Tender line of battery float/maint chargers, and especially like their WaterProof 800 model as being both literally waterproof (drop it in a bucket of water and it keeps on trucking), and rated perfectly for any of the Kats (won't charge at too high a level for a 98+ OEM battery).

KNOW THIS:
According to Yausha, you can fast charge a 98+ battery, but you need to ensure that it is out of the bike (because it will get hot -- possibly too hot), and the rules are:
NEVER, EVER ANY CHARGER OVER 4 AH!
4 Amp/hour chargers: max 30 minutes at a time, 2 hours to cool between charging cycles..
2 AH chargers (many auto chargers have a 2AH setting): max 1 hours, 1 hour to cool between charging cycles.
1.5 AH chargers: max 2 hours, 1 hour to cool between charging cycles.
0.9 to 1.25 Amp/hour chargers: max 4 hours, 1 hour to cool.
Anything 0.8 AH & lower is not a "Fast-charge".

0.8 Amp/hour and lower, non-float: max 8 hours.
0.8 Amp/hour and lower, float: unlimited -- you can leave it plugged in any time you're not running the engine.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[Crackshot]

Alright, I dont have a charger, and haven't had a problem so far at all. (then again, I ride ever day or so). Is this gonna be bad for my battery or alternator?

[The CyberPoet]

Alright, I dont have a charger, and haven't had a problem so far at all. (then again, I ride ever day or so). Is this gonna be bad for my battery or alternator?

Not as long as you are riding more than about 10 miles every day or every other day... It's those guys who park their bike off for the week that tend to run into issues. Keeping your battery fully charged increases the length of it's lifespan.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet