None of my dirt bikes have had a battery, all of my dirt/street “enduros” and street bikes have had a battery. A straight magneto system will not support the lights required to be street legal.
While we are talking about smaller 12volt batteries. does anyone know of a place that I can buy a generator battery and a good brand? I went online and bought batteries for my computer back-up a couple a months ago from a place that got really good reviews. the hurricane hit and those batteries were basically dead. so now I guess all the good reviews you see are useless. LOL I rather get a battery from someplace that you guys may have had luck with. thanks
You mean like a upc power supply? I just bought mine direct from apc Schneider.
the UPC batteries I bought before the storm from a reputable site were dead when the power went out. I have to get new ones again. but I am really looking for a place and a good brand for my generator battery replacement.
Mine from apc have been going strong for a couple years but not tested with the power out much. They have to be charged first for 24 hours though. They are only intended to allow short term Wi-Fi use or shut down though unless you have a humongous upc.
Now rainmanray who weathered the storm somewhere north of you used an inverter in addition to a gas generator. He ran his truck st idle to keep the inverter charged for critical items to save gas instead of running the gas generator all the time. Truck was on diesel though which he had more of. He’s on YouTube. Was out of power for 3-4 days.
My goal after it lasted 8 years was just to see how long it would go.
We are living in an assisted living facility now and I have no need to go anyplace that I can’t put off for a few days. There is a free van for medical appointments, I have road service on my insurance and many relatives with jumper cables that live less than 8 miles away.
Interestingly, I did not even lose my radio presets.
If your battery fails suddenly, it’s because of over charging or reaching the end of its cycle life. This failure is not caused by failure to charge the battery. It’s caused by over charging and use.
There’s nothing you can do to prevent this except to not drive as much or modify the battery charging system.
You seem to specialize in ridiculous assertions. In the past year this car has not been driven more than a 10 mile radius and only about once or at the most twice a week.
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How many engine hours are on that 10 year old battery then? 2000 to 3000 would be reasonable for a battery in a cooler climate.
I do not think my 72 650 Triumoh had a magneto, no xener diode either. Put in a battery eliminator, not sure how it worked, but Could kick start with a dead battery. No electric start.
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Years ago I brought home batteries from new cars that were completely discharged. In 2008 I collected 6 batteries removed from new Chrysler PT Cruisers. I had no use for them, I gave some to a neighbor mechanic.
5 Years ago I felt it was time to replace the old battery in my car, Costco did not stock a group 26R battery so I recharged some of my old batteries and used the best one. I used one of the old Chrysler batteries until last fall, I needed to have an emissions test and questioned the battery’s ability to provide sufficient power to the PCM.
14 year old battery and some people believe a battery must be at full charge at all times or life will be reduced to nothing.
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The one in my boat would be leftover winter, charged when I got there, but a 90hp outboard does not need thatmuch juice. Deep cycle I imagine. At least 12 years old at replacement time, maybe more.
For my Generac 20kw I got an interstate at the auto parts store. All you need is the physical size and at least the same amperage as the old one.
Motorcycles can indeed be designed to run and be street legal with all lights and horn working without a battery, I own one. Now that we have LED lights and electronic turn signal flashers instead of the old thermic switches it’s no big deal. The main reason is that electric starters are now expected on bikes rather than a kick starter and most bikes have EFI systems that require an electric fuel pump.
Yeah, I had a 1975 Jawa CZ 250 Enduro with full street lighting kit on it and it did not have a battery, just the magneto system.
But no electric starter and I bet the headlight dimmed to nearly nothing at idle.
Check Home Depot to see if they carry a replacement. 12V tractor batteries are likely similar in form factor and electrical characteristics. Farm supply stores should be a good choice too. Generator batteries are likely made by Johnson Controls so there are only a couple of domestic manufacturers anyway.
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Another possibility is Batteries Plus, assuming that you can find a store of theirs near you. About 3 years ago, it seems that a lot of their stores began to shut their doors, and there a lot fewer of them than there used to be.
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It’s not clear to me if we are talking a standard 12v battery to start a generator, just in the right dimensions, or a UPC which would use a power supply battery, or an inverter.
And yeah my moped did not have a battery either. Just pedals like a bike to start, and a generator to run the lights, like we used to use on bikes before leds.
Of course no electric starter. And this was a single slug 250cc engine. Most bikes were kick start back then. I had an 850 Yamaha that was kick start but it had a battery.
Nope, the lights were surprisingly consistent for not having a large capacitor (battery) in the system. It was a decent design- I believe the output was high enough above the regulator to maintain consistent output even when the engine was idling.
Just reminded me of a bike my brother owned. It was a 125cc Harley IIRC. That was the hardest kick starting engine I ever saw. When he went to sell it, a guy came to look and thought it was seized up. I had to start it for him. We couldn’t push start that one either, even when doing the seat bounce as you let out the clutch. Tire just skidded…