BREVA 750 BATTERY QUESTION

[timonbik]

About a year ago I put a new MAX AGM battery in my new to me Breva.  Rode the bike all winter in Florida with no problems.  Put the bike in storage in June when I got the Honda out.  Three or four weeks later I  went to start it to change the oil and battery was dead.   Put the charger on it to get it going, did the oil change and put the bike back in storage, this time disconnecting the negative terminal lead on the battery.  Put it on charge for a couple of hours a month or so ago and again for 30 minutes before trying to start it today.  Had lights but would even turn the bike over.  Used a booster box to get the bike going and it ran perfectly for 10 -15 minutes at which time I disconnected the booster box and the bike started to sputter like it was running out of fuel. Battery tested at 11.4 volts no load but dropped below 9 when under starter load. I strongly suspect my one year old battery is pooched, but my question is: Does the bike need a good battery to run once it has started  or should it be able to run on the alternator with a questionable/bad battery.

Thanks, Tim

[Kiwi_Roy]

The bike needs a battery to stabilize the Voltage otherwise it can go too high which may endanger the ECU.
No it won't run without a battery, if it gets really flat my FI bike won't even bump start.
I'm surprised it started to splutter though, perhaps the battery is open circuit or it wasn't charging at all.

The battery should have retained it's charge while disconnected, I find mine will usually start after being uncharged all winter.
Charge it up, leave it off charge for a few days then have it tested at a motorcycle shop.

[timonbik]

I've got it on a SMART charger now.  The motor definitely "sputtered" out after removing the booster battery box.  Tried it 3 times with the same results.  Bike runs fine while the booster is attached, disconnect it and it starts to run rough like running out of fuel, then stalls.  Won't restart without the booster pack.

Tim

[Arizona Wayne]

I found the stock battery on my `04 750 Breva to be undersize with the US setup where the headlight comes on as soon as you turn the ignition switch on and at first installed a larger batter used by 900 Ducatis in the `90s that worked for awhile.  Then I installed a headlight on/off switch so I could leave the headlight off until the bike was running like many bikes are still setup for in other countries but the US.  IMHO the battery is too small for the job it has to do in the US.  I've also found that if the gasoline isn't fresh in the Breva the motor might start but it will stall when you come  back to idle like at an intersection.

[ITSec]

My Breva 750 would flatten a battery faster than any other bike I've owned. Two to three weeks of non-use were enough to bring the battery down from a full charge to barely enough to start - if it did.

As long as I used it 3-5 days a week or kept it on a float charger, it was happy. If I didn't, it would run the charge down, and modern batteries just don't like that - they never come back as good as they were.

[mtwillyman]

Put a new battery in it and be done.

[Muzz]

Would agree with ITSec, the Breva does appear to have a very high parasitic drain, probably something in the dash. I still use the wet cell Yuasa, only on my second one now in 12 years. I put it on my charger every three weeks when the bike is not being used so it it is doing a charge/discharge cycle. Seems to keep the battery in reasonable condition.

[Noguzznoglory]

had battery issues with my breva 750 recently. if i didn't ride it once a week when i went to start it it would click a couple of times and crank slow. when it finally gave up the ghost i jump started it at work, rode it 5 miles to a fuel stop and wouldn't crank. jumped it off and it ran a mile maybe and as soon as i slowed down i got all kinds of weird displays and the engine died. replaced the battery and everything was golden.
my conclusion is that it won't run without a good battery even after you jump it

[timonbik]

NEW Battery is ordered,  hopefully that is all that is wrong.

Thanks,  Tim

[ITSec]

NEW Battery is ordered,  hopefully that is all that is wrong.

Thanks,  Tim

If you don't already have a float charger (Battery Tender or similar), get one and attach a pigtail for it to the new battery. Plug it in whenever it's going to site for more than a few days so it never goes completely flat.

You can tell your friends you own a hybrid! 

[Arizona Wayne]

If you don't already have a float charger (Battery Tender or similar), get one and attach a pigtail for it to the new battery. Plug it in whenever it's going to site for more than a few days so it never goes completely flat.

You can tell your friends you own a hybrid! 

Any bike that has a built in clock needs a battery tender when they aren't ridden or it will drain the battery while it sits.  I use 1 battery tender for 7 rigs to keep the batteries happy. 

[Noguzznoglory]

I know this is going to start a ruckus but.......

I don't believe in battery tenders. IMHO they shorten the life of a battery and any battery that can't sit for a month in the vehicle and still crank it is bad or going bad. Batteries are engineered to go through charge-discharge cycles.

I can tell by other posts about batteries that there are some guys on here that are way up on battery engineering so I'll be more than happy to be corrected/educated on this subject

[taz]

My wife's little Breva was eating a battery every season, put it on a battery tender 3 years ago and it is still working well. 

[ITSec]

I don't believe in battery tenders. IMHO they shorten the life of a battery and any battery that can't sit for a month in the vehicle and still crank it is bad or going bad. Batteries are engineered to go through charge-discharge cycles.

No flames here, but some thoughts.

In general I agree with you. However, motorcycle designers appear to have decided that batteries are parasites that just add weight and take up space - so they size them as small as possible. In addition, while the electronics on all modern vehicles will draw down the battery slowly, certain vehicles (like the Breva 750) seem to have an unreasonably high rate of draw - and will flatten a battery left unattended in as short a time as a week. Is this 'normal'? Not for most machines, but apparently so for the Breva.

In addition, batteries can handle numerous cycles of discharge and recharge - but most types really don't like going completely (or even close to) flat. It shortens their life even more than use of a float charger. Note that it should be a float charger specifically - if it doesn't have a reliable circuit for sensing the state of the battery and turning itself down or off as needed, it will in fact damage the battery. Traditional chargers, even trickle chargers, that don't have this ability are the reason why we were all taught to check our batteries and remove the charger when the cycle was complete. Just like a bad alternator, they can easily boil a battery dry.

My Norge only gets a charger attached once in a while, usually to top off the charge when I've been doing something where the battery level might be left a bit low (such as lots of short trips in cold weather). I use a smart charger that performs the main charge at between trickle and standard levels (about 2 amps), and then switches to float once it senses the charge is complete. It hasn't damaged a battery yet.

[Arizona Wayne]

Most my bikes/scooters batteries are AGM now and so far I've found they don't last near as long as my former wet cell batteries used to.

[Muzz]

I don't believe in battery tenders. IMHO they shorten the life of a battery and any battery that can't sit for a month in the vehicle and still crank it is bad or going bad. Batteries are engineered to go through charge-discharge cycles.

That is my reasoning as well. I just top it up on a regular basis.

[Muzz]

Most my bikes/scooters batteries are AGM now and so far I've found they don't last near as long as my former wet cell batteries used to.

I bought an AGM for my Honda trike. The quad had a wet cell Yuasa. The AGM is about pooped now, the wet cell is still going great. I will continue to put the Yuasa wet cell in the Guzzi.