My battery won't hold a charge if sitting for a few weeks. Is there any downside to riding a bike with a battery on its last legs? Do you ever need to replace the battery, even if it is dead?
My battery won't hold a charge if sitting for a few weeks. Is there any downside to riding a bike with a battery on its last legs? Do you ever need to replace the battery, even if it is dead?
I've been riding my Whizzer with a dead battery for a year. I bought a new one over the winter, but I'm waiting until warmer weather to charge and install it. No sense in having it sit idle in the cold.
The main downside I've seen is with lighting. At idle the lights won't be as bright, and (in my case) I have to keep revs up for the turn signals to work properly.
harder starting or no starting
fading of elect (lights, spark) etc
rough running because of weakened spark -- a possibility
on some 2-wheels with motors
that don't use elect starting
have ridden for many months sometimes years with a dead battery -- no problems noted
brings up a good question
how is the level of the distilled water in our batteries today ???
that's why many batteries last so long -- keeping water level up....
the spark/ignition is on a different "circut"; the battery is for the accessories. one can have the harness chopped for running only the engine...
But agree with bill, you can affect the lighting/horn with spikes and lows, so having a fresh full battery is a good idea.