Battery Box Question ...

 

2006 Honda Shadow 600, original battery, left out in the Michigan winters
for every year (four of them now, I think).

I've never looked at the battery (I just know roughly where it is because I
know where everything else is and there is only one space unaccounted for,
so that is where it has to be).

Is it worth my time to remove it and inspect for leakage, corrosion, etc.?

I don't care much about failure of the battery, just that the acid might
take a toll on other things if it leaks.

And do I want to replace it prophylactically or let it finish its life?

Thanks, Datesfat

 

Datesfat Chicks wrote:

The only time I have seen acid damage to bikes was from an overcharging
alternator, coupled with a missing vent hose.  If the vent hose is attached
and is routed so that any discharge misses the bike, you don't have much to
worry about.  Find out if your bike uses a sealed battery or a conventional
battery- if it's sealed there's no vent hose and no worry.  If it's a
conventional battery (doubtful) you probably would have had to add water by
now.  Of course if you bought it used you have no way of knowing if a
pervious owner put the wrong battery in it...


I usually wait for the battery to show signs of weakness before replacing it.
The problem is they don't always fail gracefully.  You might get years of
service from it yet- my 2001 SV650S had its original sealed lead acid battery
in it when I sold it in 2008, and it was working fine, despite having been
fully discharged multiple times by leaving my heated grips turned on.

 

wrote:

You're probably the best argument going for
maintenance free batteries. Why would you
worry about it destroying paint or whatever
if you can't even find it ?

 My battery normally comes out once a year as part
of some routine maintenance and gets topped off
with distilled water while it's out. I did actually have
a cell spring a leak once. Didn't do significant damage,
as I was on the road at the time and the acid was
apparantly blown off by the wind.

You're likely to boil it dry eventually and maybe get
caught someplace unable to start, but if you're
prepared to live with that, why worry ? For all you
know, it could be a sealed battery anyway.

 

Datesfat Chicks wrote:

    I don't suppose your bike has a kick starter?
    Mine doesn't so I replace the battery every couple or so years.
They're fairly cheap.  You could probably get one at Wally World.

 



Heh. Only a few weeks ago, KrustyUS was advocating the fitment of
kickstarters on all bikes. Doh.


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