My Poor Old Battery

[lockster]

Hi All

I was recently on a trip from Boston, MA to Toronto. A great ride once we pulled off 90 West and headed up the 8 / 12 North to Thousand Islands.
However once in Toronto my bike refused to start after a coffee stop. The bike is GS1200 ( 05 ) bought in 04. So after a recovery truck helped me get it to BMW Toronto and into the hands of Andrew I discovered it was the original battery and it would no longer hold a charge. Once replaced I went on my way.

My question to the forum is as follows...

The bike has ABS, heated grips.

Also fitted :-
Touratech Fog and main light ( believe 60 w and 55 w )
Moto fork light ( believe 35 w each )

and a Garmin GPS 550

Now, how much drain can a GS1200 battery take ?

Can I run any Gerbring heated gear ?

I do ride all year round and would like to feel toasty on my winter months.

Any advice would be appreciated

Lockster

[rmeisen]

Not sure it is how much the battery can drain, it is more a function of how much your altenator will charge. It is the net between the output (at a give RPM) and the draw of all your accessories and basic electrics of the bike. Each item should have an indication of the draw (i.e. the 55w lights will draw (55 divided by 12 = ) around 4.5 amps). After you add all that up, I'm sure someone here can tell you the output of the altenator. It's really just math after than.. Hope this helps..
Ron

[BLAST54]

Your battery was just due for replacement.
I forget the math but I think these alternators are ~750 watts. Divide that by 14and you have about 55 amps of power.....That is enough to run just about anything you can think of adding to your bike, including all the Gerbings you want.

HTH
Bill

[lockster]

Thanks Blast, that helps a great deal. :clap

[JimVonBaden1]

Your battery was just due for replacement.
I forget the math but I think these alternators are ~750 watts. Divide that by 14and you have about 55 amps of power.....That is enough to run just about anything you can think of adding to your bike, including all the Gerbings you want.

HTH
Bill


The 05 has a 600 watt alternator. Of which the servo-ABS consumes 200 watts max when used. The motor electrics another appx 100 watts. The lights on low beam about 70 watts, 125 watts on high.

The reality is that you can run a full gerbing set, Motolights at 110 watts, and GPS, Radio/Satalite music and othe rlow draw items, along with occasional use of additional lights with no signifigant drain on the battery.

Most likely your battery was toast, and you need a new one. Try an Odyssey PC 535, see how here: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=320214

Jim :brow