www.boxertrix.com

Quick question if I may.

Unfortunately, we do not have a garage but do have a lock up (it’s a storage place that lets you keep bikes in the units) However, the lock up has no power. Not a problem for most of the bikes, just disconnect the battery when laid up over the winter. Problem is, the S1000RR has as tracker plus the bikes battery is pretty small, it drains quite quickly.

I was thinking of getting a car battery and connecting it to the bike to give more battery life. I can then bring this battery back for a charge once a month or so. Anyone see a problem with having another battery connected to the one on the bike over a long period of time?

How about something like this Dave


http://www.halfords.com/motoring-travel ... ner-12v-6w

Ha, funny you should say that, picked up the smaller one from Halfords last weekend! Cost about £14.

Tried in the garden, over cast sky and on a table under a tree, it was producing 18v!

My only concern is there is no controller, it just puts out the voltage all the time it gets light.

Will try and measure the current draw on the bike and see what current the solar charger pushed out when charging a battery.

I bought a similar photo-electric charger for my car when I was away for 8wks at a time. Works okay, but won't work in a lock-up

Get a car battery of as high capacity as you can justify - and couple up to your bike. Only caveat is: Couple up the batteries when they are both well-charged, otherwise you may get a surge of current on connection (unless you use current-limiting jumper leads - which I would recommend)

Al

Or this: http://www.helmetcity.co.uk/oxford-sola ... Ao_h8P8HAQ

Or possibly something like you already have (http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/solar-powered ... rger-l58bf)...

B

Thanks for the replies on this.

Checked with CW over the weekend and they recommended using a leisure (caravan type thing for running lights etc) instead of a car battery. They tend to be cheaper and are designed for low current but over a long period. No problem leaving them connected.

The bike battery is only 8Ah and will run flat in about 2 to 3 weeks. A 100Ah battery should do just fine.