The motorcycle battery is different than the one used in the cars – the principle is the same, but fully charged car battery voltage is different in most of the cases. They could be 6 and 12V, depending of the model and its power.
The regular motorcycle battery is built on the lead acid method, it consists of cells, which fully charged have 2,1V, the combination of these cells is the way achieve the 6 or 12 of battery voltage. In fact the 2.1v of charge is rarely obtained and is considered as the perfect condition of the cells, which is not the usual one.
To make 6v motorcycle battery are used 3 cells, which give total battery voltage of 6.3volts, the 12V battery is similar, but there we have 6 cells, which give -12.6 of battery voltage. Of course these values of the battery voltage are not strict or fixed; they depend of the state of the battery; the charge remaining and the maintenance. If you use it and it loses energy – it is logic that the battery voltage will be low, and the opposite – if it is charging – the voltage will be higher.
The latest and modern battery chargers are able to show you the state of the battery voltage any time, but you have to remove it in order to check. The measurement is done across the terminals and in fact shows data, which are close to the real ones. There are tables, which show the battery voltage, which answers to some percentage of its state – for example – at 100 percent – 6.30v and at 50 percent -6.03v.
It is good to know that just after you charge the battery its voltage is little bit higher and will be back on the value for 100 charged in a few hours, and even faster if you use it.
In order to keep the battery for long we also must to monitor the charging voltage, which has its minimum and maximum, we must know the approximate values for all – cells, 6V and 12V batteries. The fast charging is not the way for the motorcycle battery – it leads to gas building and damage. There are special chargers, which are used to extend the life of the battery and they may include fast charging as part of their programs, still using charger for car battery is not a good idea.
The lowest amount of charging voltage of the lad acid cell is 2,15volts, and the 6v battery – 6.45, the 12v – 12.9, to be precise – this is the voltage, which the charger has. The good maintenance and proper way of charging your motorcycle battery can extend its live long beyond the warranty period, always follow the advices of the user manuals and specialists.
There are also other types of motorcycle batteries, except the lead acid ones – like gel batteries and “absorbed glass mat” – they offer very good solution if you have to replace the battery – check them, too – in order to make an informed choice for your vehicle.
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