Are My Motorcycle Batteries 12 Volts?

As a motorcycle owner, it would be wise to get familiar with components of your ride. This is important so that you can check if they are in good condition. One such component is the motorcycle battery.

Are motorcycle batteries 12 volts? Conventionally, motorcycle batteries are 6 volts or 12 volts. This is the case of a good and healthy battery; the voltage might not be these exact values but it should be close to that.

Motorcycle batteries can either be lead-acid or just sealed cells. These are conventionally manufactured batteries, there are other out there, of course, that you can go for.

How Many Volts Should a Motorcycle Battery Charge With?

Regular charging ensures a highly reliable power source for your motorcycle. This is because having it remain drained for a very long time can cause the battery to have complications or even completely die.

How to Check If Your Motorcycle Battery Is Good or Bad

You might be having battery troubles when you want to use it. This might not always mean that your battery is wholly bad, as their might be other issues causing the headaches. What you have to do is conduct a series of checks to see what is the root cause of the battery complications, the checks include.

1. Inspect the Battery

This means just looking at the parts of the battery for damage. You can begin by looking at the terminals, checking for bumps or even leaking from the battery. This will help prevent cases such as short circuiting that arises from damaged terminals while a bulge on the surface of the battery means that the battery has been overcharged.

2. Take it for a Voltage Reading

A healthy battery has a voltage reading of 6 volts or 12 volts if not more. A significantly lower voltage than this might mean that the battery has some issues. A zero reading indicates a short in the battery.

3. Load Test the Motorcycle Battery

This can be done in any motor sop or garage. You can even do this at home by using a digital voltmeter and can be done effectively if the battery is fully charged. If yours is a health battery, the load should range from 9 to 10.5 volts. One sign for a battery with issues is that it will begin to hold at this point and then start dropping.

Related Article: How To Test A Motorcycle Battery

How to Maintain Your Motorcycle Car Battery

It is important for you to properly maintain your motorcycle battery to prevent it from experiencing complications in future. One way to do this is having regular routine checks on the battery. this will enable you notice an issue early enough so that you can prevent worse damage from happening.

Keeping the terminals clean helps avoid situations such as short circuiting the battery that can turn out to be hazardous. They should also be tight enough as loose ones tend to be a time bomb in the making. It is also important for you to check for leaks on the battery which might be caused by physical damage on its parts.

If your motorcycle is not going to be used regularly in the coming future, then it is advisable that you have the battery plugged into a tender. This ensures that the battery is either fully charged or approximately fully charged, which is good for it.

Topping up the battery is another maintenance part that should not be overlooked. For a normal motorcycle battery, distilled water gets the job done. Apart from topping it, the battery has to be charged when it gets drained. It is also wise to keep the area around the battery clean as it helps avoids soiling the battery or the wires connected to it.

As a battery owner, you also have to note its voltage and this can be realised in its manual. This is important so that you can check for a damaged battery anytime you suspect.

Can a Car Battery Charge Your Motorcycle Battery?

This fully depends on the type of batteries at hand. It will be okay if you had a car battery that matches the voltage of the motorcycle battery. Otherwise, a greater voltage might cause overcharging that will damage the battery entirely.

Some types of motorcycle batteries will die from being overcharged. This is as a result of using a car battery with a relatively higher voltage than your motorcycle battery.

Related Article: Can You Charge A Motorcycle Battery With A Car Battery?

Conclusion

A healthy motorcycle battery is 6v or 12v. A reading lower than this might mean that it has some issues that need quick attention. The 12 volt reading only shows that your battery is healthy and will be reliable when in use. Some batteries have different voltage readings apart from this, this you should be sure to note when purchasing them.

Like every motorcycle component, the car battery has to be carefully maintained to avoid complications from arising. This will ensure that the motorcycle battery is able to perform as it should for your ride. It also helps avoid headaches such as paying for its repair or, in the worst case, buying a new one. You should also avoid keeping the battery drained for a long time as this will ruin the battery when you want to use it for your motorcycle.

SHARE