Minimum Battery Charge

[apaulette_86]

Hi, what is the minimum charge in the battery needed to operate the bike??...mine is RVF400....voltmeter showing my battery charge at 6.8V...

[magg]

I assume that the bike neither starts or runs? A good charging voltage is 14.5 volts. Where did you measure 6.8 volts, if at the battery, then the battery is stuffed. Get a new battery and then check the battery voltage with the engine at 5000 rpm. Measured voltage should be more than 14 volts if the charging system is working correctly.

[apaulette_86]

Yup...the bike not running for a year...got to work somewhere else...i've taken all steps just like haynes manual stated in leaving the bike for long time...this week i started work back at home town again and take the bike out...but after i turn on the key, no lights, even the Neutral indicator was off ....luckily got the voltmeter...measure it at the battery, without terminal cable attached....reading shows 6.8v.....just charge it 2 days ago at the bike shop........so this is the battery fault is it?

[manicguitarist]

Yup. The battery is most likely toast. If you have a good battery charger that can deep charge batteries, it *might* recover - but I'd just buy a new one.

[magg]

Did you regularly charge the battery while the bike was in storage, as required by the haynes manual.