Batteries are strange things. :smartass: A few years ago I had one about 18 months old and working perfectly. One day it started the bike normally, I rode a mile to the local garage for fuel and it was completely dead when I came to restart again. I had to push the bike the mile home. No bike / charging fault, just a sudden death AGM battery.
On the other hand I left the ignition turned on on one of my bikes by accident over the winter 19-20. It was under a cover so I didn't notice for over three months. That should have been the kiss of death but it charged up ok and I'm still using it.

Never had much luck with bike jump leads (or car ones come to that). Back when bikes had kickstarts and carburettors I used to pack lightweight DIY 'jump leads' to 'borrow' a battery from another bike / car - and even used them once that I can remember, but mostly it was easier to bump start. Battery packs yes but only to charge electronics - phones etc - when there's no mains electricity

.... torque wrench, spare drive shaft, revolver, replacement tyres, Kendal mint cake mixed with pemmican, spare torque wrench, OBD reader, tea bags, marmalade, baked beans, 2nd spare torque wrench, clean underwear with your name and blood group stitched inside, condom... :rofl:

I'll see your cultural divide and raise you one self fulfilling prophecy that the weight and time spend shopping instead of preparing helps finish off any minor niggles. I'll additionally raise you a prediction that a couple of lads in downtown Delhi know more about sourcing the bits you need but failed to find a space for than is ever necessary.

Andy

Nah. No "culture divide:" just some folks concluding differently from others. Your caricature is just a caricature, and while it may attract laughs it really doesn't further the discussion at all. There are reasons to carry cables (I do), and it's not because I'm afraid to ask for help IF anyone else is around. There are reasons, I have no doubt, to bring GoPro, auxiliary lights, merino wool, fancy helmet, GPS, and alarms (I don't).

Few of us fit neatly into cute categories--I no more than you or anyone else posting above. Fewer still fail to have fun riding, with or without spare tires.

In the car we always carry jumper cables, and have used them frequently, nearly always to help others. I've never carried cables on a bike.

Good example by Mark: Flat tires? Happens rarely, right?

Learn how to change/fix it, and carry your tools, including a pump, and it's an inconvenience, a minor hassle.

Depend on your phone, credit card and the help of strangers? It could easily be hours, or even days and a fair amount of cash to get back in motion.

Back on the topic of batteries: don't set off without a fairly new (but proven) battery. Replace it on the road, if it shows any signs of weirdness. I don't wear my tires to the cords, and I don't wait for battery failure to replace them either.

....................shu

Jumper pack or jumper cables?
 

I used a Micro start jump pack for the first time the other day, it started a big old Transit without any problems, after I had failed to start it with Jump leads and a high capacity bike battery.

Micro start can sell leads which you attach to your battery if it’s inaccessible


Merino wool, that’s the stuff, warm when it’s cold, pretty comfortable when it’s hot and doesn’t smell too bad after days of travel, don’t leave home without it.

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You can bumpstart bike and you can't car unless it is manual and you are looking downhill. As for carrying a brick just in case you might need it once you start on that pass there's no end; you end up with broken frame or leg or both. If you are carrying more than 10-15kg you are carrying too much wise guy.

Why asking on The hubb if an average professional youtube adventurer motorist would advise you with several hours of preparation videos like:

"My Gear"
"How to protect your motorcycle for riding remotely"
"Camera set up for adventure motorcycling"
"My ultimate & essential travel packing list"
"The ultimate all weather set up"
"How to protect your feet for adventure motorcyling trips"
"Spare offroad tire - are they really necessary?"
"Beginner adventure rider - what do you really need?"
"How to drone yourself on an adventure motorcycle trip"
"Where to hide your money on an adventure motorcycle"

:rolleyes:

That's the next few months of discussions (redis)covered then :rofl:

There is always a tradeoff. More weight, volume and clutter - that has adverse effects on the usefulness of those very items.

But, if you were to take jumper cables - then a valid question is if it wouldn't be better to take a jumper pack instead?

The way I look at it - jumper cables require a second vehicle. If there are other vehicles around, then money, time and patience can be thrown at your problem. If you ride with someone - have them tow you, ride into town and aquire cables or a battery, etc. Same goes if you have to flag a car down - hitch a ride for you and/or the bike, get a tow, etc.

Now, if you are in the boonies, and you are riding alone, jumper cables will be as useful as an empty jerry can when you run out of fuel. The way I look at it - a jumper pack wins. It can get you out of the boonies, it has other applications, etc.

There are many ways that you can loose your juice. Batteries usually brakes down slowly, but your stator can go in an instance. Similarly you can have sudden faults with your electrical causing a draw. Or like in my case - I just bought a brand new bike that was delivered right on the day I was going on a trip. The idiot of a dealer had connected the OEM heated grips directly to the battery instead of via the ignition without telling me - probably because they forgot to order the harness. The lit diodes are almost invisible in direct sunlight. One lapse of judgement after a hard days' ride and I could have found myself stuck alone in the boonies - luckily that did not happened. (I got pissed of course, and it will be rectified this week).

I'm still on the fence on the battery pack though. I am not too concerned with the consequences of my battery going flat - wherever that could happen. Nor do I find it so probable that my battery will go dead - so much that the inconveniences of carrying around jumper pack measures up against the inconveniences of not having one when I could use one.

I have been riding for decades and never once have needed jumper cables - whether in the boonies or at home. I have however helped plenty others bump start their bikes - because they have not kept up with maintenance or because they have some creative DIY electrics - like always providing juice to their connected electronics, auxiliary lights or heated gear connected directly to the battery, heated gear, - all requiring manual off switches or unplugging. Others draw more juice from the battery than the stator reliably can replenish.

For me having either a booster pack or jumper cables becomes a bit like buying monster insurance or alien abduction insurance - just in case. I do however like to have a power bank on hand (and use it frequently) - and if I can go just slightly bigger and have the benefit to power more gear and also have a backup to make starting a bike more inconvenient - then why not?

On the other hand, I am considering dropping my power bank to save the weight, volume and clutter - and just get in the habit of becoming more frugal with the juice I use on my gadgets where I am not connected to either the bike or the grid.

I am adding a USB socket to my bike, complete with a voltmeter (only on with the ignition) - which is an "ounce of prevention" worth a "pound of cure". I do believe you can find one with an ammeter in addition to a voltmeter (indicating net draw/chargibg), but don't see how a built in shunt that small could have any accuracy or reliability. If you have any experiences with those - please let us know.

Booster pack can also be used for charging phones etc, so I device = 2 purposes is a win in my book

The other plus is that a booster pack is smaller and lighter than cables


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Agreed.
Plan for RTW bike is an installation of dual fast charging USB (available as acc. kit incl. voltmeter with overload, over current and short circuit protection). Will modify it to switch from the mounted GPS and Phone to a booster pack. Rugged booster packs weight is under 1 kg, they are small enough to fit somewhere under the seat.

Battery clamps aren`t necessary if I wire plug-in type seperate connectors from the battery to place where the booster stays. Would you use the booster pack to load GPS, Smartphone, Laptop, Cameras, Backup SSD, Ebookreader and other USB devices while camping.

And if weight is a concern, then one could always swap out the old lead battery for a lighter and more compact lithium... but it doesn't charge below freezing I have read somewhere. That will not be a problem for most ordinary bikers who only ride three seasons and avoid cold days, but can be a problem for adventure RTW'ers who can see some really cold mountain passes, travel at winter, etc.

Last time I bought a new battery, the good people at the store talked me down from a Li-ion battery to a cheaper, regular battery. They had had a lot of complaints with the Li-ion batteries failing quickly, possibly due to vibration.

Because your from Norway I guess charging the battery at low temperatures could be more the reason than vibrations. Li-ion should not be charged under 0°C because of reduced diffusion rates on the anode. For fast charging under 5°C charge current should be reduced.

For adv bikes the main advantage is that li-ion batteries at 0°C only loose 10% of their capacity (standard batteries up to 50%). But you should take notice to a rule when it`s cold and you start your bike with li-ion battery: Switch on ignition and wait 30sec before hitting the starter button. This will give the battery time to wake up by creating electric tension.

Equal of type and construction of the battery all have in common that failure is provided by 3 main reasons: vibrations, overheating and charging at low temperatures.