Quote:
Originally Posted by cyclopathic
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.
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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.
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