Charging strategies for long battery life?

[ecd]

I just bought a 2019 EXR and am curious about a few things. Apparently the only owners manual is the 2017 one, before even the EX existed?

- Should follow any particular guidelines with charging to prolong battery life?
- Is it okay to top it off at any usage (e.g., when battery is at 90%)?
- Is it okay to ride until limp mode regularly?
- Is it okay to leave it in the charger when fully charged for extended periods?
- Is riding at high temps okay? e.g. 100 degrees

I don't intend to be paranoid about this and don't intend on babying it, but I'm completely new to this and don't want to be making some dumb mistake that has a large impact

The owners manual seems very sparse on info like this. I did see this at least:

Do not leave the HV battery below 10% charge for more than one week, or below 25% for more than one month. When storing the HV battery, charge it to 40-60% (or higher) and check it monthly, recharging if needed.

 

[WoodsWeapon]

i dont have any by the book info to offer, but I charge between motos routinely and so far havent encountered any problems. Ive raced a hare scramble at 97 degrees. The charger will shut itself off at full charge. Long term effects, I dont know, but thats what Ive done since August.
I assume you havent taken delivery of the EXR yet? Did they give you an estimated date?

 

[ecd]

I assume you havent taken delivery of the EXR yet? Did they give you an estimated date?

I picked it up today. I thought they weren't available for ~4 weeks, but apparently the dealer I went to had some of the first ones. K&B Motorsports in Petaluma, CA. I was told that this is the 3rd EXR they sold (and the first 2 were the first in the country). When I was there today there was 1 EXR (besides mine) and 3 MXRs.

 

[Bionicman]

My EXR is waiting for a Monday pickup in Oregon

 

[WoodsWeapon]

Man I better get moving, I assumed they were several weeks out.

 

[snydes]

I just bought a 2019 EXR and am curious about a few things. Apparently the only owners manual is the 2017 one, before even the EX existed?

- Should follow any particular guidelines with charging to prolong battery life?
- Is it okay to top it off at any usage (e.g., when battery is at 90%)?
- Is it okay to ride until limp mode regularly?
- Is it okay to leave it in the charger when fully charged for extended periods?
- Is riding at high temps okay? e.g. 100 degrees

I don't intend to be paranoid about this and don't intend on babying it, but I'm completely new to this and don't want to be making some dumb mistake that has a large impact

The owners manual seems very sparse on info like this. I did see this at least:

I was asking very similar questions some time back
Battery Technology and Best practice battery care

Basically we don’t really know much more for sure other than the Alta recommendations. It sounds like in a perfect world you would never go above 75% or below 25%, but are those safeties already built into the software? We don’t know.

 

[bluefxstc]

I saw this post on lithium batteries on another forum and thought it was a pretty good summation of how lithium batteries get damaged. As Snydes stated we really don't know what protections Alta built into the bike so we may not have to do anything, but the info is still valuable.

Are you killing your lithium batteries?

 

[metallic88]

I just bought a 2019 EXR and am curious about a few things. Apparently the only owners manual is the 2017 one, before even the EX existed?

- Should follow any particular guidelines with charging to prolong battery life?
- Is it okay to top it off at any usage (e.g., when battery is at 90%)?
- Is it okay to ride until limp mode regularly?
- Is it okay to leave it in the charger when fully charged for extended periods?
- Is riding at high temps okay? e.g. 100 degrees

I don't intend to be paranoid about this and don't intend on babying it, but I'm completely new to this and don't want to be making some dumb mistake that has a large impact

The owners manual seems very sparse on info like this. I did see this at least:

I'm not sure about most of those, but my 2017 mx has close to 500 miles and I usually leave it around 40-50% charged when sitting. When i want to go riding i plug it in the night before or in the morning of the day i want to ride, I have riddin in 110 degree weather and I havent noticed a differance in performace or battery life. also my bike get stored in a hot garage unfortunately but lately its been around 115 degrees in there.

 

[Judaslefourbe]

40-50% charge when sitting for a while is the way to go.
Any other time, feel free to go from 100% to 0 every single time. The safety margin is included in the firmware.

 

[strider]

Hi everyone. Speaking from Tesla experience here - not an Alta owner yet.

Yes, 50% is ideal for long term storage - that provides the least amount of time-based degredation. Do Alta's have a storage mode where you can leave it plugged in and it will hold 50%?

As for charging to 100% and riding to 0%, both are fine as long as they don't stay at those levels for a long time. No problem at all charing to 100% as long as you ride it soon (this is assuming 100% is really 100% of battery capacity - some manufacturers "hide" some of the capacity to minimize degradation). Same for riding down to 0%. No problem as long as you plug it in and bring it off 0% within a day.

 

[C5tor]

I picked it up today. I thought they weren't available for ~4 weeks, but apparently the dealer I went to had some of the first ones. K&B Motorsports in Petaluma, CA. I was told that this is the 3rd EXR they sold (and the first 2 were the first in the country). When I was there today there was 1 EXR (besides mine) and 3 MXRs.

Hey, I bought my MXR there as well!

 

[Bionicman]

My history has been charging- I’ve always kept batteries full & balanced ready to ride. My theory is for the entire typical motorcycle ownership you will not see significant degradation of battery capacity before you need a new ride. But I have seen significant battery degradation depending on if the battery was stored in garage or temp controlled house.

Fire the wife & replace her doily couch with an Alta~ myO2

 

[C5tor]

My history has been charging- I’ve always kept batteries full & balanced ready to ride. My theory is for the entire typical motorcycle ownership you will not see significant degradation of battery capacity before you need a new ride. But I have seen significant battery degradation depending on if the battery was stored in garage or temp controlled house.

Fire the wife & replace her doily couch with an Alta~ myO2

Well, don't keep us in suspense? Where is the Alta happiest? Snug by the fireplace? In the kitchen within easy reach of the fridge and stove for a quick nightly snack of Redbull and 240v? Hanging out in the rumpus room playing xbox? Or is it most content curled up at the foot of your bed like a lovable pet?

 

[Redwolf]

Well, don't keep us in suspense? Where is the Alta happiest? Snug by the fireplace? In the kitchen within easy reach of the fridge and stove for a quick nightly snack of Redbull and 240v? Hanging out in the rumpus room playing xbox? Or is it most content curled up at the foot of your bed like a lovable pet?

View attachment 3524

Mine prefers to hang out at the end of the living room next to the kegerator, with easy access to the front door, or hanging out in the shop with me doing projects with the occasional rip around the property.

 

[Bionicman]

Mine prefers to hang out at the end of the living room next to the kegerator, with easy access to the front door, or hanging out in the shop with me doing projects with the occasional rip around the property.

Agreed quick access outdoors but otherwise snug at 69deg...