HOW LONG TO FULLY CHARGE BATTERY

[OLDRIDER]

I know someone out here has this answer. If I almost totaly discharge my battery getting my 2009 500 started how long would I have to run the bike to fully charge the battery back up to full? And would it make a difference in time if I was riding the scooter say at 45 mph? In other words would it charge faster? Thanks in advance

[MaryK]

It is hard on the battery to recharge it with the scooter.  The charge rate is too high for too long
and the battery may overheat.  Overheating can cause the electrolyte to boil away
and it can warp the plates in the battery.  A battery is made of metalic plates separated by insulator plates.
Warped plates can short, thus ruining the battery.

It is best to slow charge a battery with a battery charger at no more than 10% of it's capacity....
For example, a 10 Amp-Hr battery should be charged at no more than 1 amp/hr,
which is what a typical trickle charger puts out.  A 10 Amp-Hr battery is typical of many scooters and small motorcycles.
So, it would take about 10 hrs to fully charge a fully discharged battery.

It is best to own and use a charger/maintainer which reduces the output voltage when the battery is charged.
When you ride infrequently, like winter, using the maintainer to keep your battery fully charged is a good idea.
We connect a maintainer about every 2 weeks when we don't ride.  Our batteries are relatively new and don't
lose much capacity over a 2-3 week period.  Old batteries may need a full-time maintainer.

You need to see if your battery uses a liquid electrolyte and if it is low.  If low, add distilled water ONLY.
and then charge the battery.

You can buy a Schumacher battery maintainer at Wal Mart for about $20
and Sears often has a similar one on sale for about the same price.

Now back to your question.  IF you have a 10 Amp-Hr battery and your scooter has a 30 Amp eletrical generation system,
it probably uses 10 amp for running the engine and lights, so that leaves 20 amp to charge on your battery.

That is about 1/2 hr if you are running the engine at moderate RPMs.  Yes, the electrical generation ususally is higher at
moderate RPMs than at idle, which is why the lights get brighter when you rev the engine.

Gosh, I always wanted to be a teacher.. I hope I didn't bore you.

Scoot Safely,

[juice]

Very impressive answer ! You are a great teacher , thanks .

[OLDRIDER]

Thank you very much for you complete and easily understood answer. I do have a charger but in the cold it sometimes takes alot to get the scooter started. I am always somewhat then reluctant to take short trips. So I ususally wait after charging for a nice day incase it hard to start I can go for a longer ride. Again thank you

[MaryK]

Another thing that you can do (I have never done this) is to remove the battery and take it to an
auto parts store such as AutoZone, NAPA, etc.  For FREE, They will test the battery under a load condition
to see if the battery is in good shape electrically.  You should fully charge the battery before testing it.
That may indicate a need for a new battery. 

If you ever buy a new battery be sure to get an AGM type battery. 
AGM is a type of sealed battery with  fiberglass insulators,
which is superior to the old lead acid batteries and does not cost much more.
http://www.batterystuff.com/ is a good place to buy and Scorpion is a good less expensive brand.

Scoot safely,