How Long Will It Take to Recharge Your Motorcycle Battery?

How long to charge a motorcycle battery

If you found this post, you might be stuck with a weak or dead motorcycle battery.

I feel you bro…

You may have plugged in a charger, or you got lucky, and the bike started even with a weak battery.

Now you are wondering. ”how long should I leave it to charge?”

How Long to Charge a Motorcycle Battery

A weak motorcycle battery that was still able to start the bike should be fully recharged under 1 to 3 hours of riding. A dead motorcycle battery linked to a charger should be at full charge In 4 to 24 hours, depending on the situation.

If you know your battery is weak, but you still can get the bike started, go ride, my dude. Go fly like the wind!

Just kidding. Respect the speed limit, but… going faster will actually recharge your motorcycle battery more quickly… no joke.

The higher the RPM, the faster your bike stator (alternator) will turn and the quicker it gets your battery topped off.

Hit the backroads or go on the highway and rev that sucker!

How long to charge a motorcycle battery

Ride for an hour, and your battery should be good.

If you jump-started your battery, extend your ride to three hours to be on the safe side if you can.

On the other hand, if you think you can get away with leaving your motorcycle idle in your driveway to recharge your battery…

Think again, it is not that effective, and it will take a long time.

Since your stator won’t turn as fast as it should, you would be better off buying a battery charger and plugging in your battery.

How Long to Charge a Motorcycle Battery with A Charger

Depending on the state of the battery and the output of the charger, 4 to 24 hours should be expected to reach a full recharge on a motorcycle battery.

There are two influencing factors when asking how much time it will take to bring your battery to life.

  • If your battery is close to a full discharge it will take much longer.
  • The lower your charger Amp-hours output (Ah) the longer it will take.

If you found your bike battery lifeless, you should not expect to ride that day.

Both because the recharge will take a long time…

But this extra time also gives your battery a fair chance to be brought back to life by taking things slow.

A slower and weaker recharge will be better for your battery lifespan.

You could be tempted to crank your charger to its strongest output setting to recharge quicker, but here’s the twist…

Motorcycle batteries are smaller than cars and trucks and can’t take too many Amp-hours outputs to recharge.

So plugging in a 10Ah charger might not be the best idea as it might damage your battery.

It would be best to aim for a battery charger tender with a 0.8 to 2 Ah output like this one.

Intelligent Motorcycle Battery Charger

Motorcycle battery charger 1

An ”intelligent” charger like this one It is the most hassle-free charger you can get.

You can get it by Clicking here.

This charger will take a reading of your battery capacity and adjust the output to optimize the recharge.

It also means that it will not overload your battery by continuing to charge it when your battery is ”full”.

It will also act as a trickle charger if you ever need to maintain the charge on your battery during a long storage period.

Be Careful with Recharging Your Motorcycle Battery with A Car Charger

As previously mentioned, it is not great for a motorcycle battery’s long-term health to receive too much Ah too quickly in a recharge.

But there is another potential issue with traditional cars charger and that ”overloading”.

A lot of car chargers will not stop charging your battery even when it is full, which could damage it.

But most car chargers these days come with a ”Float” option.

That function will make the charger know when to stop charging to avoid overload.

Just remember to activate the float function if it is not automatic.

How to Know when Your Motorcycle Battery Is Fully Recharged?

Testing the battery is the way to know when a charge cycle is complete.

To test a battery, you will need a tool called a Voltmeter or a Multimeter

Motorcycle battery voltage multimeter voltmeter

If you don’t have one…

Well, while waiting for your battery to recharge, now is a good time for a trip to your local hardware or auto parts store to get a Voltmeter.

Otherwise, you can get the Voltmeter I recommend by Clicking here.

Here How To Know If Your Battery Is Fully Recharged.

1. unplug it from the charger.

2. If you took your battery out of your motorcycle, put it back in, and replug everything as if you are reinstalling your battery.

Leave the battery exposed, though.

3. Turn your key ignition to ”ON” and let the headlight on for a minute without starting the motorcycle.

This is to eliminate the ”surface charge” left by the recharge that could falsify your voltmeter reading.

4. Turn your key to the off position to turn off the headlight after a minute.

You can take the battery out of the bike again if you wish

5. Put the voltmeter on 12v or V function. Then put each end tip on your Voltmeter reader on each battery terminal with the correct terminal assignation.

Positive (red) on positive

Negative (black) on negative

Motorcycle Battery voltage testing

You should then get a reading

Motorcycle Battery Voltage

Here is what it means.

12-volt motorcycle battery voltage chart

It is a rough estimate; each battery is different.

Also, as your battery gets older, its ”full capacity” will diminish.

Meaning that a brand new battery could be full at 13.00volt but two year later, 12.75 volts is the highest it can now do on every recharge.

Now replug the battery to your charger, and put it on ”recharge” again.

Redo the test in 20 minutes.

If the voltage number on your Multimeter stayed the same without going up, your battery is probably as recharged as it can get.

If you need further help or information on how to test your motorcycle battery, I have a more detailed tutorial you can browse by Clicking here.

Your Battery Is Still Weak or Dead After a Full Recharge?

This means that your battery has turned ”bad” and compromised its capacity to recharge and hold a charge.

It would be best if you replaced your battery at this point.

Please give it a proper burial.

That means not throwing it in your garbage bin.

Please take it to your local eco or recycling center.

Your battery might be dead, but it can be recycled and made into a new battery again.

Can a Dead Motorcycle Battery Be Recharged?

A flat battery with still some amount of energy left can be recharged. A dead battery with absolute zero power usually cannot be recharged or brought back to life.

Sorry if that is your case. 🙁

Final Word

I hope I answered your question in a matter you found helpful and learned a thing or two.

I hope your battery is all well and good

Take care. Ride safe.