Does Starting My Motorcycle in the Winter Charge the Battery?

When we have been asked 'Does starting my motorcycle in the winter charge the battery?,' many new and old riders alike are surprised to learn that, while starting your bike every few weeks in the winter may be good for the mechanics of it, it could end up harming your motorcycle battery.

Here's why:

The charging system of your motorcycle does not truly ramp up until it gets far above idle, depending on the motorcycle that could be as high as 5000 RPM! So, unless you hold 'er wide open for 10 or 15 minutes, you may not get enough of a charge to replace the energy you used to start the motorcycle, let alone the energy you needed to replace the natural discharge from being placed in storage.

You either need to keep it on a decent motorcycle charger, such as a Battery Tender, or you need to suck it up and go for a 20+ mile ride every couple weeks!