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  Overland by Motorcycle          

Battery

With daily use, hot or cold, wet or dry, the battery will need to start the bikes. The expected stopping/starting is at least 10 times a day, so there will be a high toll on the battery. Extra juice will also be required for GPS and charging other electronic devices. A flat battery could leave the Rider stranded until help comes along.

The BMW supplied battery is now 3 years old, so a new and upgraded one was fitted. This is the Odyssey PC310 which gives a higher cranking power and is sealed dry cell, so will not leak when the bike falls onto its side. Fitting it required only a little modification to the bike as the battery is slightly shorter than the BMW supplied one. The solution was to simply use some blocks of wood and foam as stilts to raise it up by an inch and a half as well as to limit vibrations (note that if travelling to Australia, a block of wood should not be used as it contravenes quarantine regulations).

Update: After 27,500 miles of use, the bike fires up first time, every time (except once when the temperature was below freezing, when it took 2 goes!)

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