abitmad wrote:It will take longer for the alternator to charge it

Only if you compare a totally flat battery of 8Ah to a totally flat 12Ah one.
But once fully charged: if you manage to lose 4Ah in each you charge back 4Ah - it's the same.

The only difference if that if you lose 8Ah from the smaller battery you are stranded, if you lose 8AH from the 12Ah one you still have 4Ah which gives you a good chance of starting it without jump leads.

The bigger battery merely has more spare capacity just sitting there, for the odd time you may need it.

IMHO chargers like Optimates are the spawn of the devil. I use mine occasionally (CTEK MultiXS3600) to recharge my bikes battery cells to 100% then disconnect. I never leave chargers of any kind connected any longer than necessary as I have seen plenty of folk (via other bike forums) slowly degrade their batteries this way. They also tell lies about the state of your battery, showing green when cells are almost spent.

I was charging and then disconnecting but then I noticed that it charged at the same current and time whither I disconnected it or not. It only charges until the current drops to zero, then displays voltage and monitors it.
I can't see how it could cause any damage if it's not overcharging.
Before I got the Optimate I used a 12V stoplight bulb in series using a car battery charger. Either way the battery only accepts current until it's fully charged. With a bulb it just gets brighter as the battery comes to full charge and the charging rate drops.
I've kept this battery charged this way for over a year and it's still always ready for action..

Charger discussions are like oil and tyre ones with entrenched views going on an on and almost nobody is persuaded to change their mind.

I'm in the permanently connected smart charger camp and all my large number of bikes over the years, ever since a long time ago my Harley ElectraGlide had a flat batt when I wanted to ride it, are always on charge at home using either Optimates in the past or more recently CTEKs. I come home and I immediately plug in, having fitted permanent connectors to the battery including my TMax DX that I bought new a few months ago. The bike then stays on the charger until I next ride. In some cases that has been for months.

There are two benefits from constantly being on charge at home, provided you use a good smart charger. First and for me by far the most important, this ensures that the battery will always be ready to start the bike, which is especially important for low mileage or infrequent users like me, second the batt life is extended considerably by being constantly fully charged.

Downsides? None. Okay there is a tiny amount of electricity usage and you have to buy the charger which should last many years. Both of these well worth it for the peace of mind in not having a flat battery when you want to ride.

I don't believe those stories of fried batteries that are supposed to have been caused by leading smarts like Optimate or CTEK for example. The most likely explanation is not the charger but the battery being at fault or something else wrong with the bike's electrics that ruin the battery.

And even if we grant the benefit of the doubt and accept that there have been a few genuine cases of an Optimate or CTEK ruining a battery by being faulty, the number of these is irrelevant against the vast number of bikers that have satisfactory experience with them. Optimate for one have been around for very many years.

For those who ride very frequently and appropriately long distances so that the bike does the charging, using a charger matters far less. But because of very good experience with them, I'm such a fan of smart chargers that even if I were to commute daily over a longer distance I'd still do what I do. As I said there is no downside, only benefit.

Totally agree with mr mad

its been covered since the snow fall haha

absolutley nothing for 4 weeks , dam weather is ether freezing /snowing or pouring with rain

Washed the salt and road muck off "Mr T" after a ride, particularly the centre-stand and brake calipers. Covered back up! It's too cold to ride for pleasure so I'm only using it when I need to. I'm obviously getting soft in my old age..

Took it for its first MOT. Passed no advisory's. Blood mentioned headlight was borderline and could do with tweaking down but not bad enough to fail.

Used it for the commute
The slightly warmer weather and the horrendously busy traffic on the M23 towards Gatwick each morning this week, has meant the cover has come off and the SIlverwing has been out to play!!!