solar panel efficacy in charging battery

[Guest]

I was looking at this

http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524443306631&bmUID=1305333452181

an wondering what the issues are surrounding using this as a supplemental battery charger.

[Billy Ricks]

It would work okay as a battery maintainer. It would take a month or so to fully charge a battery with one. It probably puts out something on the order of .05 amps. It should work out to .085 but solar panels don't quite meet the output using the usual formula since they don't always have optimal sunlight. A 10 or 20 watt panel would be better suited for charging and even then would take a good day to charge a battery fully.

[koolaid_kid]

A battery maintainer outputs 1.0 - 1.5 Amps. You'll want a larger panel as Billy Ricks stated, and you'll want to place the panel in the place where the most sunlight exists (out of doors, most likely) and then run the cables to the bike.
You would also want some type of regulator so you don't overcharge the battery.

[Ranger]

They make some specifically for vehicle batteries to be used while camping.