VRLA maintenance - solar panels?

[badnewswade]

Would having a few small solar panels on my bike prolong or detract from their life?

I have a feeling that they'd probably not be good for it in most cases, but that if I was very careful and only trickle-charged or used a clever voltage-regulation system of some kind, solar panels could offer significant improvements in cycle life and / or range.

What do the experts think? I could probably afford a couple more 2w monocrystallines, which are hardly going to kill the new VRLAs overnight... are they?