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Battery Recommendations?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Xanthius
  • Start date Start date
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Xanthius

Guest
Real quick back story, I got an 83 GS1100GL for free and hasn't ran in about 10 years. So, one of the first things I've done is put the battery on a charger. It looked visually flawless but I had my serious doubts about a battery that's been sitting for that long. After about 20 hours on the charger, it went from 5.5v to 12.1v. So I put it back on the charger for another 10 hours or so. It's still at 12.1v. I'm fairly new to all this but I am fairly confident the battery is a goner. The bike is partially disassembled and is at least weeks away from starting so a load test isn't possible right now, at least on the bike.

Question 1. Am I likely correct about this?

Question 2. Any recommendations on a new one? I've looked at multiple batteries and prices vary wildly. Price is definitely a factor for me but I don't want garbage of course. I was leaning towards a 210cca lead acid battery which was about $60 made by Scorpion. That said, I have no clue who Scorpion is and am hesitant to buy what may be an off brand for something so important.

The bike is stock and I have no crazy electronic plans in the future. Just looking for the best bang for my buck in what will be a nearly daily ride. I used the search function but couldn't find any answer. Thanks in advance all!
 
AGM, and AGM only. All AGM batteries are sealed, but not all sealed batteries are AGMs. The others are not much better than regular old lead acid batteries.
 
Please note that "AGM" is not a brand, it's a construction style. AGM batteries are available from most major manufacturers, you can even get them at Auto Zone and Wal-Mart. Batteries Plus has a couple models that will run about $80-90, others can be found on the interwebs for about half that.

Before you try cranking the bike over, do yourself (and your bike) a favor, check the valve clearrances and clean the carbs. Don't waste your money on carb "rebuild kits", though, they frequently contain parts of questionable quality, not to mention that they also do not contain all the parts that you need. Much better to get an o-ring kit from fellow member robertbarr, then break the carbs apart, soak each one in Berryman's Carb Cleaner Dip for a full 24 hours (ignore the instructions on the can), then flush them out and re-assemble with the new o-rings.
 
Thanks for all the advice. Upon seeing AGM, I looked it up and definitely have a better understanding on the battery types. I've narrowed down my options much further now and should be all good.

And thank you for the further advice. Happily I'm not making that newbie mistake. I just got the carbs off and externally cleaned today. Next weekend will be disassembly and dip. And I won't be turning the key until I've finished the carbs, checked the valves, and replaced all fluids and filters. Assuming I find nothing else obviously wrong, I'll try a start for the first time then.
 
Sounds like you're on the right track. Amazon and Chrome battery have some good prices. No reason to get lead acid anymore and IMO li-ion isn't ready for prime time yet.

Also check and clean the electrical connections, especially those from the stator and to the R&R, battery and the fuse box. I'd also suggest cleaning and flowing solder into the fuse box or at the minimum, deoxit and dielectric grease the connections in there, and read up on and perform posplayr's quick tests to ensure that you're charging correctly once you do get it running.

Speaking of the R/R, get a used or cheap Polaris SH775.
 
no name and weird name AGM batteries are not good just because- I see a lot of failures - especially n-ever start sold at Walmart - batteries plus brands are a close second - for percentage of premature failure - they do have warranties and some times you have to go thru 2 or 3 to get one that lasts - if you are ok with that go cheap. I wouldn't

also as a side note agm - fail without warning , one minute everything is perfect - out of nowhere gone - unlike lead acid (which are perfectly fine) regular lead acid batteries work trouble free for years - so what if you have to route a vent tube and cannot turn it upside down - you cant beat the predictability of a flooded battery when they are new it shows with the way the starter works and as they age the starter is how you can tell. when it is time for a new one you will know it by it's performance / or behavior you will know plenty of time before it leaves you stranded - no surprises

YUASA and INTERSTATE . brands are the ones that are most likely to give you 5 ,6 or more years if you take care of it properly. I sell a lot of PARTS UNLIMITED brand 1 year warranty and we have many on the shelf - both agm and flooded style. they are better than cut rate mail order - but yuasa and interstate are the best of the best
 
trippivot said:
no name and weird name AGM batteries are not good just because- I see a lot of failures - especially n-ever start sold at Walmart - batteries plus brands are a close second - for percentage of premature failure - they do have warranties and some times you have to go thru 2 or 3 to get one that lasts - if you are ok with that go cheap. I wouldn't

also as a side note agm - fail without warning , one minute everything is perfect - out of nowhere gone - unlike lead acid (which are perfectly fine) regular lead acid batteries work trouble free for years - so what if you have to route a vent tube and cannot turn it upside down - you cant beat the predictability of a flooded battery when they are new it shows with the way the starter works and as they age the starter is how you can tell. when it is time for a new one you will know it by it's performance / or behavior you will know plenty of time before it leaves you stranded - no surprises

YUASA and INTERSTATE . brands are the ones that are most likely to give you 5 ,6 or more years if you take care of it properly. I sell a lot of PARTS UNLIMITED brand 1 year warranty and we have many on the shelf - both agm and flooded style. they are better than cut rate mail order - but yuasa and interstate are the best of the best
Click to expand...

Hmmm, been using AGM batteries for years, dozens of them. Both expensive and cheap. Have not ever had one faii, not premature failure, not fine one minute and the next minute gone, no failures at all. The original AGM in my BMW was made in 2008, it's still going strong in it's eighth year as are all of the others.
 
I'm a fan of Motobatt batteries. There is a battery test from a few years back floating around the internet and the Motobatt came out on top.
 
A lot of guys refer to Wal-Mart batteries as (N)EverStart but I have to say that I ran two marine deep cycle EverStart Maxx batteries for 7 years in a pretty harsh environment and they never failed. I would trust their M/C batteries as well.
 
tkent02 said:
Hmmm, been using AGM batteries for years, dozens of them. Both expensive and cheap. Have not ever had one faii, not premature failure, not fine one minute and the next minute gone, no failures at all. The original AGM in my BMW was made in 2008, it's still going strong in it's eighth year as are all of the others.
Click to expand...

I've been installing motorcycle batteries for decades - sometimes at the rate of 2 dozen per week - depending on season.- not counting the other mechanics at the super size dealerships I have had the good fortune to work at. now I'm just 1 of 3 at a small privateer shop - I have seen more acid drooped than Woodstock as a whole.. lol

I'm not selling anything just offering my honest experience - so the fact that tkent has purchased a couple batteries and never had a bad battery or a battery failure only proves he should play the lottery.

8 years from a ytx 14 and smaller is uncommon -huge boat batteries - very common.... my personal best is 6 years with a ytx14- and yes I had to call AAA to get home.

small batteries are more delicate than big ones- apples and oranges try to get 3 years from a ytx4 or ytx7 -- but easy to do with a fluid filled standard type.
 
trippivot said:
I've been installing motorcycle batteries for decades - sometimes at the rate of 2 dozen per week - depending on season.- not counting the other mechanics at the super size dealerships I have had the good fortune to work at. now I'm just 1 of 3 at a small privateer shop - I have seen more acid drooped than Woodstock as a whole.. lol

I'm not selling anything just offering my honest experience - so the fact that tkent has purchased a couple batteries and never had a bad battery or a battery failure only proves he should play the lottery.

8 years from a ytx 14 and smaller is uncommon -huge boat batteries - very common.... my personal best is 6 years with a ytx14- and yes I had to call AAA to get home.

small batteries are more delicate than big ones- apples and oranges try to get 3 years from a ytx4 or ytx7 -- but easy to do with a fluid filled standard type.
Click to expand...

Not saying I have bought more batteries than you have sold, but a lot more than a couple. I have nine bikes right now, all with AGMs, I buy and sell bikes a lot, whenever the batteries die I put in AGMs, so that's quite a few of them. Have a few in cars too, all the kid's cars have them, as does my Jeep, my truck and my wife's car. Never a problem with any of them.

You see thousands of batteries come through your shop so you will see the duds, as well as the ones ruined by customers hooking them up backwards, overcharging, undercharging, dropping them on the concrete, when people swap them out because a short on the vehicle depletes the battery, whatever they think of to screw up a battery.
I'm not saying you don't see these problems, just that it's rare enough not to worry about it. I'm not buying a battery that ****es acid everywhere, that spills out if you drop the bike, and that needs to be recharged if you let it sit a few months when there is a much better option available. The fact that the KTMs, BMWs, Ducatis and the other expensive bikes all come stock with AGMs says a lot.

I'm sticking with my recommendation for AGMs.

And I'm going to start a survey thread to see how many of them fail.
 
I have not had the experience of either of the posters above with batteries.
But....
I recommend a AGM battery sold by a reputable battery company.
AGM batteries just last longer.
A couple of extra years of life for a couple of bucks more.
Hold a great charge over long periods of time.
I have had one in my old bike for several years.
Soon I will need to replace.
Would have been much sooner with a typical battery, a few years sooner.
Next battery purchase I am trying something different though.
Just to try and save weight.
 
Johnson controls are the major manufacturer of many brands of batteries ranging from industrial to recreation - now to get a first run class "A" you will pay a premium and it will only be original factory equipment and biggest names. - class "B" or not accepted as perfect by strict standards will be sold under other brand names. but there are other manufacturing companies - 1 other thing to consider is the EPA and the batteries of today are weaker than years ago.


and of course you can get blem batteries that have appearance issues but function like a perfect one - but you have to be near a outlet that handles them - like in Phoenix the place is in sunnyslope - I have not found one here in WI.

refillable lead acid batts. are still fine and dandy ---- actually better in some respects - like predictability - so what if you have to put some distilled water in them once in a while -- you don't see agm style in pallet jacks - and if it is good for industrial use there has to be a reason ?


1 more thing to consider cheap batteries have thinner lead / lead peroxide plates and are not attached to the core as solidly a higher quality battery - so vibration is a cause for failure... just saying - I see me some battery failures.

buy what you like, agm are trending - mainence free but when it goes it's gone and will ruin your reg/rct and stator by direct short if you try to run your gs with a electrical problem - unlike your messy regular old battery you can limp/ bump and jump start and live with a weak crappy battery it will work the charging system but not ruin it. - except the rare occasion that the plates solidly short but usually when they short they melt away from the problem - not your agm its a killer for sure
 
trippivot said:
buy what you like, agm are trending - mainence free but when it goes it's gone and will ruin your reg/rct and stator by direct short if you try to run your gs with a electrical problem - unlike your messy regular old battery you can limp/ bump and jump start and live with a weak crappy battery it will work the charging system but not ruin it. - except the rare occasion that the plates solidly short but usually when they short they melt away from the problem - not your agm its a killer for sure
Click to expand...

Not sure I understand what you are talking about with a battery short. For example if two plates touch, that cell is shorted and the output voltage is now reduced and while there could be high currents and heating internal to the battery, there is no increase in current flowing from the battery.

However, I would guess if a 12 volt battery with 2V per cell loses a cell it is now a 10V battery and so the charging rate will increase for the same R/R 14.5V terminal voltage owing to the bigger difference 14.5V-12.8V(normal) v.s. 14.5V-10.6V(shorted)

Is this what you are describing as causing R/R or other electrical failure?
 
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