What battery to buy?

[qslim]

Does anyone know if you need to treat sealed (maint. free) batteries differently when charging? I have a "dumb" 1A charger and have heard thirdhand that using it may be damaging my battery - right now basically I just plug it in overnight if it's not turning the bike over... which it isn't for the 3rd time.

Not sure if the issue right now is my battery (it was new this spring) or my charging sys on the bike, but it started great and after 1/2 hour riding won't start at all... down to 10.1 V

So I need to know if I need to buy a new batt, charger, or both.

Thanks
Nick

Yeah Nick, the battery chargers are not a good idea for extended periods of time. I'm assuming when you said 'dumb' you meant one that does not monitor charge and shut off accordingly. A decent battery tender will set you back sixty bucks or so, but can be plugged up to the battery indefinitely. I use it on my Deka dry cell, and haven't ever had a problem.
Sounds like you may have charging issues, same thing I went through last spring. Have you done any rudimentary checks to see if the system is putting out any voltage?

 

[omaharj]

I'll put in my two cents for gel batteries. I have bought my last liquid motorcycle battery.

I ride a motorcycle because it's fun, not because I have to. I maintain a motorcycle because I have to, not because it's fun. I'm always looking to optimize that ratio.

Brilliantly put,succinct,emotive,and logical. Did you used to write for Barry Goldwater?:-D

 

[JayH]

I take it that you really didn't care for the book Zen and the art of motorcycle maintainence?

I'll put in my two cents for gel batteries. I have bought my last liquid motorcycle battery.

I ride a motorcycle because it's fun, not because I have to. I maintain a motorcycle because I have to, not because it's fun. I'm always looking to optimize that ratio.

 

[omaharj]

Did Phaedrus just wake up? MMMMM...quality cheese!:-D

 

[Boondocks]

I'll put in my two cents for gel batteries. I have bought my last liquid motorcycle battery.

I ride a motorcycle because it's fun, not because I have to. I maintain a motorcycle because I have to, not because it's fun. I'm always looking to optimize that ratio.

To quote from the contrasts of "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance":

Not only did these mechanics not find that sheared pin, but it was clearly a mechanic who had sheared it in the first place, by assembling the side cover plate improperly. I remembered the previous owner had said a mechanic had told him the plate was hard to get on. That was why. The shop manual had warned about this, but like the others he was probably in too much of a hurry or he didn't care.

While at work I was thinking about this same lack of care in the digital computer manuals I was editing. Writing and editing technical manuals is what I do for a living the other eleven months of the year and I knew they were full of errors, ambiguities, omissions and information so completely screwed up you had to read them six times to make any sense out of them. But what struck me for the first time was the agreement of these manuals with the spectator attitude I had seen in the shop. These were spectator manuals. It was built into the format of them. Implicit in every line is the idea that "Here is the machine, isolated in time and in space from everything else in the universe. It has no relationship to you, you have no relationship to it, other than to turn certain switches, maintain voltage levels, check for error conditions -- '' and so on. That's it. The mechanics in their attitude toward the machine were really taking no different attitude from the manual's toward the machine, or from the attitude I had when I brought it in there. We were all spectators. And it occurred to me there is no manual that deals with the real business of motorcycle maintenance, the most important aspect of all. Caring about what you are doing is considered either unimportant or taken for granted.

 

[nuttman]

Battery reply

Battery reply

My battery is shooting craps as we speak. I can get a flooded at my local dealer for $30, but Batteries Plus (about two miles from my house) has a sealed unit for $50. I'm thinking for $20 more no hastle is a good thing.

 

[fastpakr]

Yeah Nick, the battery chargers are not a good idea for extended periods of time. I'm assuming when you said 'dumb' you meant one that does not monitor charge and shut off accordingly. A decent battery tender will set you back sixty bucks or so, but can be plugged up to the battery indefinitely. I use it on my Deka dry cell, and haven't ever had a problem.
Sounds like you may have charging issues, same thing I went through last spring. Have you done any rudimentary checks to see if the system is putting out any voltage?

Any thoughts on this charger? I'd been using it as a battery tender and leaving it on regularly, but I'm not sure it actually monitors the battery condition. Am I damaging the battery by doing so?

 

[rkubik]

case opacity

case opacity

When I first got the bike, I installed a cheaper made-in-China conventional battery so as not to have wasted too much dough in case I couldn't get the bike running.

The battery itself works fine, but the white plastic case is too opaque to see the fluid levels without shining a flashlight through from behind. Never had that trouble with Yuasas.

 

[jpaul]

Any thoughts on this charger? I'd been using it as a battery tender and leaving it on regularly, but I'm not sure it actually monitors the battery condition. Am I damaging the battery by doing so?

That looks similar to the one I used to have, till it died. 1/2 amp is not likely to damage the battery. If you want to add a safety factor in, buy one of those cheap 24 hr timers, and set it to run for 8-12 hours a day.

 

[bwringer]

Wal*Mart has a computer-controlled battery maintainer charger for $17 (last one I saw was branded Black & Decker). IIRC, you could switch it between 1/2 and 2 amps maximum (although actual current is controlled by the chip), so use the lower 1/2 amp setting.

The constant 1/2 amp from that trickle charger will boil a battery dry in a few weeks.

Look for any charger that says it's "computer controlled" or that is billed as a "battery maintainer". They all use the same IC chip.

My Dad felt the need to explain this chip to me in excruciating detail a while ago -- it's a pretty amazing little blob of silicone, but I have mercifully blanked out on the nitty gritty details.

 

[Flyin' Low]

Wal*Mart has a computer-controlled battery maintainer charger for $17 (last one I saw was branded Black & Decker). I...

Look for any charger that says it's "computer controlled" or that is billed as a "battery maintainer". They all use the same IC chip.

...

Sounds good, thanks for the info. I have simply not made time to look at the bike for a month, and now my girlfriend has been pestering me to get it fixed (yes, she's a keeper!)

Nick

 

[Steve]

I now have sealed batteries in my 650L, 850L, Kawasaki Voyager 1300, GoldWing 1500 and next week, my son's Venture Royale 1300. For a few bucks more than a flooded battery, you get peace of mind (not having to check the fluid level), better cranking and, most likely, longer life.

It just doesn't get any better than that.


.

 

[devillox]

I just found these... AGM for the price of acid.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/YB14...tegoryZ35594QQihZ001QQitemZ110009963419QQrdZ1

 

[Boondocks]

I just found these... AGM for the price of acid.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/YB14...tegoryZ35594QQihZ001QQitemZ110009963419QQrdZ1

It's a good price (maybe too good) and the seller has a good eBay rating, but the battery specs show only 120 CCA (cold cranking amps). For this type of battery the CCA should be 190-200 CCA. Frankly, I would be skeptical and suppose that the listed CCA starting power was not a misprint until proven otherwise.

The YB14L-A2 designation is a Yuasa battery type for their flooded (not AGM) battery with 190 CCA. The eBay battery is not made by Yuasa. The price is not attractive if the battery has a very low and substandard starting power rating. I would want to know who makes the battery, and the reason for the unsatisfactory CCA rating. I wouldn't buy it unless I was given a satisfactory explanation by the seller.

 

[shortlid]

Ok, so my 2 year old Yusa out of my '80 GS850G was on a SMARTcharger 1 amp for TWO WEEKS and went low on water. I just tapped it off with distilled water and put it back on the 1 amp smart charger for the night. Went to start the bike this AM on the batter was real weak and died after three tries. I topped it off again and now have it charging on the 1 amp smart charger again did I fry it??

 

[JayH]

Did you take the 6 caps off the top of the battery or just loosen em up and leave em on top of the corresponding cell? I don't think that I've ever left a battery like that unattended for such a long time but I wouldn't have thought that the charger would boil off that much water.

 

[ScottMc1100L]

... I just tapped it off with distilled water and put it back on the 1 amp smart charger for the night. Went to start the bike this AM on the batter was real weak and died after three tries. I topped it off again and now have it charging on the 1 amp smart charger again did I fry it??

It's possible that having on the 1 amp for the night simply was not long enough.

This is the first I've seen this thread. Some good info here. I've never had a gel in a bike, only because this is my first season back and have not needed to buy one. When the time comes, it will be AGM for sure. I learned about these from the car club I belong to. I have a few "Optima" batteries for my Diesels. They have been great. Totally impressed. I'm not sure if Optima manufactures bike batteries or not.

One of the key advantages for me is the fact that if they tip, they do not leak. Also, you can mount them in most any position (good for racing applications)
$20 extra is nothing when you figure the damage potentially done by acid running down your chrome or painted surfaces!

Lead acid is to AGM as the VCR is to the DVD player!

 

[tomch]

By the by, Sears Die-Hard motorcycle batteries are made by Yuasa. $34.99 for the YB14L-A2 for my GS1100GL, but everything seems to be more expensive around Boston.

Thanks for the info - that's good to know.