Battery question

[Billy Ricks]

I had a Westco AGM that gave up the ghost after only about 9 months. Bought it off Ebay and it's been close to a year since I pulled it out of the bike so not much recourse for me.

[Steve]

Yep, you got one of the bad batch. Hopefully you will have no problem getting your replacement.

I found it rather amazing that my son and I happened on two batteries of the same bad batch, for the same bike. I got the first one just because the bike came with no battery, then he was having problems with the battery that I put in.

I have had several of these AGM batteries from Batteries Plus, but these two are the only ones I have seen that were not good.

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[Mysuzyq]

I've had very good luck with the Yuasas, and not so good luck with the factory sealed types. My two Yuasa AGMs will both be starting their fourth riding season this spring, and hold charges above 12.5 volts after sitting for a month in my utility room. I just charge them up overnight once a month in the off-season, and every spring they've been good to go.

Rob at Cycle Recycle recommends the Yuasas as the only AGMs that he thinks are worth the extra money over a standard wet cell. That's how I got turned on to them.

+1 on this...my Yuasa will be entering it's fifth year in July, and it has never been off the bike (battery tender all winter, in the garage). Can't speak to the Battery Plus brands, since I've only tried the Yuasa AGM, but at the time the Yuasa had the highest CCA of the bunch, beating the Westco, Deka/Big Crank etc.. though some of them have since caught up. There are only a few actual manufacturers....most of the batteries available are re-labeled and sold under different brand names, so a little research might be in order, to get past the marketing hype.

[Steve]

..., but at the time the Yuasa had the highest CCA of the bunch, beating the Westco, Deka/Big Crank etc. ...

I never bothered with a comparison on CCA, I just went with something that was either available locally or would have national support.

I am sure that if I had had my battery problems at home, the local Batteries Plus store would have done a fine job.
The fact that another store in the chain actually did the support only gives me warm fuzzies that I made a good choice.

Any way you look at it, any new battery will likely have more CCA than the lump of lead and acid that's in your bike, so any change is an improvement.

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[Mysuzyq]

Any way you look at it, any new battery will likely have more CCA than the lump of lead and acid that's in your bike, so any change is an improvement.

I must say, I never thought of it that way. I suppose it's time to change it due to age alone, but the battery has been holding a charge just fine thus far, with no battery related starting issues etc.....was kinda curious though, to see just how long it would last. My earlier wet batteries typically lasted 2 to 3 years, and this was with disconnecting for storage/charging indoors during winter. When I bought the AGM, I recall reading somewhere that cold storage without allowing the battery's charge to drop to less than 80% yielded the best longevity, so I decided to try it. The same season the AGM was installed, I also swapped out the stock reg/rectifier for a near-new one off of a CBR600RR, (only because I got a very good deal on it on ebay.. $ 0.99), so don't know if that made a difference to battery life, though I doubt it.

[Steve]

If it still tests out OK, well, GREAT.

Just be sure you are alert to the signs of impending failure. Just before you notice that it's not cranking quite as quickly, you might notice that it won't fire until the moment you lift your finger off the starter button. The engine is still spinning, and removing the draw of the starter leaves enough voltage for the coils to work, too.

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[pano]

I went to battery Plus this morning and they gave me an even swap upgrade to the X2 model.

They were aware of the issue. The battery I got must have slipped through their screening.