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Battery Options

13K views 26 replies 9 participants last post by  Pharisee 
#1 ·
Hopefully this isn't the same as the "what oil is best" question. My criteria is low cost, able to supply sufficient power to a stock 70 650, mount in stock location. I'm sure I will have it hooked up the battery tender when ever it's parked at home to ensure a full charge on each start up. What are some good options?
 
#3 ·
Found a short list of options through search. Let me ask this instead. If I were to go with a modern type battery, LI type, are there any that are as trouble free an AGM battery. I know some of the new lightweight ones are finicky on how they are charged, go bad if let to discharge too far, catch fire in some cases, etc.
 
#4 · (Edited)
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#6 ·
Hi Mark, For your type bike you really will have 2 choices. The cheapest lead/acid you can find or the MotoBatt. I have a MotoBatt, almost all by friends have a MotoBatt. They just fit & work good. The terminal adaptors give options for hook up. They don't leak or mist acid at all. If you get the MotoBatt you will not have any problems. If you will actually ride the bike, get the MotoBatt.

If you wanted a tiny battery for space or cosmetic reasons that would be different.

Look up the exact MotoBatt # battery & search best price. Mine came from Florida. I'm in CA. Worked good for 3 years so far.

I wish the case was black instead of yellow, so it would look more original. But it works so good, I use them anyway. You can't see it with seat down so really it doesn't matter.
Don
 
#8 ·
I use the Varta AGM battery and it is good after 3 years so far.I also have the combined regulator/rectifier unit.These batteries do discharge if left in Winter so top up once a month with a motorcycle charger.Remember that some Li-ion batteries can explode quite easily if damaged and result in a fire that cannot be put out.Take a look on youtube at Li-ion battery fires.
I do know of someone who fitted a Li-ion and it failed very quickly on his old bike with its antique charging system and vibration,For me,no problems with AGM types.
When i worked,i had access to fire alarm batteries that were replaced after 4 years on standby.I used these sealed lead/acid batteries for many years.They would last another 4 years easily and were Yuasa make.That type could even be used on their side or any other angle.Worth a try if you know any fire alarm servicing people.
 
#12 ·
My Yuasa on the Rocket lasted 9 years so i replaced with another exactly the same.The Varta is quite cheap in the UK for AGM and less than Motobatt.Today i bought a cheapy battery for £20 delivered for a GSXR that i am selling, due to the existing one being weak.I have bought cheap batteries but generally,they fail earlier in maybe,just 1 year .
My charger is an optimate and it is a quality charger that has indicators when the battery is charged as well as its condition at end of charge.Personally,i never leave a trickle charger on as there is a risk of overheating and that cannot be allowed in a garage with £30,000 in bikes sitting there.Risk is small i know but what can be turned off,is turned off.
I monitor the life of my batteries and am using 4 different makes at the moment which might give me a better idea of life for each make.
Motobatt is recommended by a lot of people and repair garages.
 
#14 ·
Battery Tenders, unlike trickle chargers, don't continue to "trickle charge". Once the battery reaches full charge the tender shuts off and only comes back on if the charge drops to a certain point. I'll go with the Motobatt MB9U. I don't mind spending $60 for a quality battery instead of $39 for a cheapie.
 
#17 ·
I'm just continuing the BS'ing now. eBay stuff usually ships quickly also. I'm certainly not in need of it in the next 48hrs. I'd wait an extra day to save $5.:wink2:
The battery is pretty much the very last thing the bike needs before firing it up.
 
#18 ·
Hi Marc,

Apologies for wasting your time. It's some years since I dealt with anyone at Motobatt, when the guy with whom I was having an e-mail conversation gave me a price and asked for my address so he could quote shipping ... I e-mailed back that I was in GB ... :)

Regards,
 
#20 ·
The price difference between an unsealed cheapo battery and the sealed AGM type is a lot less than the cost of replacing a muffler ruined by battery acid. Ask me how I know.
 
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#21 ·
Hi, Here's my thoughts & experience. If you live or have occasion to ride in large urban areas such as I do you can spend a few hours going though stop lights. Very little chance for the battery to recover until you get back on the open road. Headlights must be used during daytime. It's the law. Also often you hold the brake on when stopped since the roads are not flat. Plus the binkers. Of course this runs the battery low. So the amp hours becomes an important factor.

I & others have found the Motobatt seems??? to take a charge much faster than lead/acid. I cannot scientifically prove that. However I started out with a Yusa lead/acid & the Motobatt holds much better on the same route. The amp hour on the Motobatt was about .5-1.0 ah higher as I recall. I don't feel the amp hour was the key. I really feel it charges faster. Dimensions of the batteries are the same.

With the lead acid I always had an extra long vent hose that went well below the frame rail under bike.

Regarding Varta AGM I have no personal experience with them on motorcycles. My experience with Varta car batteries is very positive. I expect they are good on motorcycle batteries as well.

I went with the motobatt because so many in my circle of riders have such good results from them.

I was quite surprised by how much better Motobatt worked during extended city riding. On open road it didn't matter.

Last year my bike was down 2 months. Battery voltage was still 12.2v. I run points so my bike will start with dead battery so I didn't even bother to charge it, but 12.2 isn't hardly low anyway.

I got a battery tender charger, but I've never used it. Turns out it says not for AGM batteries anyway.

I got my Motobatt on Amazon 60.00 free shipping.
 
#23 ·
Yes they do. I installed LED instrument bulbs. Actually made a difference in town. As a side bonus they are dramatically brighter so you can see the needles at night. I ride at night often.

Was said on another thread the bulb or LED as the case may be must compliment the reflector & lens. That cannot be overstated. Many riders have the incorrect bulb so can't see at all at night. I did some testing to prove that. Looking at brightness of light doesn't matter, it's how the light focuses on the street that matters.
Don
 
#24 ·
If you live in a state that requires daytime light on or just want to run that way you can replace the pilot bulb with a 12v/23w halogen bulb. Waldridges have them. Might not light the road at night but plenty visible during the day and doesn't draw as much current as having the main bulb on.
 
#26 ·
LED pilot bulb is good idea for daytime use. I ended up rewiring my parking lamps so they do not work. I would sometimes forget to switch off headlamp & the battery would be drained.

I find on my bike 73 Tiger, John's 69 Bonnie & the 1970 Bonnie seem to shine best with the 40/50w 414 bulb. I don't know about any other models. The 414 is kind of harder to come by. Many shops like to sell 48/48w 370 or 303 bulb. The 48/48 doesn't shine for hoot on the road with these reflectors. Visually it looks very bright, but the light is scattered & only really shines bright right in front of the bike. Impossible to ride at night with 48/48 with these reflectors & lens.

The 414 has a vertical deflector in front of the filament. The 370,303 style has a horizontal deflector.

A year or so ago I looked into h4 base LED & had a hard time finding one to fit in shell. I finally just gave up & used the 414. I want to keep original Lucas lens because it looks good visually. I mean to look at, not how it works.

Later T140 went to a real H4. I expect the LED would be good for that.


I can't tell from the photo if the LED bulb has LED on both sides or just one side. I think it would need both sides.

I wonder how well the LED can cool inside the headlamp shell. Not a lot of room inside the shell either.

Very interesting the 414 bulb is made in China. The production tolerance is awful. Many have the glass & filament going crooked. Depending on which way the bulb is biased it can shine really good or just passable. Too bad it's so hard to find these in good quality. The few straight ones work quite well.
 
#27 ·
I needed a new battery for the T90 when I rebuilt it. The original battery fitted was a Lucas PUZ5A so I just 'Googled' for a PUZ5A equivalent and came up with this one. It's a sealed AGM battery, reasonably priced and fitted perfectly.
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As mentioned in another thread, I've also fitted a 60/55W H4 halogen lamp and reflector/lens assembly. I only have the standard, single phase alternator on this bike (with solid state rectifier/regulator) but if the ammeter can be believed, the load balanced out at around 2,500 r.p.m. with the dipped beam on. Even in towns, the little engine needs to spin at 3,000 r.p.m. to be comfortable so I'm hoping it will be ok.
 
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