Triumph Rat Motorcycle Forums banner

New Battery time

6K views 18 replies 9 participants last post by  Palious 
#1 ·
Hi all having problems getting the old girl going. I click the starter and she turns healthily and quickly slows and dies. I think the Battery V must be down but showing 12 v. So I think the Starter bushes changed those over still the same. I did get it to fire the other night and charging at 14v mark so charging circuit ok. Is it time for a new battery?
 
#3 ·
My old battery on my Trident 900 would show 13v after charging and would spin the engine over for around 10 seconds before giving up the ghost. Replaced it with a Motobatt jobby which will spin the engine enthusiastically from 12.4v and fire it almost immediately. Sadly my bike is spending too much time in the shed at the moment due to ill health - both me and SWMBO - so the battery isn't being treated as well as it would be if in regular use. Hope it can cope!!!
 
#8 ·
Imagine kickstarting a big single or twin cylinder bike that is a reluctant starter. Sometimes they will kick back through the kickstarter and break your ankle. Often due to ignition timing woes, not quite firing or half hearted kicking (nowadays a weak battery). Same with the sprag clutch! :surprise:
 
#7 ·
My advice is:

Buy a SHORAI battery. They're the new lithium batteries that are WAY lighter than the old school types, and they give you CCAs (cold cranking amps) that far exceed previous battery types. I have one in my '95 Daytona 900.

Also, make sure to buy a charger DESIGNED for lithium batteries (SHORAI makes chargers for these batteries as well.)

These batteries are slightly more expensive than standard types, but I use them in all my bikes (including my Yamaha VMax 1200, which is a 1200cc V-4 engine) and the NEVER fail.

You won't be disappointed.

Elimax
 
#9 ·
What Steve said. A weak battery will sometimes get a cylinder to almost TDC, but not quite have enough juice. There's enough pressure built up by then to bring the piston back down, spinning the crank and sprag backwards. The sprag can't handle backwards.

Shorai and other lithium iron batteries are different from lead acid batteries. They have their advantages and disadvantages, and are better in some ways and worse in others. The biggest difference is that they put out nearly all the voltage they're capable of until they're almost fully discharged, then drop off abruptly, instead of tapering down like a lead acid battery. On the one hand, that means that it's almost impossible to kill your sprag with a lithium, but it also means no warning if your charging system's gone out without your knowing. And speaking of that, the lithiums are sold by "lead equivalent" capacity, not actual capacity. They have nowhere near the actual capacity of a lead acid battery, though they have massively better cranking power. When I had a lithium battery in my old RS and lost my charging system, the instruments were out in under a mile and the whole bike was dead in about a mile and a quarter. When I lost my charging system in my current RS with the lead acid battery recently, I was able to get home through traffic with the fan running almost constantly from 20 miles away.

Lithium chemistry is also not good in the cold. Some people on the Sprint forum have reported complete failures, but I never ran into that problem. You just do something you would never do with a lead acid battery if you want to start a bike with a lithium battery in the cold: you turn on the lights and let it sit for a couple minutes. All that would do with lead acid is waste power, but with lithium it warms the battery enough to make it perform normally.

Lead acid batteries lose a lot of power when sitting. Lithium batteries don't. I have a lead acid battery in my primary ride, but the backup bike has lithium.

Any regular smart charger that works for modern lead acid batteries is fine for a lithium battery AS LONG AS IT IS NOT IN DESULFATION MODE. Neither of my chargers, a Schumacher and a Battery Tender Junior, even has a desulfation mode, so I'm fine there. In theory, a cell balancing charger specifically for lithium batteries is a very good idea, but in practice it hasn't seemed to make any difference at all.

Edit: Almost forgot, lithium batteries do not like overcharging! The charging system on my second generation 955 puts out somewhere between 13.8 and 14.2 VDC and is eminently suited to lithium charging.(Of course, that's the one I have the lead acid battery in for various reasons. :p) The automotive type alternators in T3s and first gen 955s is not well suited to lithium; it can put out north of 15 VDC and that starts to get into territory where the lithium battery gets damaged. It's not an instant disqualification; I still run the lithium in my Gen 1 955 because it sits so much, but it's something to be aware of.

Cheers,
-Kit
 
#10 ·
Kit covers the points of note with Lithium...I have also run Lithium in my T3....in the UK I don't think it's probably the way to go...most of the time the battery is cold= poor starting even when I left the lights on.... and the over charging which was probably slowly killing it anyway...! plus if you do happen to run it completely flat it will be dead no revival..just dead forever Lol

Honestly go with the Yuasa..tis proper for our needs ;-)

Mot
 
#15 ·
That test was pretty far from scientifically valid, especially where the suppliers were giving him stuff and able to cherry pick.

Pretty much any reputable company selling SLA batteries these days should be making essentially the same product as any other reputable company selling SLA batteries. The technology is ancie... <ahem>, mature. I've gone through a lot of batteries, and I can't say I have a real preference. I buy Batteries Plus batteries now, because I know they're likely to have a store near me if I ever lose one on the road.

Cheers,
-Kit
 
#19 ·
For UK folks....Agree that Yuasa is the way to go, however I have issues with 'MDSbattery' as a supplier. They charge an extra £20 for delivery to 'remote areas' (their words) so if you live in Scotland or in the countryside then go elsewhere. I have used a company called 'ALLBATTERIES' they are lower cost and free delivery! Rant over....!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top