Battery question

[javaman]

What's the latest and greatest in motorbike battery technology ? How much ?

I had to push the great zx6r this afternoon. In the rain.

[RG]

red_dave is your man

[mike-s]

Or woman, if you catch him wearing a skirt, which he's apparently done from time to time.

[Neka79]

not anymore!!..he dont do bike batteries...still does skirts i hear tho...

mate my gen honda battery is like $300 for a yuasa..i got one at Batt World for like $200..lasted 12 months cos my voltage reg cooked it...if ur battery is failing..check out ur electrical circuit/system before replacing..or it could be costly...

[red_dave]

Or woman, if you catch him wearing a skirt, which he's apparently done from time to time.

Actually... it was only once and thankfully the pictures haven't turned up anywhere... Yet.

As for batteries....

The newer batteries are coming sealed and instead of using Antimony plates on positive and negative, they substitue use Calcium plates... This essentially provides more "start-up" power than the Antimony ones... Downside is that calcium plates won't last quite as long.

Thing to remember, the higher the air temperature, the less a battery has to work to produce the Cranking Amps... This is important cause its the heat of summer that kills batteries, but you don't notice it until winter when the battery has to work harder to turn over the motor.

Rather than spend the money on a better battery, invest some dollars into an automatic maintenence charger. They come with attachements that permanently mount to the battery and have a plug that hangs down to plug into the charger when the bike is in the garage or similar. A good maintenence charger will keep the battery around 12 volts which significntly reduces sulphation...

PM me if you are interested and i hope that helps.

[Strika]

Red Dave, top post for the electircally uninitiated!!!!

Tell me RD, as you are the acid and lead man in here or was, what sort of additional life might that give from a battery? The reason I ask, is that from experience in usage only, of modern day bike batteries, I have found that a two to three year window is about where it's at unless you have a charging or electrical issue or get a dud! Even the batteries on my race bike, which don't get ridden very often at all (I do disconnect them after each meet though) last about the same?????

Cheers

[red_dave]

Average life of a battery is about 3 years...

Neka said above that he bought a Yuasa battery which is one of the better quality brands cause they use virgin lead... (the sacrifice ceremony is an amazing thing to see... ). Cheaper Chinese batteries use recycled lead which has impurities that will eventually shorten battery life.

Now we aren't talking major differences here but when you add a good maintenence charger with a better battery, you should be able to extend the life by about 30%...

Did you leave the battery in your race bike hooked up to a charger (even when disconnected)? The reason I ask is that sulphation starts when the voltage drops below 10.8 volts... that kills batteries...

I haven't owned a bike long enough to replace a battery in it but i do have mine connected to a charger when not in use...

[Strika]

Average life of a battery is about 3 years...

Neka said above that he bought a Yuasa battery which is one of the better quality brands cause they use virgin lead... (the sacrifice ceremony is an amazing thing to see... ). Cheaper Chinese batteries use recycled lead which has impurities that will eventually shorten battery life.

Now we aren't talking major differences here but when you add a good maintenence charger with a better battery, you should be able to extend the life by about 30%...

Did you leave the battery in your race bike hooked up to a charger (even when disconnected)? The reason I ask is that sulphation starts when the voltage drops below 10.8 volts... that kills batteries...

I haven't owned a bike long enough to replace a battery in it but i do have mine connected to a charger when not in use...

Nup, just leave em in the frame. Not connected but! Then 6 / 8 /12 months later, I hook it back up and start the bike, usually about at the 5 minute warning for the first race

[javaman]

Thanks Red Dave

I think my electricals are allright. Proven that by riding around I can start the bastard again. It goes worse though, this morning I could not start it when doing a quick stop at the ATM and did a now routine running start

Not sure if I wanna get a new one now as I will be gone for 2 weeks. I guess I'll just roll it downhill this afternoon (lucky office positioning )

300 bucks hey damn that's expensive and it's much littler than a car battery too (which is cheaper)... but bikes will be bikes

p.s. how do you engange to 2nd gear from neutral. It's not easy!!

[Strika]

That would be Kawasakis PNF (positive nuetral finder) doing that. Rock it back and forth as you pull up the lever Andi!

[BladeBoy]

Go to Battery World, under $200

[red_dave]

Java,

Save yourself some cash and buy a Toplite from Battery World... Not quite as good as Yuasa but half the price and will still do a good job.

[javaman]

Thanks Toplite it is!

[bonester]

I'm pretty sure Toplite is made by Yuasa. Same company, different manufacturing plant. I would buy the cheaper Toplite battery and look after it. I got quoted from $70ish to $200 for my ZZR battery- you would need to get over DOUBLE the life from the battery for the dearer one to pay for itself. Funny you should mention temperature as a factor in battery performance- did 2200km on my GT last week- the only time it didn't want to start was in Tamworth after it spent the night out in sub-zero temperatures-bike was covered in ice and the starter wound over too slow to start. I ended up waiting for the bike to defrost and shorted the starter relay to start it.(with the ignition switched on)

[red_dave]

I'm pretty sure Toplite is made by Yuasa. Same company, different manufacturing plant.

Correctamundo...