View Poll Results: How long did your last lead acid battery last?

Voters
140. You may not vote on this poll
  • 1 year

    16 11.43%
  • 2 years

    15 10.71%
  • 3 years

    21 15.00%
  • 4 years

    11 7.86%
  • 5 years

    26 18.57%
  • 6 years

    14 10.00%
  • 7 years

    6 4.29%
  • 8 years

    9 6.43%
  • 9 years

    3 2.14%
  • 10 years

    19 13.57%
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Thread: How long did your last battery last?

  1. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Erelyes View Post
    Question: Is there usually a manufacturing date recorded on batteries? Would perhaps help some people in ageing batteries on their 2nd hand bike.
    This raises an interesting wee sideline. Car batteries, sit on the shelf for quite a while at times. Ya know what the reps do? They come round once a month and replace the date sticker on anything sitting for more than a couple. Your warranty is usually valid from that sticker date.

    So, do bike batteries have the same treatment?

    Motobatt in my RF has been there for three years. The bike gets fuck all use, but when I charged it after draining it flat starting my CBR400 powered lawnmower, it was slow turning over the RF which had sat for several months. It did start it, and it took a while for the bike to fire up though.

  2. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Drew View Post
    This raises an interesting wee sideline. Car batteries, sit on the shelf for quite a while at times. Ya know what the reps do? They come round once a month and replace the date sticker on anything sitting for more than a couple. Your warranty is usually valid from that sticker date.

    So, do bike batteries have the same treatment?

    Motobatt in my RF has been there for three years. The bike gets fuck all use, but when I charged it after draining it flat starting my CBR400 powered lawnmower, it was slow turning over the RF which had sat for several months. It did start it, and it took a while for the bike to fire up though.
    I don't know about other vendors but our full value replacement warranty commences from the date the customer purchases the battery. (I don't think consumers would be impressed if we said nah your wrranty actuall started when we ordered it into stock). Batteries sell dates are tracked via serial numbers but I like the idea of them being dated on the case as well. We will commence doing this today.

    We rotate our stock fairly quickly (and our dealers are only encouraged to order as needed) so I don't think shelf life is an issue.
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  3. #18
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    Many thanks for ticking the poll at the top of this page guys and picture is beginning to emerge but it would be a brave man who would draw any conclusions from the small sample size.

    I wonder if we are gong to get the classic MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) bath tub curve?

    More failures in the first year and then a lower number of failures and then an increase in failures around the 5 year mark?
    www.FastBikeGear.co.nz
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  4. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by FastBikeGear View Post
    I don't know about other vendors but our full value replacement warranty commences from the date the customer purchases the battery. (I don't think consumers would be impressed if we said nah your wrranty actuall started when we ordered it into stock). Batteries sell dates are tracked via serial numbers but I like the idea of them being dated on the case as well. We will commence doing this today.

    We rotate our stock fairly quickly (and our dealers are only encouraged to order as needed) so I don't think shelf life is an issue.
    My thinking was more along the lines, that Lithium batteries are hoped to achieve ten years+.

    Part of the attraction with these batteries though is that they can sit on a bench for ages and still be fully charged whenever you wanna use it.

    I have a battery here, that I can't find anything that corresponds to a date stamp on. When was it new, and when does my ten years run out or start?

    Also, is that ten years an optimistic guess, or playing it safe with what a customer should hope for?

  5. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Drew View Post
    My thinking was more along the lines, that Lithium batteries are hoped to achieve ten years+.

    Part of the attraction with these batteries though is that they can sit on a bench for ages and still be fully charged whenever you wanna use it.

    I have a battery here, that I can't find anything that corresponds to a date stamp on. When was it new, and when does my ten years run out or start?

    Also, is that ten years an optimistic guess, or playing it safe with what a customer should hope for?
    I think that 10 years+ is overly optimistic. None of the suppliers are saying 10 years+ for a Lithium starter battery yet.

    Ultrabatt regularly talk about 5 years+ for a battery with an inbuilt BMS and occasionally make reference to a 10 year target life. I think the 10 year target life will only be achieved if the battery is treated well.

    If it is one of our batteries it will have a serial number on it and we can tell you when it was manufactured and when it was sold.
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  6. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by FastBikeGear View Post
    If it is one of our batteries it will have a serial number on it and we can tell you when it was manufactured and when it was sold.
    Oh yep, closer inspection and I've found a serial number. Googling now...

  7. #22
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    One in my 05 Harley is still going strong.

    It has even been known to start the bike after a flogging driving the Ham radio (which draws 22 amps on transmit).

    The only thing I do is plug it into a regulated supply if the bike is going to sit for any longer than 2 weeks. To this end I have fitted a 35 amp "Anderson" connection so I can simply plug the bike in to the charger.
    Just another leather clad Tinkerbell.
    The Wanker on the Fucking Harley is going for a ride!

  8. #23
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    Battery in my ducati is 3 years old, DRZ a couple.

    Both of them are pigs of bikes to start and flatten their batteries just sitting in the garage, which had me vaguely interested in the lithium creatures, sadly I'm not convinced yet.

    My now ex XJ600 was still running a battery around 4 years old when I sold it, which makes me wonder how much difference not having electronic dashboards, clocks etc always sucking away at the battery makes.
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  9. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by neels View Post
    Battery in my ducati is 3 years old, DRZ a couple.

    Both of them are pigs of bikes to start and flatten their batteries just sitting in the garage, which had me vaguely interested in the lithium creatures, sadly I'm not convinced yet.

    My now ex XJ600 was still running a battery around 4 years old when I sold it, which makes me wonder how much difference not having electronic dashboards, clocks etc always sucking away at the battery makes.

    Neels did you tick the poll above as well?

    Understand your hesitancy. No rush to change technologies. We are only a couple of years into Lithium batteries yet. Given current pricing there is room too be cautious.

    We sell a truck load of the CTEK lead acid battery tenders so we are no hurry to push anyone into a technology they are cautious about.

    One thing that might change things is a significant reduction in price or cost of ownership.
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  10. #25
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    Hey funny thing currently with the poll is that you actually have a better chance of getting a longer life span if you buy a one year old working battery than a brand new one.
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  11. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by FastBikeGear View Post
    Neels did you tick the poll above as well?
    Yep, averaged it at 3, although to be fair I haven't yet had a lead acid from new to dead in a bike so it's not an accurate answer.

    The interesting bit is the small number of batteries at 2 years old, fits with my experience of them lasting *just* past their warranty life and dying or carrying on forever.

    Quote Originally Posted by FastBikeGear View Post
    We sell a truck load of the CTEK lead acid battery tenders so we are no hurry to push anyone into a technology they are cautious about.
    To be honest I'm more concerned about putting clever batteries into bikes which still have incredibly crude charging systems, about the technology of gear I work with that was built in the 60's and rely on flooded batteries for smoothing of the charger output, or a ducati with a single phase alternator.
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  12. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by neels View Post
    ducati with a single phase alternator.
    There's that dirty fucken D word again.

    I'm all about alternators though. For the fucken WIN! Brushes wear out, replace, carry on after you charge your battery back up. Fucken sweet system.

    I don't think I have ever had to replace an alternator because of fucked windings.

  13. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by Drew View Post
    There's that dirty fucken D word again.
    Drew I don't want to have to warn you about insulting Ducatis again . Every time you do it something fails on mine.
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  14. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by Drew View Post
    I'm all about alternators though. For the fucken WIN! Brushes wear out, replace, carry on after you charge your battery back up. Fucken sweet system.
    Well....they're all alternators, in that they generate alternating current.

    Best bet is to buy a Yamaha, a proper bloody alternator with a regulated field rotor, none of this permanent magnet and shunt the rest to ground crap that most bikes seem to run.
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  15. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by neels View Post
    Well....they're all alternators, in that they generate alternating current.

    Best bet is to buy a Yamaha, a proper bloody alternator with a regulated field rotor, none of this permanent magnet and shunt the rest to ground crap that most bikes seem to run.
    That's what I meant.

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