I need a new battery

[Edbear]

Meh, look at his bike, I doubt he'll own it in a years time, so why waste a shite load of money on an expensive battery?

Horses for courses of course!

[firefighter]

Horses for courses of course!

Absolutely, i'm of-course a complete hypocrite, I always buy the most expensive 'quality' items I can find, spend stupid amounts of money then sell the bike months later......only three times in a row now

[Henk]

Absolutely, i'm of-course a complete hypocrite, I always buy the most expensive 'quality' items I can find, spend stupid amounts of money then sell the bike months later......only three times in a row now

Don't cry, you're not the only one who buys bikes, spends a fortune in cash and time fixing them and then sells them for less than they paid . On the bright side we do occasionaly get something that needs little or no attention and then run it til it dies.

[Edbear]

Don't cry, you're not the only one who buys bikes, spends a fortune in cash and time fixing them and then sells them for less than they paid . On the bright side we do occasionaly get something that needs little or no attention and then run it til it dies.

Yeah, I got married in '77...

[Voltaire]

Good post Paul, my 'new' Commando has a a non flooded lead acid battery and I don't think it likes the Commando charging system, was pondering the Motoplatt ones but think now I'll stick with the old skool one as I can maintain them.

[scumdog]

Good write-up Paul, tell me, what catagory are the Optima batteries??

[Paul in NZ]

I'm not sure - I've never seen them but old lead acid ones are easy to spot....

[Paul in NZ]

Good post Paul, my 'new' Commando has a a non flooded lead acid battery and I don't think it likes the Commando charging system, was pondering the Motoplatt ones but think now I'll stick with the old skool one as I can maintain them.

I can bung you some stuff on improving the system if it helps?

[scumdog]

I'm not sure - I've never seen them but old lead acid ones are easy to spot....

OK, what I know of them is: (I have one in the F100) they are sealed, hold a charge for a long time, start a hot engine easier and more often than the traditional old black batteries and are smaller and lighter,

Oh, and they have pretty red or yellow tops, grey too I think!

[DMNTD:Me]

Don't over think it, Motobatt is more than sufficient. I've bought two and they're fine. SHit a Besco one from Repco will will probably be sweet really.

If it costs you over $120, and that's being generous, you are paying more than you should.

100% agreed...have sold many of this brand (2 year warranty) and have yet to hear a negative comment.

[Paul in NZ]

AGM is a great technology BUT it is not the best solution to all applications... Most motorcycle systems are pretty light weight and early AC systems are very very basic. If you have a later bike with a sound system, AGM is the way to go.

[notme]

Good write-up Paul, tell me, what catagory are the Optima batteries??

.......Oh, and they have pretty red or yellow tops, grey too I think!

Did a project with Optima years ago - the chemistry is AGM with "special" spiral plates rather than flat. The different colour tops denote different applications like starting, marine etc.

[Flashjammin]

Hi guys,
thanks for the help.

Paul - very interesting reading sounds like you have done quite a bit of research on batteries.

Ive just gone down to the local Suzuki shop and got them to order me a Yuasa battery for $80. Hope they are as good as everyone says. I did have a quick look at Motobatt but like someone else pointed out...there isn't much point spending more on a battery than I need to although I have just found one on TradeMe for $83.

The bike was sitting for 2 days over the weekend and wouldn't start on Monday when I went to go to work. Previously I have had to charge the battery fully as when I checked it there was no water in it so I think from then it was pretty shagged. The plates inside looked pretty rusty so probably about time for a change.

The AA man was here the other day cos the mother-in-laws car battery packed in and i got him to test it for me and he couldnt get a reading and said that it was something not connecting in the battery.

Will update later in the week when i get the new battery.

[notme]

Just make sure you test the system once you get the new battery, or you might be back at the dealer again in short order!

[Bender]

I have a 1973 Honda CB125 that was refurbished and converted to 12V. High quality restoration.

It sat in a garage for quite a few years and I got it running again with loads of help from Lloyd at Kingsland motorcycles. OK, he did the lot.

I seem to have a battery capacity issue. The battery is pretty tiny but there is no room on the bike for a bigger one without some drastic modification.

There seems to be no problem with charging - I'm getting 15 volts at the battery when I put the multimeter on the terminals. But over time the battery is running down as I ride the bike. Over about 300 miles it dropped from 12.8 volts to 10.5 which is when I noticed (bike getting harder to start).

When I first got the bike running the headlight would run the battery down in 20 miles. I reduced the power of the light bulbs.

It seems to be OK with the headlight off, (speculation because I have not been able to do 300 miles with the headlight off, but I often sneak it off to charge up the battery, especially in the few miles before home). It runs down when I have to run the headlight which is, of course, required by law.


The bike runs a quartz halogen H4 bulb (I modify the base so it fits the ancient headlight). Originally it was 80/100 watts. I put in a 55/60 watt bulb. I also reduced the tail light by 10 watts.


The 55/60 H4 bulb is the lowest power bulb I could get. So I'm getting a lot further before running out of 'lecktrickery power, which suggests I am on the right track.

It's a relatively cheapo battery.

Can anyone suggest some solutions - where I might get a lower draw headlight bulb with the same H4 base but particularly, will getting a top quality battery like a Yuasa give me more capacity that will prevent the battery slowly dropping in voltage.

I'd appreciate any solutions, remembering that the conclusions I have come to regarding power draw by the headlight bulb etc may not be correct either.