Battery Question

[RainMan]

Hi Everyone,
New member here, just a quick question about people’s experiences with batteries, i.e. how long do they normally last before they need to be changed. I have a XL650V (04) and the battery appears to be failing, last night the bike wouldn’t start and I had to bump it in order to get home from work, the 14 mile trip home failed to charge the battery enough to turn the starter motor. The current battery is a Yuasa gel type and has been in the bike since new, I was initially worried that the fault was the alternator, but of course I would expect the bike to completely stop if the charging system had failed. I guess a trip to the local bike shop for a new battery is in order, but was just curious to know if anyone else had their battery fail after two years ?.

[24ftlb]

Hi Everyone,
New member here, just a quick question about people’s experiences with batteries, i.e. how long do they normally last before they need to be changed. I have a XL650V (04) and the battery appears to be failing, last night the bike wouldn’t start and I had to bump it in order to get home from work, the 14 mile trip home failed to charge the battery enough to turn the starter motor. The current battery is a Yuasa gel type and has been in the bike since new, I was initially worried that the fault was the alternator, but of course I would expect the bike to completely stop if the charging system had failed. I guess a trip to the local bike shop for a new battery is in order, but was just curious to know if anyone else had their battery fail after two years ?.

My ta is still on original battery. 03 reg. Id check the bikes charging correctly. Might be wrong and someone Will correct me if i am but id expect something like 13.8volt+ whens bikes charging with no lights etc. Are you sure nothings draining the battery? check with a multimeter across the terminals again. Id also check the bikes not over charging as this kills batterys. Do you have any extra electrical gear plugged in like heated grips etc, and do only short journeys. With the cold temps and short trips, it takes it out the battery big time.

Also check the leads to the terminals are corrosion free, and tight.

Take battery off, charge it up and take it to some battery, tire, exhaust place. They will test it for nowt. If you have an optimate or oximiser, you could try that. They claim to recover dead batteries. Lastly with the low temps we are getting now, is the bike garaged overnight, or out in the elements? The cold really does take the edge off a battery.

Paul

[RainMan]

Paul, you may have nailed it there :idea: , it has been particulary cold over the past week and I've been using the heated grips (Honda grips fitted by the dealer) for my 14 mile commute into work only recently and through slow traffic. The bike is garaged overnight, but the garage is unheated, so the temperature could have been potentially below zero on a couple of nights. I will check the charging system tonight as you suggested, and will hold back from scrapping the battery just yet.

[Austin]

Your battery should easily survive that sort of use unless it is on its way out. Suggest you check the battery for Voltage as suggested in other posts and for drain from somewhere.

My battery is 5 years old

[piguglyshandydrinker]

I've never had a problem with a battery on a bike, mine is original on an 02 registered 2001 bike.

As mentioned above, check the battery voltage - ideally above 12.5v then start the engine and check voltage at battery terminals - should be 12.5 to 14ish max, if thats ok, check the soleniod and main fuse connections for corrosion (this is mounted onto the battery securing plate), clean any terminals and smear with petroleum jelly or coppa-slip to protect them.
Check the battery voltage after a while to see if it had dropped much.

Alarms are notorious for killing batteries, has the bike stood in a dealers for years before first registration?

Good luck, Phil

[Slimjim]

My battery is just under 4 years old and I'm certain it won't survive the winter. But then again I don't use my bike every day and I have an alarm plus I've just fitted heated grips. Using the choke to start it the other day made the starter really struggle before it just about coughed into life so I think I'd better get a new one soon. I reckon the alarm is the biggest problem, fine if you ride every day but a big drain on the battery if you don't.

So anyone know a cheap website for transalp batteries?

[Cyborg]

I'm still on the original battery and my bike's a 1999. I do have a constant charger on in the garage at all times and the battery is topped up regularly, as there is a tendency to forget to top up the distilled water when it's constantly on trickle charge. Just topped it up this weekend and given the bike an oil and filter change. Always use semi-synthetic as it coats the internals when left idle for a few weeks. Obviously if a bike is used everyday, then the battery takes a lot of punishment at this time of year. A constant trickle charger is a good investment.

[Von Short Hausen]

Obviously if a bike is used everyday, then the battery takes a lot of punishment at this time of year. A constant trickle charger is a good investment.

Yup, if you've got mains power where you store ya bike, there's no excuse not to trickle charge it. I'm using an Optimate3, but there are several very good makes out there. As batteries are just a chemical reaction, they're less effective as the temperature plummets. Show them some love, and they'll perform better.

[RainMan]

OK, charged up the battery and refitted it over the weekend, battery reads 12.75V with the power of and drops to 12.12V when the key is switched on, bear in mind my bike does not have a lights switch so the head/taillights are always on, it really p****s me off that with modern bikes you no longer have a choice to switch your lights off, but that's another story. The voltage remained at 12.12V for about five minutes and then began to drop as the lights etc, began to take their toll, this has convinced me that the battery is OK. With the engine running I was getting 13.41V at tickover and a maximum of 14.42V at higher revs, I assume that this is within the tolerance range for the charging system?.
Bought a trickle charger from Halfords and have wired a cigarette lighter plug to the leads instead of the crocodile clips, so now I can simply plug the charger into the underseat socket overnight to keep the battery topped up, will probably relocate the lighter socket to somewhere else on the bike to avoid the need to remove the seat for charging.

[harrisphil]

I have a y reg 650 and the battery (yuasa sealed type) has died anybody got any tips on replacements or where to buy one in sheffield?