Battery question?

[Eldermo]

My bike is an 06' Rsv that was first purchased by the previous owner in Oct. 05. I have never had to have the bike on a tender the year and a half that I have owned it. Lately I noticed that sometimes when I went out to start it, The crank was a little weak, so I put a tender on it. I went out the other day, turned on the ignition, turned off the radio, everything seemed fine, pulled out choke, then pressed the starter. It was like I turned off the ignition, nothing, no lights, no radio, completely dead. I am thinking, I probably need to replace the battery anyway, seeing that is 5 years old. Is this the most likely culprit?

What is the best battery to put in the bike? I hate electrical problems.

[Yammer Dan]

Clean connections first. Could be just dirty terminal. But a 5 yr old battery is probally bout done.

[Guest]

Yea. after 5 years id say its time for a new battery. Check out the Deka Battery. Sky Doc is selling them here.

[Chinto]

Once you get it running again be sure to check the voltages when the bike is running. Sometimes the charging components need replacing. My 06 RVS had to have the stator replaced which was why my battery needed replacing this past Spring. The observation that tipped me off about this was the battery tender would take all night to recharge the battery after a ride whereas in the past it would almost immediately show full charge after a ride.

[Snaggletooth]

Another vote for the DEKA AGM batteries. Been using one in my 1st gen for two seasons now and couldn't be more satisfied with it's performance.

 

The are American made, heavy case AGM at 12.8 volts. They seem to go for weeks of non use with no voltage drop and storage life is hard to believe. Mine sat in the basement last winter from mid December to March and never had a tender on it. Didn't need it.

 

Touch base with Shydoc_17 for sure.

 

Mike

[Condor]

My bike is an 06' Rsv that was first purchased by the previous owner in Oct. 05. I have never had to have the bike on a tender the year and a half that I have owned it. Lately I noticed that sometimes when I went out to start it, The crank was a little weak, so I put a tender on it. I went out the other day, turned on the ignition, turned off the radio, everything seemed fine, pulled out choke, then pressed the starter. It was like I turned off the ignition, nothing, no lights, no radio, completely dead. I am thinking, I probably need to replace the battery anyway, seeing that is 5 years old. Is this the most likely culprit?

What is the best battery to put in the bike? I hate electrical problems.

 

Basically that's what happened to my '99 with a fresh one year old AGM battery in it. Battery would no longer hold a charge. When I put it on the diagnostic charger it kept kicking out a bad internal cell code. Called Bohanon and ordered a DEKA EXT20L. Three days later everything was good to go. BTW the batt that went bad was not a DEKA, but one purchased from a Yamaha Dealer by the previous owner. My local Y dealer is trying to get it warantee'd even tho it was past the 1 year limit. We had to look all over the thing, but finally found 'Made in Taiwan' on it....

[Eldermo]

Thanks guys, i will look into getting a new battery this week.

[Seaking]

seeing how my 2006 has had a lot of electrical issues in the past but the battery still seems to be holding it's charge and kicking the bike over, I take heed in perhaps getting the battery changed over, or having a spare ready to go soon..

 

is there something special about the Deka that makes it desirable for our bikes over another brand? After seeing the Yamaha price tag, the Deka seems like a great price.. how good of a battery is it?

 

Thanks

[Snaggletooth]

Check out the info on this thread. The testing done by jobo24 (Joshua at Bohannon Battery) was what really sold me.

 

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=33375&highlight=deka&page=4

 

Some info on the battery to fit your 2006.

 

http://www.bohannonbattery.com/html/deka/etx20l.html

 

My bike has been through some tough times with starting problems, engage clutch failure, burned out R/R, stator failure, and a lot of daily starts. The DEKA has held up through all of it. Still showing 12.8 on the meter everytime .

 

I've been through a lot of batteries. Some sealed units and L/A ones I paid over $130.00 for. The DEKA has out performed them all. Not bad for the money.

 

Mike

Edited December 30, 2010 by Snaggletooth

[Eck]

Make sure your kill switch is not on...happens all the time..

However I do believe your battery needs replaced

[GaryZ]

Clean connections first. Could be just dirty terminal. But a 5 yr old battery is probally bout done.

 

I'm going to agree with Dan here. When you hit the starter button and all the electrical system goes dead and stays dead, my experience has been a dirty or loose battery cable.

[Seaking]

I'm going to agree with Dan here. When you hit the starter button and all the electrical system goes dead and stays dead, my experience has been a dirty or loose battery cable.

 

I've had that happen to me while away on a road trip after a heavy rain and mud storm.. had to wash the bike down, get to the terminals and clean them off.. the bike had been awesome ever since..

 

However, time to look for a new battery =)

[dynodon]

Even if your bike will sit all winter and start withOUT using a Battery Tender (brand) or other maintainer, you will be money ahead to use one.

 

Between three tractors/mowers, two bikes, and a couple old cars, plus our daily drivers I was replacing 2-3 batteries a YEAR till I put a Battery Tender JR on everything all the time, year round, unless we were using it every day, and every day in the winter for stuff like tractors that sit outside or in the cold.

 

Since doing that, I have averaged about one battery every other or every THIRD year! Paid for all the Tenders the first year, money ahead since then. Batteries are lasting years longer, and everything starts every time.

 

A battery will still die eventually, but if you keep a lead-acid battery close to full charge with a proper maintainer, it will have a much happier/longer life.

 

(edi9) Oh, I forgot to mention that since using the maintainers, I get virtually zero acid accumulation on everything including the tough to keep clean mowers/tractors.

[Condor]

Even if your bike will sit all winter and start withOUT using a Battery Tender (brand) or other maintainer, you will be money ahead to use one.

 

Between three tractors/mowers, two bikes, and a couple old cars, plus our daily drivers I was replacing 2-3 batteries a YEAR till I put a Battery Tender JR on everything all the time, year round, unless we were using it every day, and every day in the winter for stuff like tractors that sit outside or in the cold.

 

Since doing that, I have averaged about one battery every other or every THIRD year! Paid for all the Tenders the first year, money ahead since then. Batteries are lasting years longer, and everything starts every time.

 

A battery will still die eventually, but if you keep a lead-acid battery close to full charge with a proper maintainer, it will have a much happier/longer life.

 

(edi9) Oh, I forgot to mention that since using the maintainers, I get virtually zero acid accumulation on everything including the tough to keep clean mowers/tractors.

 

100% agree with you Don. However..... these new DEKA AGM's only discharge about 1% in a month. I've had extra Odyssey's sit in the corner of the office for 6 months and still get a 12.6vdc reading. Wet cells don't give anywher near that kind of performance.

[Al Bates]

My bike is an 06' Rsv that was first purchased by the previous owner in Oct. 05. I have never had to have the bike on a tender the year and a half that I have owned it. Lately I noticed that sometimes when I went out to start it, The crank was a little weak, so I put a tender on it. I went out the other day, turned on the ignition, turned off the radio, everything seemed fine, pulled out choke, then pressed the starter. It was like I turned off the ignition, nothing, no lights, no radio, completely dead. I am thinking, I probably need to replace the battery anyway, seeing that is 5 years old. Is this the most likely culprit?

What is the best battery to put in the bike? I hate electrical problems.

Hello Elder

Here is a good test you can do to check it out. But after 3 years I would think it's time for a new one, this is call preventative maintenance.

 

Make sure that the battery is fully charged. Disable the engine from starting. Next connect a volt meter to the battery. Now crank the engine for 15 seconds and watch the volt meter. The volt meter should not drop below 9.7 volts. The higher the volts the stronger the battery. If the volts drop below, or close to 9.7 volts, there is something wrong with the battery, replace it. With this test you are checking the load needed for that system to start that engine. You are also testing if that battery can handle a load.

 

I have used gel batteries and did not like them. My favorite is a liquid closed vent battery.