CaptainJoe Posted December 31, 2011 #1 Posted December 31, 2011 Bought my bike 3/2010 battery was kaput! was an old 4 wheeler battery PO put in to make her run. ok fine put a new OEM battery in for $112 from the stealership, ya I know what I got Went out today and nothing... the dash didnt even light up Put on a charger for about 4 hrs at 10 amps and only enough to turn lights on and the dreaded clicking noise... Went to interstate battery and they confirmed it was DOA $77 later I had a new battery. Owner said I should buy one of his battery tenders for $25 and it would turn off and on topping the battery off. Somehing about .075 millamps very slow charge. Said if I did that every time I parked it, that it would extend the life of the battery. Have always been a firm believer in you get what you pay for so.... is a battery tender brand so much better than the ones for $12 or the HF $7 centurion?
twigg Posted December 31, 2011 #2 Posted December 31, 2011 Bought my bike 3/2010 battery was kaput! was an old 4 wheeler battery PO put in to make her run. ok fine put a new OEM battery in for $112 from the stealership, ya I know what I got Went out today and nothing... the dash didnt even light up Put on a charger for about 4 hrs at 10 amps and only enough to turn lights on and the dreaded clicking noise... Went to interstate battery and they confirmed it was DOA $77 later I had a new battery. Owner said I should buy one of his battery tenders for $25 and it would turn off and on topping the battery off. Somehing about .075 millamps very slow charge. Said if I did that every time I parked it, that it would extend the life of the battery. Have always been a firm believer in you get what you pay for so.... is a battery tender brand so much better than the ones for $12 or the HF $7 centurion? I am forever torn about batteries. One from Walmart is $40 and lasts a few years .... Expensive Gel batteries are, well, expensive and they don't last forever. I use a Battery Tender regularly. The better ones do rather more than simply apply a low charge. They start by using at least a 3-Stage charge that actually charges the thing, right up to maximum which the cheap chargers cannot do, then they monitor the battery discharge and apply the necessary correction. With battery chargers you get what you pay for. I remain to be convinced that the same is true for batteries.
BOO Posted December 31, 2011 #3 Posted December 31, 2011 The best ones are the ones that turn off when the battery is charged up. Not sure that price has anything to do with it but I bet the more expensive ones are the ones that shut their selves off. I would also check for drainage. And I don't think you should have hook up the charger every time you get off the bike. I only put the tender on in the winter time and never charge in the summer unless someone forgets to turn the key off. BOO
Yammer Dan Posted December 31, 2011 #4 Posted December 31, 2011 AGM When you finally get one you will say "What took me so long??"
twigg Posted December 31, 2011 #5 Posted December 31, 2011 AGM When you finally get one you will say "What took me so long??" Maybe .... Don't get me wrong I would never discourage anyone from buying advanced batteries, but I find the price hard to justify when I have never had much trouble with the lead/acid ones Maybe I'll take another look.
Snaggletooth Posted December 31, 2011 #6 Posted December 31, 2011 The DEKA AGM is well worth the money I spent on it over 3 years ago. It was like $87.00 I think shipped to my door. Never had a tender on it, never had any voltage drop over a few tenths of a volt. It shows 12.8 volts on the digital meter EVERY time I hit the switch. It will sit on the shelf for a few months during the winter with no tender and I can drop it back in and the bike cranks like it did when I took it out in the fall. I've spent over $120.00 for new name brand L/A's and barely get two seasons out of them (using tenders) before replacing them. Something for you to look into. You won't regret it. Mike
CaptainJoe Posted December 31, 2011 Author #7 Posted December 31, 2011 I've spent over $120.00 for new name brand L/A's and barely get two seasons out of them (using tenders) before replacing them. Well thats the thing, the owner of the interstate battery shop in Ravenswood, WV said, "all you could really hope for is about 3 years??? "
Venturous Randy Posted December 31, 2011 #8 Posted December 31, 2011 I have had several batteries over the 16 years I have had my 83 and some were better than others. Several years ago I bought an Odyssey and last year I bought a DEKA and put the Odyssey in my son's bike. Both have done very well and are strong batteries. RandyA
darthandy Posted December 31, 2011 #9 Posted December 31, 2011 +1 on the Dekka. And a good battery tender is worth the money especially if you go with a regular lead / acid battery. A good tender will help avoid and can even reverse sulfation. And that, my friend, will definitely extend the life of a battery. I know several riders who have gotten 5 to 6 years out of AGM's with a battery tender and that tells me they're worth the money. I have AGM's in two of my bikes and a tender for each one and after three years neither of the batteries is showing any signs of dying. And we do get some cold, nasty winters here...and the batteries stay in the bikes in the unheated garage all winter, but on the battery tender - I use a brand called CTEK which has always worked well for me, but I think any name brand should do well. Avoid trickle chargers as they can overcharge a battery and that will definitely shorten its life. I always hook up the tender after every ride as I'm not always sure how long it will sit there before I use the bike again. And in the late fall and early spring, the temps can drop quite a bit. Andy
CaptainJoe Posted December 31, 2011 Author #10 Posted December 31, 2011 (edited) might give the deka AGM a try... in a couple of years... I hope...LOL Edited December 31, 2011 by CaptainJoe
midnightventure Posted December 31, 2011 #11 Posted December 31, 2011 My original yuasa battery lasted 4 1/2 years. I had never had a motorcycle battery last more than 2 years before so I bought an identical replacement. It lasted right at 4 1/2 years too so I am now on my fresh third one.
dacheedah Posted December 31, 2011 #12 Posted December 31, 2011 I used to replace the battery in my boats, jet skis and bike about every three years. My marine mechanic swears by the tenders and I put tenders on my boats and jet skis. Those batteries are six or seven years old now. The tenders pay for themselves.
flb_78 Posted December 31, 2011 #13 Posted December 31, 2011 The house branded AGM batteries at Oreilly Auto Parts and Advanced Auto are Deka batteries. A battery maintainer is almost required if the bike is going to sit for more than a couple weeks. I use a Schumacher Battery Maintainer. It charges the battery up and then goes into float mode. Cost is less than $20 from local big box store.
bongobobny Posted December 31, 2011 #14 Posted December 31, 2011 Yup! Shoulda bought a DEKA. Earl, skydoc17 here on the site is a distributer for them and gives a good price shipped right to your door.
CaptainJoe Posted January 1, 2012 Author #15 Posted January 1, 2012 "Yup! Shoulda bought a DEKA. Earl, skydoc17 here on the site is a distributer for them and gives a good price shipped right to your door." And i would have, had I not procastinated on checking the starting status of the bike... i wanted to ride the last day , first day and i did/will...LOL
greg_in_london Posted January 1, 2012 #16 Posted January 1, 2012 I played with different batteries because the MK Is can be a PITA to start, when warm, or sitting in a damp field over a rally/festival or when the bike knows I'm in a hurry. I've tried a numberof other remedies, but when someone leant me an Odyssey battery (they were not using it as their bike was off the road) it was a big imrpovement over a lead/acid wet cell. I used it for several years until I saw an AGM that was the right size (the Odyssey is quite a bit smaller than the battery compartment) and I upgraded. There's no big improvement with the newer one, but I can still leave it months without starting and still have a charged battery. With a lead/acid wet cell, that's just not possible and there's no power to my lock-up to run a charger. (Well not without hacking into the council lighting system, but I don't think I should do that...)
spyderhead Posted January 4, 2012 #17 Posted January 4, 2012 I got seven full years out of my original RSTD battery; never even owned a battery tender. Guess I was just lucky.
capn eddie Posted January 4, 2012 #18 Posted January 4, 2012 I bought a odyssey about 7years ago and put it in my gl 1000 goldwing and sold the bike to a friend 4 years ago when i bought my 87 VR and the wing still has the same battery in it and it starts up every time. bought it for $84.00 at that time, and that was money well spent. In my 87 vr i use a battery tender on it during the winter for 4 years with out a problem. i had another charger that worked ok but the battery tender brand works much better. I also like the non acid batteries better, no acid to get on anything.
Flyinfool Posted January 4, 2012 #19 Posted January 4, 2012 If you let the bike sit for a couple of weeks and have it not be able to start, you have some other issues to look for. My bike sits for the whole winter in a cold steel garden shed and still fires right up in the spring. I just make sure that the water level in the battery is always correct and give it a good run if I had to add water recently before storage. The Yuasa battery in my bike is now 5 years old. I put it in new a week after I got the bike. It often sits neglected for several weeks especially in the spring and fall. During the winter I start the bike once a month and let it run at about 3,000 rpm till the cooling fan has cycled at least twice. I then top off the tank with some fresh gas + Stable + Seafoam. Yes the Deka type batteries are a better battery than the old lead acid type, some day when this battery dies I will most likely go that route just to not have to keep adding water all of the time. If you really want to have a tender of some sort on the battery and there is no power available, I use a solar tender on my RV that is used for 1 week per year. The battery is always ready to go, and is still the one that was in it when I bought it 6 years ago. The PO did not know how old the battery was at that time because it was in it when he bought it 4 years earlier. That makes that battery 10+ years old and still going strong.
hunter 1500 Posted January 5, 2012 #20 Posted January 5, 2012 I bought my 08 RSTD in 9/09 and the next spring even with a battery tender on it was shot. Dealer replaced it for free under warranty. Replaced it with a interstate which was shot after one year. I finally bought an Odysey battery last year. I hope this one last longer as it was expensive. I had one in my previous bike and it worked well.
Yammer Dan Posted January 5, 2012 #21 Posted January 5, 2012 Can you use Battery Tender with AGM battery? I thought that was a no no.
twigg Posted January 5, 2012 #22 Posted January 5, 2012 Can you use Battery Tender with AGM battery? I thought that was a no no. It depends ... Maximum charging voltage for AGM is 14V. If your tender has an AGM/Gel setting, or program, then it should be okay.
darthandy Posted January 5, 2012 #23 Posted January 5, 2012 Can you use Battery Tender with AGM battery? I thought that was a no no. I'm in my third year of using a battery tender on the AGM battery in my Triumph. Still works great. I think the problem occurred when people used a trickle charger rather than a battery tender. In some cases it would over charge the battery. I could be wrong here, but I seem to remember reading about this somewhere. Now, if I could only remember where.... Andy
Yammer Dan Posted January 6, 2012 #24 Posted January 6, 2012 My charger has a AGM setting but I'm not sure if the Harbor Freight "battery Tender" is a trickle charger or tender??
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