Battery bit the dust

[mikesim]

When I went out to start Traveller for the morning commute, the battery refused to cooperate. I was kind of concerned lately as it seemed to be cranking a wee bit slower on the colder mornings. Now I know why. I ordered a new one at work and will install it tomorrow. I've had the bike 2-1/2 years and it sat at the dealer for nearly a year so I guess 3-1/2 years ain't bad.

MIke

 

[Bear]

Mike, Did you order an OEM Battery or did you go for the new (and expensive) Shorai Batteries? The battery I have in my Cafe Racer is an AGM, and that baby cranks! When I have to replace the one on my NT, it will be an AGM. I am a bit spoiled with a heated garage. I do, however plug the NT to a Battery Tender Jr. after I am through riding for the day. I have a "Green" every morning.

 

[mikesim]

Mike, Did you order an OEM Battery or did you go for the new (and expensive) Shorai Batteries? The battery I have in my Cafe Racer is an AGM, and that baby cranks! When I have to replace the one on my NT, it will be an AGM. I am a bit spoiled with a heated garage. I do, however plug the NT to a Battery Tender Jr. after I am through riding for the day. I have a "Green" every morning.

Alex:

I manage an O'Reilly Auto Parts store and we sell Super Start batteries made for us by East Penn Manufacturing. It is a Super Start AGM that is the equivalent to the OE Yuasa battery. I looked long and hard at the Shorai style batteries and I just can't justify the extra cost for the few pounds it may save in weight. Also, I am an all season rider and I have read that the LiFe batteries lose a lot of the cranking power when the temps drop. The OE AGM always cranked well even when it was in the low teens. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Mike

 

[Warren]

I will be entering my 4th winter with the NT. It still turns over well but it has not gotten cold yet. I have thought about being proactive and replacing the battery before it leaves me stranded on a dark cold night. Since they cost around $170 I keep hoping I can get one more winter out of it. It has never been on a charger since I ride it every day and the NT is parked outside under a cover.

 

[mikesim]

The deed is done! The new battery went in last night and all is well. A minor point of frustration though was the length of the supplied battery bolts. The supplied bolts are "just" long enough to engage the captive nut with the OE battery terminals. If you have installed any electrical farkles (as I have) and have some extra terminals (as I do) then the supplied bolts aren't quite long enough. I fabricated a couple of cardboard "springs" that hold the captive nut in such a way that the battery bolt engages easily.

Mike

 

[Rmcapozzi]

That's great. Good choice on not going with the Lithium Iron battery. When they say "cold" temperatures, they basically mean at 50F you'll notice a loss of cranking power. At 40F you'll think the battery is close to its last legs. At 30F you're crossing your fingers that the battery is turning the motor fast enough to start. :frown:

The deed is done! The new battery went in last night and all is well. A minor point of frustration though was the length of the supplied battery bolts. The supplied bolts are "just" long enough to engage the captive nut with the OE battery terminals. If you have installed any electrical farkles (as I have) and have some extra terminals (as I do) then the supplied bolts aren't quite long enough. I fabricated a couple of cardboard "springs" that hold the captive nut in such a way that the battery bolt engages easily.

Mike

 

[tawilke46]

The deed is done! The new battery went in last night and all is well. A minor point of frustration though was the length of the supplied battery bolts. The supplied bolts are "just" long enough to engage the captive nut with the OE battery terminals. If you have installed any electrical farkles (as I have) and have some extra terminals (as I do) then the supplied bolts aren't quite long enough. I fabricated a couple of cardboard "springs" that hold the captive nut in such a way that the battery bolt engages easily.
Mike

I had the same problem after connecting three additional leads to the battery. I stuffed some foam under the nuts to keep them in place. That solved the problem of getting the bolt making thread contact with the nut. Same procedure did not work as well on the Wee. I finally went to the hardware store and bought slightly longer bolts for the connections. Works like a charm. Next time the terminals get disconnected on the NT, the longer bolts are going in.

 

[Phil Tarman]

I had a terrible time getting the battery connected with the three extra leads I had going to it (heated jacket controller, Fuzeblock, and SAE cord for Battery Tender and compressor). With those slightly longer bolts, the ground side wasn't hard, but the positive side was still a mess.

A friend suggested running a single heavy gauge wire to one bolt and running the leads to that. Put it in a protective plastic "box" and it works great.

 

[mikesim]

That's great. Good choice on not going with the Lithium Iron battery. When they say "cold" temperatures, they basically mean at 50F you'll notice a loss of cranking power. At 40F you'll think the battery is close to its last legs. At 30F you're crossing your fingers that the battery is turning the motor fast enough to start. :frown:

Yup! That's what I was afraid of. Last winter I rode to work in 10 degree weather. It was probably in the low to mid 20's in my garage in the am, but when I got off that evening it was 17 degrees. I was afraid a LiFe battery wouldn't cut the mustard.

Mike

 

[Rich]

That's great. Good choice on not going with the Lithium Iron battery. When they say "cold" temperatures, they basically mean at 50F you'll notice a loss of cranking power. At 40F you'll think the battery is close to its last legs. At 30F you're crossing your fingers that the battery is turning the motor fast enough to start. :frown:

I concur. I had the same experience. It's too bad, really. These are not only like 1/3 the weight, but 1/3 the volume of lead-acid batteries. Plus if they die from some inexplicable factors, they're absolutely dead - no resurrection for these things.

 

[slider]

I bought a $69 to my door replacement when I got the bike (sat around for over a year outside under a cover). Cranks nice and fast. A buddy of mine works at the plant that distributes the Yuasa. Let's just say they change more label rolls than battery casings.

 

[seagrass]

After reading the link on this site to the GREAT battery review I recently purchased a Motobatt battery when my OEM battery (2007 vintage) died.

The Motobatt battery cost me about $95 Australian delivered to my door, which I was very happy with, and the battery seems to be GREAT.

 

[kenstone]

+1 on the motobatt
And this to reduce the positive leads connected to the battery to 2

 

[Russ Foster]

6/23/14 I Purchase and rec a MBTX9U battery from these folks and shipping, cost $69 have been very satisfactory. Date code on battery was Dec 2013 so it was not an old stock battery. You have to install supplied terminal adapters but that was not a big deal