NT Battery Replacement

[tawilke46]

Is there a consensus replacement battery recommendation for the NT?

The reason for the ? above is:
My voltage monitor indicates a slow flashing green when the bike is running. This indicates the battery is receiving the proper charging voltage from the alternator (13.2 to 14.6 V). Which is good.
But when I turn on the ignition before starting the bike I get a yellow steady light which indicates acceptable battery condition, and/or poor possibly weak charging condition (12.1 to 12.4 volts).
Before starting, I have been expecting to see a solid green led that would show a fully charged battery (12.5 to 13.1 volts).
As long as I ride the bike frequently I have no starting problems.
However, a while back, I hooked up my Garmin mount directly to the battery. Went out to start the NT for a ride and heard the dreaded click, buzzzz, and no start at all. Not even a little turnover. Battery dead as a hammer. Did not think the Garmin hookup would drain the battery (GPS unit was not on the bike when this happened). I have since connected the GPS power to my Fuzeblock (as well as everything else electrical) and have had no further problems with the battery charge.
But in the back of my mind I still worry one day I will be miles from help and the bike will not start for me because the battery did not hold a charge.
So thinking about a pre-emptive move here and replacing the battery.
Am I needlessly worrying here?

 

[freezingalaskan]

At the end of last season my battery got weak and would not start the motorcycle. I thought I was the culprit because I had recently added the fuze block and put on Denali lights etc.
I bought a new battery at the dealer and the problem went away. Did not do any re-wiring and my guess is my battery was just bad. Should have claimed it on warranty, but oh well. I remember paying $176!! for it.

freezingalaskan

 

[dnktng]

With the key turned on & before you push the start button there is quite a bit of load on the battery.... Headlight, 2 front running lights, taillight, dash light, the meter computer thingy, probably the ECU, probably more. The point is I would expect at least a .2 vdc drop just due to the lights, maybe more like .4vdc. So your real battery volts before turning your key could be 12.4 (from your 12.1 to 12.4 volts) plus .2 -.4, giving 12.6 to 12.8. Thats not too bad for a 12V battery sitting overnight.

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Next time your seat is off, verify your battery terminals look clean and are not building up a high resistance connection & preventing full charge. Listen to your starter motor every time, and if it begins to sound slower over time, then look into replacing the battery.

Make sure any electical modifications aren't draining the battery. One side of the fuzeblock is not keyed, and anything connected on that side will drain your battery.

 

[seagrass]

If your Garmin unit has an integral battery and it was wired directly to the bike battery circuit (not a switched circuit) then connecting the Garmin would drain the bike battery (as the Garmin is using the bikes battery charge, to charge its own integral battery)

 

[savantelite]

I went high end. It's smaller but comes with pads for perfect fit. It also has more power!
http://www.shoraipower.com/s-235034-NT700V-Deauville.aspx
They also make a quality charger you can leave on during the off season
http://www.shoraipower.com/s-235034-NT700V-Deauville.aspx
You don't have to unscrew the battery posts to charge the battery. There is a separate spot on the battery for that. The charger is so small, I strapped it under my seat where the manual came! My charger rides with me

 

[tawilke46]

One side of the fuzeblock is not keyed, and anything connected on that side will drain your battery.

The only accessory on the unswitched side of my Fuzeblock is my MOGO track. It keeps the tracking unit activated so that if the bike is stolen the tracking unit "wakes up" and send a tracing signal via satellite.
While the tracking unit is in "sleep" mode there is no real drain on the battery.

 

[Dee G]

I went high end. It's smaller but comes with pads for perfect fit. It also has more power!
http://www.shoraipower.com/s-235034-NT700V-Deauville.aspx

I picked up a Ballistic EVO 4 cell for my Honda Rebel and an 8 cell for the BMW GS. Pretty happy with them so far. I think the NT will get the 8 cell when the time comes.

This is the 4 cell. Weighs less than the can of Monster drink. Local Honda shop sells this one for $99, the 8 cell was $150.

This is the 8 cell. Since the GS is down for fork rebuild right now, I used the battery to fire up a Kobota tractor that had been sitting for about 18 months. fired up on the first try.
http://www.ballisticparts.com/products/batteries/8cell.php

 

[savantelite]

Sigh, lowers head. I have been jones ed.

 

[loonytuna]

So what about gel cells, I've had good luck with them on the boat, more expensive but definately better in that application, I will be changing mine before a longer trip soon since my bike is a 2010 bought in January 12 but the battery could still be 3 years old.

Anyone use gels, or is that kubota starting battery a gel,?

 

[DirtFlier]

["...Am I needlessly worrying here?] YES! I have a Datel digital voltmeter on my bike so it's very precise. If my bike is on the charger, and I turn ON the ignition key, it shows 14.2-14.3 volts. If I immediately unplug the charger and try it again with the key ON, the voltage drops to 12.2-12.4 volts.

 

[Warren]

So what about gel cells, I've had good luck with them on the boat, more expensive but definately better in that application, I will be changing mine before a longer trip soon since my bike is a 2010 bought in January 12 but the battery could still be 3 years old.

Anyone use gels, or is that kubota starting battery a gel,?

Yuasa says the life of the AGM battery in the NT is on average 3-5 years and if taken care of it would not be unusual to get 6-8 years out of one. You might be premature in replacing it unless you have experienced problems wth it.

 

[Rich]

Yuasa says the life of the AGM battery in the NT is on average 3-5 years and if taken care of it would not be unusual to get 6-8 years out of one. You might be premature in replacing it unless you have experienced problems wth it.

Most of us assess battery health by how easily it seems to start the car/bike/plane, etc. In aviation we are admonished that that is not the criteria. The battery needs to be periodically load-tested, as an alternator failure in flight leaves you with the amp-hours the battery can supply, which may be greatly reduced over the years even though the plane starts fine. Loss of expected amp-hours in instrument conditions is a serious matter.

Years ago, I was driving my ST1100 in downtown Seattle when the bike simply quit on me while I was driving it. It acted for all the world like the alternator had failed and the battery had run down. But it turned out the battery failed. Just replacing the battery took care of the problem.

Years before that, I had a '75 GL1000. These bikes had a serious defect: The system voltage ran too high (15 volts). In warm weather it would run the water out of the battery at a rate that would expose the plates to the air space in a matter of a few hours. The bike would still start fine, but the power dropped off radically (top speed 80 MPH) and gas mileage would plummet from its normal level of 40 MPG down to 30-32. Topping off the battery water would solve the problem for the moment. But on long trips on hot weather I had to sop up battery water EVERY DAY. I came to make my own voltage regulator that ran in the more reasonable level of 14.5 volts.

These monitors that one can get for bikes should give you some warning regarding the health of the battery, if one knows how to interpret them. Certainly I would have had impending warning of the ST1100 failure.

I'm intrigued by these Lithium-Iron batteries. Knock off a few pounds, certainly, which would be helpful in my plane, should they become available in 24-volt certified form. I'd need to know more about their service life to jump on their use right now. Keep us in the loop how this works out.

 

[Herb]

I too favor the needless worry theory. I totally drained my battery when I left my directly connected "Hothands" overgrips on for the day. That was more than a year ago(btw, I bought the harness and connected the hothands to a switched circuit!) and have had no problems with the battery since. As long as it starts right up, I don't worry. Fortunately, I don't have a voltage indicating device giving precise feedback, cuz I'd worry about every little up and down.

On the other hand, maybe I should worry..... damn this forum. Ignorance is bliss. ;-)

 

[Warren]

A couple of AGM battery checks recommend by Yuasa.

With voltmeter leads to the battery terminals with DC volts set at the 20 range.

1) A fully charged battery should measure between 12.6 and 12.8 volts
2) Starting load test, the battery should not drop below 9.5 volts
3) Charging system test, bring RPM's to 3000 and the battery should read 14.0-14.5 volts

 

[Chucksklrst]

Just carry a set of motorcycle jumper cables. Use mine in Dodge City last month. Stopped at Boot Hill Musium and hit the kill switch. Poked around on my GPS for a couple of mins. and then went into the Musium for a couple three hours. Came out, went to turn on the key and it was already on. A few choice words and then I got my cables out and had the car next to me give me a jump.

Remember: When jumping a motorcycle from a car battery, the Car MUST BE OFF (NOT RUNNING) or you take the chance of the car's charging system damaging the motorcycle charging system.

 

[tawilke46]

A couple of AGM battery checks recommend by Yuasa.

With voltmeter leads to the battery terminals with DC volts set at the 20 range.

1) A fully charged battery should measure between 12.6 and 12.8 volts
2) Starting load test, the battery should not drop below 9.5 volts
3) Charging system test, bring RPM's to 3000 and the battery should read 14.0-14.5 volts

Thanks Warren for the tip. I will do just that.

 

[karl]

... damn this forum. Ignorance is bliss. ;-)

That must make me ecstatic... Get your battery load tested if you are worried. The alternator makes enough juice to ride the bike home if you can get it started. A jump ( booster cables) will get that job done.

 

[Dee G]

Sigh, lowers head. I have been jones ed.

LOL! I ALMOST went with the Shorai. Just happened to be at the Honda dealer looking for a simple (CHEAP) battery for the Rebel. And kinda like when some women go clothes shopping, I get all giddy when I see motorcycle stuff and tools. (Oh yeah, and shoes.....).

Taber brought out the 4 cell, and I just started drooling.

I may end up with Shorai's for the dual sports.

 

[Dee G]

So what about gel cells, I've had good luck with them on the boat, more expensive but definately better in that application, I will be changing mine before a longer trip soon since my bike is a 2010 bought in January 12 but the battery could still be 3 years old.

Anyone use gels, or is that kubota starting battery a gel,?

The Kubota battery is the 8 cell version of the one in the picture. Its not a gel, its more like the standard battery you would put in a flashlight, only its packaged differently. I've never used a gel before, only regular lead/acid and AGM style (Odyssey batteries)

 

[Rich]

That must make me ecstatic... Get your battery load tested if you are worried. The alternator makes enough juice to ride the bike home if you can get it started. A jump ( booster cables) will get that job done.

Probably but not necessarily. See my post below.