Time for a new battery

JimTid · Sep 23, 2019

I usually buy OEM and replace every four to five years. I know battery technology has come a long way. I'm open to trying something lighter if it is reliable and has similar longevity. Does anyone have recent experience with a new light weight battery for the NT?

OUTCOME: I replaced a 4 year old bike master brand AGM battery with the same. It is made in China and distributed by Tucker Rocky. It cost $70. If I can get 4 years out of this one I'll be satisfied. This was the mid price option and the reviews were better than most the less expensive batteries.

Sunny · Sep 23, 2019

my has gel battery and the biggest benefit i see is that I don't have to use trickle charger. the bike starts up even after 1 month of not riding (rare , but it happens). It is also ~3 years old as of date.

Brillot2000 · Sep 23, 2019

I have installed a Gel Cell in my NC700X (NaNCy) over a year ago. The bike spends more time sitting than being ridden.

I received heavy ridicule on a certain forum on how these batteries require special charging profiles or they fail prematurely. As mentioned I have had this battery over a year and it starts the bike and runs all the accessories without any issues.

Lithium batteries are still costly for what you get for that amount of $$$$. These also have operating/storage temperature limitations and they do not like colder climates.

Not that long ago I bought a budget AGM battery for under $40 and installed it into NaTalie. I ride this bike at a minimum of 4 days a week. This battery has not let me down for the price. If it lasts 2-3 years, I got my money's worth.

If you decide to go with a lighter weighing battery. All you would be doing is effectively lighten your wallet unnecessary in my opinion.

Sunny · Sep 23, 2019

on lighter though, Asked my wife's opinion on lighter battery, she asked how many lb will it save, then proceeded to tell me to get on the tread mill to get those lb off me instead

Warren · Sep 23, 2019

The weight savings is not going to be even noticeable on a motorcycle that is close to 600 lbs. Get a Lithium battery for other reasons. I prefer AGM batteries for their value and they work the best for starting in the winter. I never had a failure to start with an AGM even when temperatures were into the teens.

Brillot2000 · Sep 23, 2019

Warren said:
The weight savings is not going to be even noticeable on a motorcycle that is close to 600 lbs. Get a Lithium battery for other reasons. I prefer AGM batteries for their value and they work the best for starting in the winter. I never had a failure to start with an AGM even when temperatures were into the teens.

Hondafan · Sep 23, 2019

ASK said:
on lighter though, Asked my wife's opinion on lighter battery, she asked how many lb will it save, then proceeded to tell me to get on the tread mill to get those lb off me instead

A good laxative is quicker.

KentuckyHonda11 · Sep 23, 2019

my bike still has its original battery and starts up perfectly every time. I feel like I should probably replace soon regardless, though...

DirtFlier · Sep 24, 2019

Why would you consider buying an expensive, lightweight battery for a 600 pound NT? I could understand buying it for a dirt bike but not a pure road bike.

My NT is on its 2nd battery since new and its just another OEM Yuasa that works fine for me.

mikesim · Sep 24, 2019

I have not been sufficiently impressed with the Li Ion batteries to invest my $ in 'em. The weight savings is paltry in the grand scheme of things, they don't perform well when it is cold and there have been some mysterious fires in some Li Ion batteries.... why take the chance? The AGM works great for me. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Mike

DarylCincy · Sep 24, 2019

The $40 AGM Batteries work for me been using them for the last 20 years get 4 to 5 years out of them, the last few I got mail order from Chrome Battery .com

Macka · Apr 12, 2020

I think not!
My battery is still the original Yuasa and is now considerably over 11 years old.
Due to my own health issues and now the travel restrictions due to the "Virus" the bike has not been ridden/started for over four months.
It is parked inside, covered and has a battery tender connected on a timer so that it is charged for 30 minutes each morning.
This is more than enough time for the tender to indicate that it is fully charged and is now on "float'.
For something to do, I decided to test the battery.
To my surprise I found that despite being on the tender, it was in fact only at 50% SOC (State of Charge) when tested just before the next charge cycle was about to start. This is not acceptable and I suspected that, finally, it was dying.
As I have a high quality charger that includes a "recondition/desulphation" option I decided to give it a try.
Expecting it to take maybe a couple of hours I kept checking the charger for signs of success or failure regularly until it got too late and I went to bed.
It actually took over 12 hours on "recondition" but was intimately successful.
The battery is now back to 98% SOH (State of Health) which means that it is capable of sullying 98% of it's rated CCA.
This is remarkable and shows the quality of the Yuasa product.
It should continue to give me reliable starting for some time to come.
Of course, with age, comes the increased likelyhood of a sudden failure.
The pictures attached show the printout from the battery tester before & after the recondition charge.
It also proves that a tender alone is not good enough for an old battery.
Obviously the first image is the "after".

Macka

ARKNT · Apr 12, 2020

Macka you can sure make them last. Letting it sit without riding is probably not that good for them. Just like humans batteries need exercise.
I have a small ATV that doesn't get used much. It's battery went bad but came back to life after I charged it harder with my bigger charger instead of just my small tender.

Brad

Likeafox · Apr 12, 2020

Why did you type virus in quotes?

DirtFlier · Apr 13, 2020

"...but came back to life after I charged it harder with my bigger charger instead of just my small tender...Brad"

Most of the small battery tenders, the type that plug directly into a wall socket, are designed to maintain a battery's state of charge but incapable of helping a dead battery.

Macka · Apr 13, 2020

Likeafox said:
Why did you type virus in quotes?

I quoted Virus to imply the one that is the topic of current discussion and not just a common one, that's all.

Macka

rc_heli_nut · Apr 13, 2020

I had a Shorai lithium in my NT for a couple years, but it didn't perform well in the cold, as in I had a few no-starts. I went back to the OEM Yuasa battery and all is well.

Brad