$ 100 battery

[MillCreek]

I went out to the parking garage last night to go home and the Scarabeo would not start. The dash all lit up, the headlight was on and the starter would turn over, but not enough juice to start it up. I called several battery places and motorcycle dealers around downtown Everett, and no one had a battery in stock. I had to call my wife to come get me.

So I went to Interstate Batteries this morning, and was pleasantly surprised to find that they had a AGM battery in stock to fit. $ 100 with tax out the door. The lead-acid battery would have been around $ 72 out the door. It was well worth the extra cost to get the AGM battery.

I was surprised I only got two years out of the lead-acid battery, since I connected it to my battery tender every night. But as I discovered, once the battery poops out, you aren't going anywhere until it is replaced. At least with the Suzuki, I can bump start that by rolling downhill.

[MillCreek]

I went to the garage, installed the new battery and rode home without incident. It is my home garage charging away on the Deltran tender as I type. I will be interested to see what sort of battery life I get on the AGM battery.

[JulioB]

My OEM battery has been working for two and a half years but after this long winter its cranking slower than usual. I will replace it when I get home from my vacation on Monday. I don't want problems during this riding season.

[williamr]

I do wonder if putting a good battery on a tender all the time doesn't shorten the battery life.

I've never had to replace a bike battery (apart from a 6V one in 1970) and a few of them I've had for 5 or 6 years. My bike(s) are used regularly, but I don't even own a tender. I do have a conventional charger for very occasional use on the wife's car. That does lots of cold start 2 mile journeys.

Rob

[Shfls]

One winter I used a tender and had a hot battery when it came time to start up in the spring. The next winter I didn't use the tender at all and had a flat battery in the spring. I used a tender to charge the battery over several days and it would never start the bike, so I finished it off pretty quickly with a car charger, and the battery has stayed up fine ever since.

I only use the tender if the bike isn't going to be used for a week or so. I think if the battery is good to start with, it should stand a week or two without any use of a tender.

[JulioB]

I think the tender warms the battery and the water in it evaporates faster. I refill it with distilled water about twice a year.

[MillCreek]

You raise an interesting point. Should I routinely plug the Beo into a battery tender every night? Hmmm.

[Shfls]

Plugging in the tender isn't going to hurt a thing. Probably keeping it "warmed" up will keep it from sulphating. Hot weather will also cause the water to evaporate. Just keep an eye on it and like Julio says...keep it filled up... with distilled water.

When I replaced my battery, I bought a sealed one, so I don't have to worry about it now.

[MillCreek]

This new battery is an AGM unit, so it is sealed so that more water is not added. I have also noticed that the dash voltmeter shows around 13.2-13.4 volts when running at speed, which is about 0.5 volts higher than with the old battery. Interesting.

[Biplanepilot]

MillCreek,

Would you mind sharing the Interstate part number of your new battery.

Thanks,

Julian

[MillCreek]

CYTX14AHL-BS

It cost $ 89 at the counter, and state sales tax put it up to $ 98.54.

[JulioB]

Ok I just ordered:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...d=433023525019

Also an AGM battery. I know it's not a Yuasa but to tell the truth, I have never been too amazed with the Yuasa/Scarabeo combination. My wife's Chinese $995 scooter came with a sealed battery (very likely the cheapest ever made) and it has been working great for over two years.

[Bob Walker]

I am not convinced that the so called sealed AGM batteries are maintenance free. When my AGM battery was about a year old I took a slim tool and pryed off the two caps on the battery. When I looked inside I could not see any liquid and the top edge of the glass mats were high and dry. I added a little distilled water to each cell and popped the caps back in place. I set my charger for a trickle charge and in about 4 hours the charger cut off. About 9 months later I again added a little water. All lead acid batteries even the AGM type release Hydrogen and Oxygen as a result of the electrolysis going on inside the battery. These gasses have to be vented to the outside of the battery. The system to condense the water that accompanies the escaping gasses is not 100% effective so you are always loosing moisture.

[JulioB]

This new battery is an AGM unit, so it is sealed so that more water is not added. I have also noticed that the dash voltmeter shows around 13.2-13.4 volts when running at speed, which is about 0.5 volts higher than with the old battery. Interesting.

Good observation. I wonder if this will help the regulator and stator from being overworked and failing so much?

On another note, I asked the seller of the battery I just bought about their 1yr warranty vs. scorpionbattery.com 6 month warranty and he promptly responded and said that he is a dealer and I have to go through him to get the 1yr warranty.

I have never had and am not expecting battery problems within just one year but its good to know that there is a real person on the other side. He also shipped it already.

[mybug]

I have also noticed that the dash voltmeter shows around 13.2-13.4 volts when running at speed, which is about 0.5 volts higher than with the old battery. Interesting.

That is about what my Scarabeo runs at also.

It will tick down when sitting at a light and climbs right back up and hovers around 13.2 as you say.

I believe that may be as much a indication of a proper running voltage regulator as health of battery though.


peace,