Fool me once...

[Gone in 60]

... shame on you.
Fool me twice, I probably deserve it.

Ugh, after hearing that click when I tried to leave for home on the Bonneville last night, I finally admitted to myself that my two-year old Yuasa was, indeed going six feet under. Despite my efforts to resuscitate it with my Optimate, it's showing 12.7 at rest, but drops to 6.6 when it's trying to crank.

There was a mention of fake Yuasas on another thread. I wondered if that was what I had. Looked back through my purchase history, and got this one on Amazon two years ago. Should I buy a new one from a known, reputable dealer? Probably.

But, Mrs. Gone and I have a war chest of unused gift cards from The Moms over the years, and we realized that we should look to see if any of them are expiring soon.

Another Amazon Yuasa will exactly burn a Visa gift card that will be dead soon, so we'll roll the dice, and if I get another two years, at least I didn't spend cash on it.

And once that's done, I need to get off of my duff and put a charger cable on the 300. Figured that would be just as easy of a job as any other bike. But, no dice. Due to the compact packaging of that little bike, the battery is under the gas tank. Which is under a complex, three-piece decorative cover. So, been waiting for a rainy day for that little project. But, if that battery dies without access to it through a plug, that bike is truly dead in the water, so I should bump it up on the priority list.

 

[Nachodaddy]

I am pretty sure you can find who is selling the item on Amazon and decide if you think they look reputable or not. Best of luck, either way.

 

[Gone in 60]

Well, none of the reviews said "I think this is fake!"

 

[Nachodaddy]

Well, none of the reviews said "I think this is fake!"

:rofl:
Hey, with Amazon, it could be an older battery that a supplier had on his shelf and decided to dump on Amazon - check the date on the battery and return it, if it's not a "fresh" battery. :beerchug:

 

[Gone in 60]

It's a do-it-yourself with the acid, so it should be fine.

One of the "price too good to be true" listings on Ebay had some negative reviews, so I gave them a read. One said "I guess I should have read the fine print in the description that says that the container of acid is not included, I wouldn't have purchased it. What am I supposed to do with a dry battery?"

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

It's a do-it-yourself with the acid, so it should be fine.

One of the "price too good to be true" listings on Ebay had some negative reviews, so I gave them a read. One said "I guess I should have read the fine print in the description that says that the container of acid is not included, I wouldn't have purchased it. What am I supposed to do with a dry battery?"

Sounds crazy, but I guess no shipping accidents in regards to an acid leak.

Seems still safe to buy batteries direct - at least you know what you are getting.

 

[Gone in 60]

All of the batteries I can remember ordering were shipped dry with acid separately included. Yuasa does a good job - the acid is in a premeasured container in the box - just snap it into the open cells, let it drain into the battery, put the cap on and charge.

 

[LongRanger_imp]

Two years on a battery — Yuasa or not — is suspect. Any reason not to question the output of your stator?

 

[Gone in 60]

She's putting out plenty when she's running, so not a problem there, Long, but good thinking.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Two years on a battery — Yuasa or not — is suspect. Any reason not to question the output of your stator?

Agreed.

The poor battery is loading the charging system down.

 

[max]

Gone i would measure the system voltage, go for a ride and leave the engine running whilst measuring the voltage with 2000 rpm.
Did this on all my bikes and the cb1100 was exactly at 13.8 volt which is perfect, more than 14 volts charges faster but shortens the lifespan especially on long trips.

You also mentioned yours is mounted under the tank, is that not a hot place? batteries don't last long over 25 deg C.

At least you proved it was the battery and got the most out of it.

 

[Gone in 60]

Thanks guys. Believe me, I checked out the Bonnie's charging system weeks ago when the battery started showing signs of going downhill. Just not holding a charge. It's not the first Yuasa I've had over the years that didn't last as long as I'd expect, but when you expect to get more out of it, it's just hard to admit that you've lost the fight.

Thanks, Max, but it's my CB300R's battery that's under the tank, which is why I've been lazy about getting around to putting a charging cable on it. I saved a YouTube video someone put up of the various screws and clips that have to come off just to get to the actual tank, which then has to be lifted to access the battery. A job I'd like to do as infrequently as possible!

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Thanks guys. Believe me, I checked out the Bonnie's charging system weeks ago when the battery started showing signs of going downhill. Just not holding a charge. It's not the first Yuasa I've had over the years that didn't last as long as I'd expect, but when you expect to get more out of it, it's just hard to admit that you've lost the fight.

Thanks, Max, but it's my CB300R's battery that's under the tank, which is why I've been lazy about getting around to putting a charging cable on it. I saved a YouTube video someone put up of the various screws and clips that have to come off just to get to the actual tank, which then has to be lifted to access the battery. A job I'd like to do as infrequently as possible!

You know what to do Gin60 - while under there add a fused SAE lead to the battery and bring it out to under the saddle or something like that. Then just plug in a SAE-cabled charger at will.

 

[Gone in 60]

Thanks, GO. I should have specified, but that’s what I meant by a charging cable. I have an SAE tucked in somewhere on all of my bikes. My car too, since it doesn’t get driven too often.

 

[redbirds_imp]

I replaced the stock Yuasa in my CB1100 with an equivalent Parts Unlimited battery. Half the price of a Yuasa and lasted three years, still working strong when I sold the CB.

 

[Gone in 60]

You know what's funny... why do I buy Yuasa batteries? Because just about every bike I've ever bought had one as OEM, and it lasted a good long time before I had to replace it. And, everyone generally agrees that they are of good quality.

For work, I help maintain a fleet of Kymco and Honda scooters that we carry around the country to use at our events. They live in a trailer all year, are never put on a tender, and are ignored for weeks or months at a time during the off-season. We remember to run the gas out of the carbs at the end of the season, but that's about it. And the batteries seem to hold up very well.

What brand of batteries do we use in the scooters? Whatever brand is readily available in whatever town we are in when one of them dies. It's typically purchased at a battery store, a Walmart or a tire store. I don't even know what brands they are when I put them in. But they last just as long as anything.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Hey Gin60: Would be possible that scooters have "less load demand" on their batteries, and hence maybe last a bit longer? Does that make any sense? I realize scooter batteries are a bit smaller compared to the CB1100 pile.

 

[Gone in 60]

Could be, G.O. These scooters are pretty much stripped down so they can easily be stored in a trailer, and they aren't taken on the road. No signals, most of the lights are either removed or burned out long ago... Nothing needs to run but the engine.