New Battery Today

[Motogeezer1949_imp]

My battery on the DLX died earlier this year and I replaced it with the one out of the '13 salvage I brought back from Ohio. Haven't given it another thought since.
I'm getting ready to leave with a bunch of my buds for 10 days or so in the mountains Saturday, ending up at Barber Vintage Days.
I got to thinking that the older battery might be getting close to kicking it so I ordered a MotoBatt off eBay. Price was reasonable, fit like a glove and arrived fully charged. The cool thing is a second set of terminals on the other corners that make hooking up my Tender and Power Commander leads a lot easier job. I made all the connections with the battery half way installed, sliding it in the rest of the way afterward, which made it much easier than trying to work down in the depths of the deep, dark hole in which it resides.
Happy with it so far, we'll see how she goes from here
The new batt spun the starter motor with renewed vigor, so I'm thinking this might have been a smart preventative move.

 

[Lord Popgun]

Moto, I'd say that WAS a good move. This Summer I noticed, but didn't think much about it, that my starter didn't seem to be spinning the engine quite as fast. Not must difference, but some. Anyway, rode someplace and stopped. Later I rode home and parked the bike. Then went to start it to put it in the garage and NOTHING.

I think you were smart to change the battery. I was lucky mine failed at home and not on the road.

My ST did a similar thing and got a new battery this Summer too. Only warning was that feeling that the starter wasn't spinning quite as fast.

 

[4 Paws_imp]

Much easier to do maintenance at home.

 

[flynrider]

Smart move, Jim! The stock AGM battery gives little to no warning that its life is nearing the end. Mine died two years to the day I bought the bike. It started fine one morning, I rode it 10 miles and got nothing when I tried to start it the second time.

My older bikes that used conventional flooded cell batteries always cranked slower for quite awhile before getting to the point that they wouldn't turn the engine over.

 

[kmoney_imp]

Does the CB use an AGM battery from the factory? I always though it was a zero maintenance wet cell, but I never looked that close.

 

[curlyjoe]

Jim and popgun. did you do a battery load test with a voltmeter before you swapped in new batteries? I'm just wondering how useful this test is.

I have a 2008 ST that I picked up this summer and I have no idea how old the battery is. It definitely cranks slower than my CB when I start it but I assume every motorcycle is a bit different when it comes to "crank speed".

 

[Lord Popgun]

I did not even though I have a number of DVOMs and a cheap load tester. The dealer has a nice digital load tester and it showed both batteries bad.

With a new battery my '12 ST1300 spins pretty quick. If yours is spinning slower than the CB I would start thinking about a new battery for that too.

Kmoney, the OEM CB battery is an AGM Yuasa YTZ14S

 

[curlyjoe]

I did not even though I have a number of DVOMs and a cheap load tester. The dealer has a nice digital load tester and it showed both batteries bad.

With a new battery my '12 ST1300 spins pretty quick. If yours is spinning slower than the CB I would start thinking about a new battery for that too.

Kmoney, the OEM CB battery is an AGM Yuasa YTZ14S

Thanks popgun! I almost ordered a new battery but I think I'll test it first.

 

[the Ferret]

I have a little gizmo that plugs into my battery tender jr lead. Digital that reads voltage. Cost $16. Problem is I don't know what it's supposed to read lol. If I get a few mins I will check both bikes and report. The batt in my CB is 2 1/2 years old. The one in my ST will soon be 5 years old (Bought and installed Nov 2011)

here's a thread I did on it

How To check condition of battery

 

[Lord Popgun]

I have that too. It usually reads 11.8 with the ignition on, engine not running. This due to the lights, etc. being on. Never tried it on the ST.

 

[the Ferret]

would be interesting to see what the ST batt reads since it is fairly new. Bike doesn't have to have ign on I don't think.

 

[Lord Popgun]

Just depends on where you have the connection. On my CB I'm plugged into the headlight accessory connector so the ignition needs to be on. On my ST it does not as I have a Powerlet outlet wired directly to the battery.

On the CB I also have a battery tender cable like yours wired to the battery, but I keep the end behind the left side cover so only use it every now and then, mostly in the Winter.

 

[the Ferret]

I just checked getting 13.0 and green light on CB, 12.9 and green light on ST

 

[curlyjoe]

I have an older analog test meter so I'm not how sure accurate it is. Here's my ST readings.

With ignition off: just under 14 volts
Turn ignition on (headlights on): Monitor voltage for a couple of minutes: Holds steady at just over 12 Volts (A steady drop in voltage means bad battery capacity I think)

Crank starter: Voltage holds steady at 10 Volts (a steady drop also means a bad battery).

I think the battery is OK. The battery I have only has 120 CCA rating so maybe that is why it cranks a bit slow to my taste.

The OEM battery has a CCA rating of 230 amps so I would think that would crank the engine over more quickly.

 

[AzBob_imp]

Just depends on where you have the connection. On my CB I'm plugged into the headlight accessory connector so the ignition needs to be on. On my ST it does not as I have a Powerlet outlet wired directly to the battery.

On the CB I also have a battery tender cable like yours wired to the battery, but I keep the end behind the left side cover so only use it every now and then, mostly in the Winter.

If it's wired to anything other than the battery, you're going to get the flat 11.8ish volts that the rectifier puts out rather than the battery voltage. In other words, you're getting a false reading. If the battery reads 11.8 volts directly, it's close to dead (it's ~ 1/3 charged). The battery should read 12.7v when it's 100%.

 

[Lord Popgun]

I agree. But its under load when using the accessory plug as the ignition is on and so are the lights, etc.

If you watch it close it will usually flash up 12.7 or. 8 then 11.8 as the load kicks in, so to speak.

 

[flynrider]

Does the CB use an AGM battery from the factory? I always though it was a zero maintenance wet cell, but I never looked that close.

My '13 had a Yuasa YTZ14S AGM battery.
Best bet for a voltage test is directly on the battery terminals. A resting voltage test is a pretty good indicator of battery health, but not quite as thorough as a full load test.

Expected voltage depends on the battery type. A conventional flooded cell battery should show around 12.5V. An AGM type should be around 13V. A Lithium Ion should show 13.5V or better. Test should be performed with the ignition off and after the bike has been off for awhile.

 

[ride4now_imp]

My battery on the DLX died earlier this year and I replaced it with the one out of the '13 salvage I brought back from Ohio. Haven't given it another thought since.
I'm getting ready to leave with a bunch of my buds for 10 days or so in the mountains Saturday, ending up at Barber Vintage Days.
I got to thinking that the older battery might be getting close to kicking it so I ordered a MotoBatt off eBay. Price was reasonable, fit like a glove and arrived fully charged. The cool thing is a second set of terminals on the other corners that make hooking up my Tender and Power Commander leads a lot easier job. I made all the connections with the battery half way installed, sliding it in the rest of the way afterward, which made it much easier than trying to work down in the depths of the deep, dark hole in which it resides.
Happy with it so far, we'll see how she goes from here
The new batt spun the starter motor with renewed vigor, so I'm thinking this might have been a smart preventative move.

Jim, what model Moto battery is it? I'm having a hard time
finding the right one on their website. They don't even list a 2014 CB1100
as being available.

 

[Motogeezer1949_imp]

MBTX9U. They don't list the '14, but they're all the same.

My battery on the DLX died earlier this year and I replaced it with the one out of the '13 salvage I brought back from Ohio. Haven't given it another thought since.
I'm getting ready to leave with a bunch of my buds for 10 days or so in the mountains Saturday, ending up at Barber Vintage Days.
I got to thinking that the older battery might be getting close to kicking it so I ordered a MotoBatt off eBay. Price was reasonable, fit like a glove and arrived fully charged. The cool thing is a second set of terminals on the other corners that make hooking up my Tender and Power Commander leads a lot easier job. I made all the connections with the battery half way installed, sliding it in the rest of the way afterward, which made it much easier than trying to work down in the depths of the deep, dark hole in which it resides.
Happy with it so far, we'll see how she goes from here
The new batt spun the starter motor with renewed vigor, so I'm thinking this might have been a smart preventative move.

Jim, what model Moto battery is it? I'm having a hard time
finding the right one on their website. They don't even list a 2014 CB1100
as being available.

Jim, what model Moto battery is it? I'm having a hard time
finding the right one on their website. They don't even list a 2014 CB1100
as being available.

 

[ride4now_imp]

Well, my battery kicked it yesterday. A good thing that I never
got anywhere, because I might still be there. I guess being off the tender
for the last few months along with inconsistent riding did it in.