Battery life expectancy?

[alex_in_az]

So I just ordered my 3rd replacement battery in 2 years. I'm getting about 3000 miles per battery, anyone else having this same issue? I thought it was maybe due to the fact that my battery box is now hard welded to the frame, but then it wasn't really any better when it was rubber mounted. Also discounted the charging system, since it's done it with both the 125 and 200 engines.
anyone any thoughts?

[Adjuster]

Number one killer of batteries is heat. Plugging in a trickle charger/maintainer can make a battery last a very long time. WalMart carries all the batteries you need. Measure the dimensions of your battery box and go to WalMart for a 12v motorcycle/lawn&garden battery that will fit your box. You can also take the dimensions of your current battery but you will get more capacity if a bigger battery will fit. When your bike is running how many volts are you getting at the battery?


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[Adjuster]

This company makes the best chargers and tenders in my personal opinion.

http://www.batterytender.com/



I have this one and love it.

http://www.amazon.com/Deltran-Batter.../dp/B00068XCQU


All of my boating friends use this one as it is 100% marine grade waterproof.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Battery-Te...ingMethod=p13n


This one is just fine for indoors.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Battery-Te...arger/15779492


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[lee47512]

Is it close to the exhaust? If so move it my 05 kept ruining batteries because it was to close to the exhaust.

[alex_in_az]

Originally Posted by Adjuster

Number one killer of batteries is heat. Plugging in a trickle charger/maintainer can make a battery last a very long time. WalMart carries all the batteries you need. Measure the dimensions of your battery box and go to WalMart for a 12v motorcycle/lawn&garden battery that will fit your box. You can also take the dimensions of your current battery but you will get more capacity if a bigger battery will fit. When your bike is running how many volts are you getting at the battery?


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shows about 14v at 3k rpm. I ordered one shipped for $29.

lee47512 Is it close to the exhaust? If so move it my 05 kept ruining batteries because it was to close to the exhaust.
no it's nowhere near the exhaust

[Adjuster]

14v should be fine so it doesn't appear to be your charging system. Do you have a parasitic drain? Does your battery go dead every day or every other day?



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[Weldangrind]

That is exactly what I was going to ask. With the key off, remove the negative wire from the battery. Set your multimeter to VDC, and place one probe on the wire and the other on the negative post. Do you see more than trace voltage? If so, you have a drain.

What type of batteries are you buying? The last one I bought for Lifanda was an AGM battery from Bike Bandit; it has been an excellent performer.

[alex_in_az]

Originally Posted by Weldangrind

That is exactly what I was going to ask. With the key off, remove the negative wire from the battery. Set your multimeter to VDC, and place one probe on the wire and the other on the negative post. Do you see more than trace voltage? If so, you have a drain.

What type of batteries are you buying? The last one I bought for Lifanda was an AGM battery from Bike Bandit; it has been an excellent performer.

Battery was a scorpion first and the last one is a Chinese yuasa. No problems with slow drain just blamo dead both times

[jct842]

More than likely the battery in my 07 majesty will get replaced this year. I bought the scooter in Jan. of 2010 and have never had it out of the case to see what it is. It was new enough then that it may have been oem so if that is the case that battery could be 8 years old!
I believe a killer of batteries is constant charging when it is not needed, and vibration another source. I left a trickle charger on agm battery all winter that was less than a year old and when I went to start up I found a dead dead battery. Motorcycle batteries are supposed to have the plates better supported than say a car battery and the el-cheepo's don't seem to fair well bouncing around. The agm batteries will not take over charging at all.

[culcune]

I ordered mine from here over a year and a half ago. I used it in my old '09 TMEC. In fact, when I got my new TMEC last May, I swapped out the stock, new battery that came with the bike, with the orange gel battery from my old bike--to this day, it still works! I have had to recharge it when I did not ride the bike for a month following my accident last Oct/Nov. but it is still going strong the past several months I have been daily riding it.

http://www.t-motorsports.com/batteries/?sort=priceasc

[culcune]

And, I, too, live in AZ which has not affected the battery...

[Trailbikeryder]

My experience for a long life of a battery is not to let get down to a point where it would need charging. So if you're not going to ride over winter, take the battery out and put it on a good trickle charger. I always leave it on the trickle charger for three days and then leave it off for 5-7 days. This way I simulate "summer time" when I ride more often. My 2nd battery on my Kawasaki Vulcan 800 lasted me 14 years. Thats probably a world record though :-) The first one "only" lasted 5 years. Whats not good for a battery also, is below freezing cold.

[alex_in_az]

Originally Posted by Trailbikeryder

My experience for a long life of a battery is not to let get down to a point where it would need charging. So if you're not going to ride over winter, take the battery out and put it on a good trickle charger. I always leave it on the trickle charger for three days and then leave it off for 5-7 days. This way I simulate "summer time" when I ride more often. My 2nd battery on my Kawasaki Vulcan 800 lasted me 14 years. Thats probably a world record though :-) The first one "only" lasted 5 years. Whats not good for a battery also, is below freezing cold.

It's the other way around here, I ride in the winter and go back to air-conditioned comfort in the summer due to our extreme heat

[Weldangrind]

Originally Posted by alex_in_az

Battery was a scorpion first and the last one is a Chinese yuasa. No problems with slow drain just blamo dead both times

Did you see any voltage on the meter when you tested?

[SpudRider]

Trickle chargers were designed for flooded lead/acid (FLA) batteries. It's not good to leave a trickle charger connected to absorbed glass mat (AGM) batteries for long periods of time. If the bike is stored outside, it's good to remove the battery from the bike and take it indoors for the winter. Change the battery every 4 months or so when the bike is sitting idle, but don't connect an AGM battery to a trickle charger for weeks on end.