Like title says, my 09 bike did not start today and it was over 60F today
So i did some research and was thinking with replacing original BMW battery with Yuasa YTX14H-BS will be a good chose.
What do you guys think from your experience?
any opinions greatly appreciated maybe there is better choice ??
I just recently picked up an Odyssey for my R1150RT-P. I did alot of looking around and concluded that Odysseys are among he best out there. Battery Mart had the best prices hands down, free and very fast shipping, all in all a great deal.
Before you buy a new battery; try charging it up with a real charger, not a trickle charger; use a voltmeter; put 2-10 charger on it; 10 hours at least. Get it up to 13.5 to 14 volts.
I meant a charger putting out up to 10 amps of charge. Some Schumacher have a 2amp 10 amp 50 amp setting; others 10 amp and a higher setting; anything but a trickle charger.
I have an Odyssey PC680 in my bike for a few years, no problems (other than getting it in), works just fine.
BTW: I should mention that I posted a picture and someone was quick to tell me it was a "non-standard" battery and it could be causing a problem. (I really love the internet ).
Harry Costello -- Jersey Shore
2007 R1200R
1974 + 75 CB125S
1971 R75
2020 Guzzi V85TT
BMWMOA 57358
I am very satisfied with my MotoBatt MBTX12U Battery that I bought on Amazon for $79.95 last year. I don't need the best battery out there. Something reliable. If I get three years out of any battery, that seem about average.
I wouldn't hope that just charging it will help. You don't want to be stranded. I didn't have good luck push starting my R1200R.
I just replaced the OEM battery in my '07 12R with the Yuasa equivalent. The bike now starts, stops, and can start again without a boost. After reading other posts on the board re. the factory Exides, I can say that I am content with my choice.
I've learned a lot about batteries because of boats I've owned. I get in trouble with electrical engineer guys because they don't approve of my use of certain terminology vocabulary.
While it is difficult to get info on this, I believe our batteries are rated at around 18 to 20 amps of storage capacity. So if they drain down over time, or you leave a 1 amp draw on them for any length of time then you've got a battery that coud easily be down 8-10 amps.
Less would be enough for a no start. But call if half way down. If a 12 volt battery is fully charged at around 13.5 volts, then 12 volts is near flat and really anything less than about 12.2 volts is not going to kick that thing over. 10 volts is probably only 4 - 6 amps down from full charge capacity.
So the issue is how do you replace drained down amps. A trickle charger will NOT replace the amps. Not what it's supposed to do. What I do is plug another pig tail onto the trickle charger lead coming out of the bike. [Note now the polarity is reversed, just use your meter from Radio Shack to test polarity.] I use the second pig tail with ring things on the end as if it were to be attached to a battery.
Instead, I use the alligator clamps from a real charger and snap them to the pig tail ends....probably going to be red to black and black to red instead of red to red because of polarity change....[above] then I charge until the low battery hits full charge around 14 volts; and when I take the charger off it should eventually settle down to 13 or so volts.
The battery was never dead. It was just discharged could not be recharged with a trickle charger which just doesn't have the beans. My trickle chargers would go from red light to green light saying full charge and not enough in the battery to kick over the bike. Green at like 12 volts even.
My system was great until I accidently let the extra pig tail ends touch each other on my Ducati 696, which blew the fuse....but the fused end of the bike pig tail is UNDER the gas tank and about two hours away from my ability to fix. I will have that done when I do the 7500 mile service. We are gone on vacation now for a while and I know I'm going to be in trouble with that Ducati starting and I can't get it charged as it sits; and virtually no modern bike can be bump started...at least the battery terminals are easy to get to on my R12, the Victory, and the Triumph.....AAA will probably have to take the red bike to the red bike store for the big service and the 25 cent fuse under the tank where the Italians put the peanut sized battery.
I still feel as if I have not been clear. But, I think a lot of batteries get tossed that are just a little low and will again hold charge off trickle or riding once brought up to full beans. ["beans" being a scientifically objective term of electrical knowledge.]
My battery was getting sluggish on starting the bike. The battery light was also taking a good 5~10 seconds to go out after the bike started. Now I have only had my bike for roughly 4 weeks now. I have put over a thousand miles on it already so I knew the battery was not weak from sitting around since I got the bike. I pulled the battery out and it was going on 3 and a half years old so I decided to replace it.
I have done a lot of research on LIFePo4 due to living on the Adventure/Dirt side of motorcycles. If you have any questions about LIFePo4 batteries I strongly suggest this thread over at ADVrider.com http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=770364 as this is a pretty exhaustive test thread and I won't make any recommendations as the tests speak for themselves.
So after I put in the 16 cell Antigravity battery there was no sluggishness to the cranking, and the battery light goes out in a second after start which may mean nothing, but it sure made me feel better about things.
2007 BMW R1200R
2012 KTM 690 Enduro
2007 Yamaha 450F
I can certainly understand not wanting to toss a battery with some life left in it. But you have to ask are you willing to deal with being stranded just to put off spending $80. Given you can't push start a Roadster very easily, I go the preventive maintenance route and just replace batteries when I feel they are near end of life. It all depends on your pain threshold, and which pain you hate more (spending money, or being stuck).
I also keep a dry Yuasa battery in the garage. When you buy one from Amazon they ship dry with acid tubes.
There is no right or wrong answer here.
Scott Schifer, Torrance CA.
1988 K75 Low Seat
2009 R1200R
I agree with TT. I usually replace both my battery and tires well before they are truly 'used up'. I just don't see the logic in riding a bike that costs in excess of 10K and worrying about a $100 battery. Like most things involved with motorcycling it's all a matter of how much risk your willing to accept.
OTOH: I do see threads like this useful because they usually contain some useful information. I was exposed to the Motobatt line of batteries on a thread just like this one, and although I was hesitant to put one in my R, I did put them in bikes that I use purely for local rides and MotoGiro. Made in China, they are inexpensive seem to take a charge well and hold it, and have given me good service without any problems. I guess if cost was a major issue I would go for one in the R, but as long as I can afford it I'll stick with the high priced spread.
Harry Costello -- Jersey Shore
2007 R1200R
1974 + 75 CB125S
1971 R75
2020 Guzzi V85TT
BMWMOA 57358
Oh, and stay away from "Cycle Gear" branded batteries. I put one in my K75, it lasted 7 months. BMW batteries last 5 years in that bike. Hard lesson about going cheap and spending more.
Scott Schifer, Torrance CA.
1988 K75 Low Seat
2009 R1200R
Thanks everybody for all the input
I was able to revive my battery by simply hooking it up to battery charger last sunday for about 10 hours and i started my bike today without problem.
So for now i will suspend my search of new battery, and will get back to this topic when time comes for replacement.
and it was over 60F today 
).
