Extensive battery test

[Bixxer Bob]

Not sure where to post this so feel free to move it Mustang.

I recently undertook to look after a fleet of 11 Italian motorcycles for a local lady. She used to race and with one exception, all the bikes are hers.  One of the first things to do was to select a make of replacement battery as many of them have seen better days.  I have always used Dynavolt - cheap and cheerful - but thought in this case I should be a bit more scientific.  To cut a long story short,  I found this extensive battery test:

http://www.boulevardowners.com/cafe/index.cfm?page=topic&topicID=157926

The Motobatt comes out top, not because it excelled voltage-wise over the others (including Odyssey) but because it started a 6.5litre V10 engine over 50 times unaided.  No other motorcycle battery could do this.  It also was the only one to start a bike multiple times after sitting on a shelf for 8 months.  I shall be switching to Motobatt as soon as I need a replacement. 

[Mustang]

A friend of mine has a killer battery in his Steamer , he can let it set for months without seeing a charge . It will spin the Tiger up every time with no assistance even after 3 months of sitting unattended .

I'll find out what it is and post it up .
My Bonneville can do that also with the battery I have in it from walmart , it's one of them store brand deals . It is a sealed type ,wasn't cheap , works great .

[Chris Canning]

Not sure where to post this so feel free to move it Mustang.

I recently undertook to look after a fleet of 11 Italian motorcycles for a local lady. She used to race and with one exception, all the bikes are hers.  One of the first things to do was to select a make of replacement battery as many of them have seen better days.  I have always used Dynavolt - cheap and cheerful - but thought in this case I should be a bit more scientific.  To cut a long story short,  I found this extensive battery test:

http://www.boulevardowners.com/cafe/index.cfm?page=topic&topicID=157926

The Motobatt comes out top, not because it excelled voltage-wise over the others (including Odyssey) but because it started a 6.5litre V10 engine over 50 times unaided.  No other motorcycle battery could do this.  It also was the only one to start a bike multiple times after sitting on a shelf for 8 months.  I shall be switching to Motobatt as soon as I need a replacement. 

Blimey good job it didn't say you have to jump in the canal as well,guess you'd have got wet 

When my gel battery on my K goes belly up or before I'm going back lead acid,I don't like my batteries droping off cliffs in minutes,I prefer a little warning,and at some time on either my XT or 1100s may get my fingers burned experimenting with a Shorai,but I'm not likely to be a 1000 miles home,so it don't matter.

[iansoady]

Interesting reading and worth further study.

I have a Westco fitted to mine (now 3+ years old but little use) and though it retains 12.7v for several days it does seem to struggle to turn the engine over. I'm not sure whether to change it for a Motobatt before next year.

[Chris Canning]

The problem with the likes of a battery there are so many outside influences as to how often it used when/were and how it's looked after,if that test was over many years A.it would be a different ball game and and secondly as I found out to my cost this latest stuff as good as it is,can drop off a cliff in seconds.

I put a new battery on my 1100s this year,the battery is just impossible to get at so you need some faith in what you use,I replaced my Odyssey with another,on trying to work out how old the original was,it came to either 8 or 9 years old and still turned the motor over like a good'un,does it make Odysseys any good??

Still think the trick with a bike that has easy access to the battery go cheap and cheerfull 3/4 years and bin e'm.

[aeronca]

I went the cheap rout for a few years, and always seemed to be replacing them. The last 3 years i've been using a Gel  battery and havent had one issue. Walk away for a month (with out a trickle charger) and it fires the ol' steamer up no problem every time. The battery cost me a $100.00,  but I dont think i'll ever buy a cheap one again. Just my 2 cents.

[Bixxer Bob]

What I liked about this test is it wasn't just a quickie. It's been done with some science using expensive test equipment over a period of months and is still ongoing.  It's not just another Joe's opinion.  Of course, we don't know how independent the tester was, but given that different batteries did well in different tests, I'd say it's a balanced view.  Not many bike batteries could repeatedly start a truck...

Good to see we can still have a healthy debate though 

[metalguru]

Here is my two penneth,
Have been using Motobats for quite a time now, they have never let me down (yet) and they always supply the necessary to start engines.
Anyone who is brave enough to have me work on their bike has been recommended to fit Motobat and have not had any trouble what so ever with starting in any weather/temp.
There is one guy who just rides his bike, anything more than replenishing the fuel is too technical so he is one of my regulars, he rides every day all year and has only had one electrical failure which turned out to be a blown lamp.
Only one of the the Motobats I have fitted have gone flat but that was due to the parking lamps being left on when the key lock was turned too far.
In conclusion,
They make sense, they are slightly more expensive than most but they will last longer than most.
They crank the engine faster and for longer.
They hold a charge  without trickle ALL winter.
The two sets of poles are really handy.
They can be installed at any angle.
They are a nice shade of Yellow.
Down-side is they don't die gracefully, they just stop, very similar to Ni-cads, perhaps the engine would stay running for another mile on lead-acid types, a voltmeter or volt-sensitve led would give that info as most of us on Tigers have them fitted by now.

[Chris Canning]

I'd suggest lead acid will give some warning,they die gracefully,having been stung with my K when it died a death after a 180 mile trip to Portsmouth when my French bought original BM 140 Euro battery is a couple of years old it'll be getting replaced with a Varta,it's bit like the old Tiger fuel connectors there's only one way to learn and thats the hard way,I'm sure the Motobat gives more bang for your buck,having had the joy of sweating my knackers off pushing my BM onto the ferry my battery priority list has changed.