Replacement battery

[D-Fuzz]

The battery in my Tiger has a date from 2001.  It hasn't shown any signs of being weak, but after reading about the hazards of trying to start a Steamer with a poor battery, I thought it might be good insurance to buy a new one.  Plus it would be nice to have a sealed battery, so I can get rid of that tube hanging down by my rear shock.

Anyway, I went to my local shop and he sold me one for a '99 Tiger 855, as that was all he had listed in his book.  Low & behold, it is about a 1/2 inch too wide for the battery box.  So, is there a way to make it fit?  Or is there a battery for a different application that will be the proper size?  I tell them I own a 1996 Triumph Tiger and they look at me like I am from Mars.

[Sin_Tiger]

I tell them I own a 1996 Triumph Tiger and they look at me like I am from Mars.

`96 was very popular on Mars :-D Take it back, unless the dealer is 500 km away, do asearch, on a Tab just now or I'd do it for you. Plenty of battery threads for obvious reasons, I think mine is a high output one meant for a Yam, has an extra terminal for battery monitoring.[/quote]

[NeilD]

I've got one of these on my T/Bird Sport, spins it over nicely.. according to the fitment guide it fits the Steamer as well as  a load of other stuff..  

http://www.tayna.co.uk/YB14L-A2-Westco- ... P3385.html (http://www.tayna.co.uk/YB14L-A2-Westco-Motorcycle-Battery-P3385.html)

I expect it'll be cheaper your side of the pond..  :)

[Mustang]

go to walmart buy a 35 dollar battery
I think they are al-14's , will check my tiggers later
replace every year for 35 bucks end of story

[Colonel Nikolai]

I'm kinda with Mustang on this one. The cheap batteries tend to be flooded lead acid, which require a long tube to allow the acid to escape to the nether regions of the bike. This is bad. But I notice that they last longer and can handle sitting for a long period of time without going bad unlike the anhydrous glass-mat type in more expensive batteries, which can die in storage more easily.

My sprint has had the same battery for 4 years. It's a flooded lead acid battery.

On the other hand, going to opposite extreme will also work great, like this kind of battery, the Odyssey Dry-cell:

http://www.aerostich.com/odyssey-drycel ... eries.html (http://www.aerostich.com/odyssey-drycell-motorcycle-batteries.html)

It's the batteries in the middle of the road that are really problematic.

[NeilD]

thats interesting as I had both batteries indoors over winter, and was putting them on the charger/conditioner every other week or so.. I found that the westco sealed battery went almost immeadiately to 'fully charged' whereas the wet battery from the Tiger went through the charging cycle and onto trickle charge for a few hours... other reason I used the sealed one on the TBS is they have a reputation for overcharging and boiling dry traditional batteries... as an aside, my Tiger doesnt seem to do this, is it just an issue on later Triples?

[D-Fuzz]

I returned the battery that didn't fit and took Mustang's advise.  I bought a Walmart battery.  I tested the old battery and it read 12V, so I am not going to be in a panic to swap it out just yet, but if it seems like it isn't holding its charge, I will yank it out.  At least this way I have a reserve just in case.