I'm done with AGM

[97tiger885]

I just killed my 3rd AGM battery in the last 2- 2 1/2 years.  I am going back to a cheap regular acid cell battery.  Talked to a guy with a Concours and he said he had a similar experience.  His take was this was the result of the engines throwing an excessive amount of heat at the battery and "cooking" it.   Liquid is lost through venting at an excessive rate eventually resulting in premature battery death.

[metalguru]

Don't know if you can get these over there Motobatt YB14L-A2 Gel but found these to give excellent performance and long life, or am I just lucky?

[JetdocX]

I'm on my first one still after four years.  Don't know what I might be doing right besides keep in it on a battery tender at night. :roll:

[Mustang]

no tender at night no fussin about , I just put a new 40 dollar wally world lead acid battery in the tiggers every spring , cheap as chips and oh so effective . :D

[97tiger885]

no tender at night no fussin about , I just put a new 40 dollar wally world lead acid battery in the tiggers every spring , cheap as chips and oh so effective . :D

I do tender at night.  I have powerlets on both mcs; so, plugging in the tender is easy.  My only concern is with the CCA in cold weather.   My mcs live outside and I ride down to about 20F.  I need the cranking power after a night of 15F.  The AGM/BMWK100 combo seems fine which is strange.  The K throws as much heat as the Tiger, but then I don't ride it very often.  We will see what Winter brings.

How often do you need to add distilled H20?  I went to AGM for two reasons: maintenance free and no spilling on tipover.  I am very lazy when it comes to checking the battery fluid level.  On the K bikes, it required a bit of disassembly.  At least the Tiger is easy for battery removal.

[Mustang]

How often do you need to add distilled H20?

never see below

................... I am very lazy when it comes to checking the battery fluid level.  

that's why I just throw a new one in from wally world every springtime

[oxnsox]

... (edit)... His take was this was the result of the engines throwing an excessive amount of heat at the battery and "cooking" it.  

Nice theory, but I'm not convinced.... Otherwise we'd see most every bike owner with the same problem.
(Although having said that, how you sit on your bike and where/how you position your legs may have an affect on the airflow over both the rectifier//regulator and the battery....)

Liquid is lost through venting at an excessive rate eventually resulting in premature battery death.

Overcharging will have the same effect

[nightrunner]

Something to check is the battery voltage with the bike running.  Rev it to maybe 2500 RPM and note the voltage at the batt terminals.  Then find the voltage sensor wire going to the regulator.  Trace it back to the reg and measure the voltage there.  It should be the same.  Any difference at all means the reg is sensing less than correct batt voltage and sending too much charging current.  I have not heard of this problem on the steamer but its pretty common on the old Transalp.  I found a full volt difference in the two readings on my T/A.  The culprit is corrosion somewhere in that circuit.   Just something to check.

[97tiger885]

Overcharging will have the same effect

Maybe my smart charger isn't so smart after all.

+++++++++
Jon

[TripleTragic]

I have heard a number of comments regarding the reasonable high output of the Triumph alternators. When I was running a voltmeter I have certainly seen it sit as high as 14.5V.
Apparently this will affect different battery type differently. Lead acid will cope with it best, sealed gel the worst. Although you do need to keep an eye on fluid levels...unless of course you are using a.steady supply from wally world!

[Mustang]

...unless of course you are using a.steady supply from wally world!