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.
QuoteI 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]
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.. :wink:
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.. :)
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
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.
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?
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.