Wasted Bank Holiday - Battery Probs?

tantrum · Mar 24, 2008

Planned a nice run out on the RSV today so popped the battery on charge last night and whacked it on this morning.

Fired up first press no problem. Then switched off and reset the clocks etc. got my gear on then bugger me it won't start. Engine turns over fine but won't fire up. Battery voltage seems to drop quite quickly, down to about 9v after a couple of seconds on the button then back up to about 12v after.

Checked the plugs and all were very wet. After drying and cleaning them I checked the sparks and all were OK. Replaced the solenoid as I had a new spare hanging around. Still no joy.

After searching around the forum it seems the battery is a weak point. Mine is only a few months old but hasn't had much use. Turns out it's also some obscure brand and only 10AH. Manual says 12AH is standard but many websites list 10AH batteries as being standard so a little confused.

Will try a new battery tomorrow but wondered which one is best? I'd like to go to 14AH if possible as I need reliable transport at the moment as the car has just snapped a timing belt and it's in for a very expensive repair.

So what's best and fits?

And will iridium plugs help?

Cheers.

Neil B · Mar 24, 2008

Go for the 14 AH and keep it on a optimiser, iridium plugs help and cold weather aint good for a batteries :thumbup

BB1000 · Mar 24, 2008

Neil B said:
Go for the 14 AH and keep it on a optimiser, iridium plugs help and cold weather aint good for a batteries :thumbup

Same as .........:thumbup

tantrum · Mar 24, 2008

Cheers guys - do you know which brands of battery fit?

Badger · Mar 24, 2008

tantrum said:
Cheers guys - do you know which brands of battery fit?

This is what you need Tantrum, it is slightly smaller so you need to modify the battery box ever so slightly, easy job, not the cheapest, but if you want a good battery you have to pay for them:thumbup, just bought one a month ago and they have way more cranking power.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Top-quality-Varta-YTZ14S-BS-motorcycle-battery_W0QQitemZ300208996770QQihZ020QQcategoryZ9946QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

LEGS · Mar 24, 2008

Yuasa, Varta or Bosch. Battery code is YTX14BS. When you get your new battery, add the acid and leave for 20 -30 minutes before you seal it. You need to then keep it on charge preferably on an Optimate overnight before you put it on the bike otherwise you'll only get around 80% efficiency out of the battery

Neil B · Mar 24, 2008

BOSCH YTX14-BS
:thumbup

LEGS · Mar 24, 2008

Badger, is it just size difference between the YTX14BS and the YTZ14SBS batteries? What's the reason for going for the YTZ14SBS?

Badger · Mar 24, 2008

LEGS said:
Badger, is it just size difference between the YTX and the YTZ batteries? What's the reason for going for the YTZ?

Legs, it is the cold start performance (more oomph), check them both out here

http://www.varta-motorcycle-batteries.co.uk/shop/detail.asp?ProductGroupID=3829

http://www.varta-motorcycle-batteries.co.uk/shop/detail.asp?ProductGroupID=3842

more money, but longer life and better reliability:thumbup

LEGS · Mar 24, 2008

Thanks Badger, the YZX-14BS has a cold start performance rating of 100EN whereas the YTZ14SBS has a cold start performance of 230EN. Anyone know what this means :dunno

tantrum · Mar 24, 2008

Getting really confused now - the YTZ14S-BS is only rated at 11AH.

sharky · Mar 25, 2008

tantrum said:
Getting really confused now - the YTZ14S-BS is only rated at 11AH.

The battery is rated at 11AH with a power output of 1Amp so it's saying that if the battery was to run continuosly it should last 11 hours without charge
eg; 11AH using 1 amp=11 hours
11AH using 2 amps= 5.5 hours
11AH using 3 amps=2.75 hours
Basicially the AH stands for Amp per hour.

tantrum · Mar 25, 2008

sharky said:
The battery is rated at 11AH with a power output of 1Amp so it's saying that if the battery was to run continuosly it should last 11 hours without charge
eg; 11AH using 1 amp=11 hours
11AH using 2 amps= 5.5 hours
11AH using 3 amps=2.75 hours
Basicially the AH stands for Amp per hour.

Sorry, not confused about battery rating just that everyone is recommending a 14AH battery and the YTZ14S-BS is 11AH and a YTX14-BS is 12AH.

Bought a Varta YTX14-BS today anyway with some Iridium plugs so hopefully everything should be OK now.

Bike started on old battery this morning after a night's charge but as it's only 10AH and a crap make I replaced it anyway.

Think I flooded it yesterday using choke(fast idle) and throttle :doh

LEGS · Mar 25, 2008

Remember to charge it with an optimate for at least 12 hours before you put it on the bike.

Here's some battery info for anyone who's interested

http://www.batterystuff.com/tutorial_battery.html

tantrum · Mar 25, 2008

LEGS said:
Remember to charge it with an optimate for at least 12 hours before you put it on the bike.

It's on charge now :thumbup Funny thing is though the instructions say that if after adding the acid the battery reads higher than 12.7v you don't need to charge it first. Mine was 12.8v but put it on charge anyway just in case.

Still don't understand why a battery with a 14 in it's name is only 12AH :confused still as long as it keeps starting I don't really care

Cheers for all the advice guys :thumbup

Arleyal · Mar 25, 2008

And to confuse even more,I bought a gel battery MG14-BS,replacing YTX14-BS,rated at13.5Ah,with 120 Col Cranking Amps(10CCA more). al

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