How are our batteries doing after 3.5 years?

dcstrom

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Mine still seems pretty good, but I'll be leaving Europe soon and heading east where it probably won't be so easy to find a replacement. I'm a member of the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" club, but wondering if it would make sense to fit a new battery while it's easy?

Who's had to replace a battery at this point?

Trevor
 

klunsford

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I'm on my second S10 and haven't had to replace a battery in either on them. sorry, I guess I am really no help.
 

roy

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Mine is still working and I recently checked the voltage on it and it showed 13.21 it does crank slow when cold and almost sounds like it won't turn over but always does. It's kept on a battery tender 24/7 when not in use.
 

TXTenere

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roy said:
Mine is still working and I recently checked the voltage on it and it showed 13.21 it does crank slow when cold and almost sounds like it won't turn over but always does. It's kept on a battery tender 24/7 when not in use.

13.21 volts(unloaded) means absolutely nothing. It is not uncommon for batteries that show a good voltage without load, and then go down to almost nothing when under load. If you want to get a better indication of battery health using voltage, then loaded voltage is what you want to measure.
 

TheHelios

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I had to bring mine in for a warranty transfer and it passed all tests EXCEPT the battery which they said is spotty. This explains why it has a hard time starting every now and then. Most likely due to FL weather which is hell on batteries. I need to get a replacement ASAP.
 

roy

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SPX said:
13.21 volts(unloaded) means absolutely nothing. It is not uncommon for batteries that show a good voltage without load, and then go down to almost nothing when under load. If you want to get a better indication of battery health using voltage, then loaded voltage is what you want to measure.
And I am very well aware of that Einstein, I wasn't implying it was good at that voltage simply stuck a meter on it at the time. ::)
 

Wanderer

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Howdy,
An average life for a regular battery is somewhere between 5 to 7 years. If you keep it on a battery tender when not in use it could easily last beyond that. I once read somewhere, don't ask me where, that left on a Tender when not in use the battery could last forever. My general rule of thumb is to replace after 7 years. In the grand scheme of things it's cheap money but can be a real pain in the ass depending on where and when it decides to die. I'd stay clear of Lithium Ion until they come up with a battery that has equal cranking amps, not an equivalent. When they do offer equal cranking amps they will weigh the same as current gas mat batteries.
Later,
Norm
 

Dirt_Dad

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Wanderer said:
I once read somewhere, don't ask me where, that left on a Tender when not in use the battery could last forever. My general rule of thumb is to replace after 7 years.
I had a generator battery go 10 years using the built in charger.

I use a Tender Jr on all my stuff in the winter. My S10 purchased in August, 2011 has never had a battery issue. Nor my one purchase in Feb 2012.
 

Philistine

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I have a 2010 model and I replaced my battery about 2 months ago, it was still working but it didn't have the stamina it use to, so I wacked a new YUASA in it ::012::
 

Koinz

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Mine is still original and I drained it a couple of times by accident. After a recharge it seems to be holding up. That being said, I bought a new one a month or so ago and plan to install it in the spring.
 

snuffcityrider

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I must have got a dud. Bought my bike in August of 2011 and had to replace the battery last summer. My battery stays on a charger when not ridden.
 

Z06

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Mine gave up toward end of last years 7 month long ride. 2012 bike. Not on a tender but ridden every day for 5 1/2 months and one morning would not start bike and would not hold a charge.
 

tomatocity

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While on a trip, July 2013, I accidentally drained the battery. Could not find a replacement so I had to charge it. Took all night to get it to charge. It was slow to start. For peace of mind I replaced the battery, after I got home, with a OEM battery.
 

Kidder

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Mine lasted 2.8 years. I replaced it with a Shorai and then my wife got laid off and I sold the bike a few months later. :mad: I would have bought a much cheaper one if I was Nostradamus. :D
 

Brick

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I had to replace the battery in my 2012 Tenere' before the first year was over around 20,000 miles. I put a stock battery in. Sold the bike with 68,808 miles.
My 2014ES now has 22,500 miles and no problems!


I might be out riding my Super Tenere'
 

Checkswrecks

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I'd say that you are probably good to "go east young man" but would totally understand preemptively replacing the battery while you are where they will be more readily available.


Yes, they are 3.5 years old and in the bad old days, that alone would have had me replace a flooded lead acid battery. AGM batteries like ours either die in infancy or last a long time if treated well and you are continually using yours and not letting it drain, like so many snow-bound bikes will. So if any will last, I would think yours should.


The only objective way to tell the state of health of your current battery would be to do a draw-down test if you can find a car electric shop in the town you are at. Beyond that is thinking about whether the battery performance is perceptibly changing. One of the best things about lead-acid (including AGM) is that it will generally give a little warning that it is losing capacity if people listen for slower cranking, dimmer lights when at idle, etc.


As a "just in case," please copy the Yuasa catalog from here to your computer: http://www.yuasabatteries.com/pdfs/Yuasa_Specs_Apps_2014.pdf


The reason for copying it is so that if you are stuck in the hinterlands and wonder what you can borrow a battery from, it has the applicability charts and just about everything else you want to know. The key constraints on the Tenere are the dimensions and the cold cranking amps, shown on page 8. Our OEM battery is the YTZ12S with 210 CCA. Skimming through the other batteries, the YTZ14S is the same case with .7 lbs more lead, giving it 230 CCA. There is nothing else listed which will both fit the tight battery mounting location and give the CCA we need in the big twin.


When it comes time to replace, I will go for the YTZ14S and it's my recommendation to anybody else. While I understand the appeal of lithium batteries and would keep one if the bike already had it, I do not recommend lithium batteries in a big adventure bike where the negatives are not offset by saving a little weight which our bikes carry down low.


So what else uses the YTZ12S or 14S? Fortunately, the BMW 1200GS/GSA from 2009-2013 does and those are pretty common. The earlier GS bikes use the taller YTX which won't physically fit. Some of the Honda twins and VFRs use our battery, and there are a few other bikes. In context, this means that in bigger and more affluent areas you ought to be able to find a replacement. The flip side is that you are leaving the more affluent and populated part of the world and going to where 1200cc bikes become rare.




Since you have the time, I'd suggest trying to find a car shop to do the draw-down test and see if the OEM YTZ12S can get near the 11 amp-hours shown in the Yuasa catalog. But I'd also press on eastward if I did not find such a shop and consider whether performance has perceptibly changed as I passed through bigger cities. Obviously there are no guarantees, but you should be fine.
 

Rasher

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::021::

over 3 years / 18,000 miles and seems OK. Not kept on an optimizer or anything, over the winter I will dig out the charger if I have not ridden it for a couple of months.

Will fit good quality aftermarket when it starts to sound a bit sluggish.
 

Harry Dresden PI

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I must be old ... and rooted in past historical error ....

!. as I have never owned any other motorcycle where the battery is mounted non perpendicular to the pull of the earth gravity. (Like the S10 is not)

2. I assumed for safety sake (on motorcycles without kick starts or that trail far from jumper cables) that if the (highly paid auto battery reliability engineers) give a max car battery warrentee is 4 or 5 years ... to be safe I buy a new battery for my cars and bikes every 4 years.

(A funny story ... Wife had a car battery fail while I was away ... she bought a new car before I returned ...)

Most Likely this is the reason for my phobia for changing batteries before they fail ....

Old history off .. and school me in the new reality... of Acid Glass Mat batteries
 
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