The Battery thread

[wessie]

As it seems we have had summer and autumn is with us now it's May, I had the seat off my bike to meddle. I noticed there is a 2cm spacer at the base of the battery (the opposite end to the terminals as it is lay in one side). You can see the grey foam spacer in this picture I took when writing up my seat mod, next to the red fuse holder.
 

 
So, with my electrical engineer's hat on, I went to the ever useful Tayna website to get the dimensions of the Yuasa YTZ10S fitted to the bike. These are 150mm x 87mm x 93mm. It is the 93mm dimension that has been added to by the spacer.
 
The electrical specification of the Yuasa YTZ10S is a capacity of 8.6Ah and it has 190 CCA (cold cranking amps). My battery has VRLA written on it which means valve regulated lead acid. This means the battery is either a gel type or an AGM (absorbed glass mat) type. Everything you need to know about VRLA batteries is in this useful wikipedia article. A VRLA battery is important as once sealed they will not leak, hence being able to fit it on it's side.
 
So, I decided to look up which batteries are available with the same 150x87mm dimension but a height of 110mm or less. Again using the ever so useful Tayna website that lets you filter by each of the dimensions and the very important VRLA/AGM I found the Yuasa YTZ12S or YTZ14S will fit. They are both 110mm in height.
 
Spec:
YTZ12S, 215 CCA and 11Ah
YTZ14S 230CCA and 11.2Ah
 
It seems Yuasa does not make these batteries now, but there are alternative makes available including some very good brands like Westco, Varta and Motobatt.
 
Hopefully it will be quite some time before anyone needs a new battery. The original Yuasa was still on my Super Tenere when sold, it was 5 years old and had done 20,000 miles. It rarely needed a charge as the bike was used all year and the AGM technology is great at keeping a charge if not used for a couple of weeks or even months.
 
The reason I have written this thread now is that some owners who live in cold climates and use the bike over winter may find upgrading to a battery with 40 more cold cranking amps makes starting on very cold morning easier. Those who do short journeys or run a lot of accessories may find having the extra storage capacity of the 11Ah battery could mean there is less need to put the battery on to charge at night.
 
For those in the UK, a genuine Yuasa YTZ10S replacement is about £70 from the MDS shop on Ebay. Tayna will sell you a Numax for a little over £30 or an excellent Westco for under £65. There is an Ebay shop selling a FIAMM branded battery (I thought they only made filters) for under £30. Prices for the larger batteries are very similar.
 
If anyone has questions about batteries please ask them here. If you have another question about electrical matters please use the search facility (button at the top of the page, not the one on the right inside the thread) and if your question has not been asked before, please start a new thread. I will ask the mods to keep this thread specifically on topic about batteries. I cannot guarantee to answer all electrical questions. Batteries are something I have knowledge and experience of but I'm not an auto-technician. My background is working on the electronics you find in Xerox products and is a decade out of date, but the laws of physics don't change!

[jez]

Yes, I noticed the foam spacer and thought at the time, I could get a larger battery in there if I wanted. Whenever I have to replace a battery I always see if I can get a larger ah in the space.
Recently had to replace the standard 8ah battery on my GSX and managed to fit a 10ah in there.

[wessie]

A battery like this Motobatt with terminals you can switch around to get side access would be good for the MT09 Tracer as it would make adding accessory wiring easier as you do not need to lift the battery to loosen the terminals. It has 10Ah but only 160CCA, which is 30CCA lower than the original Yuasa. Motobatt has developed a substantial reputation in the UK despite the relatively cheap price.
 
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MOTOBATT-MBTX9U-YTX9-BS-CTX9-BS-YTZ12S-YT12ABS-YTZ14S-/160924286750 - handily this is from a local to me shop in Gloucester that has recently re-opened, as previously I could only source Motobatt online. 
 
 
 

[vespadaddy]

If weight reduction and/or CCA capacity increase is what you're after, wouldn't you be further ahead with a LiPO or LiFPo battery? I bought an AlienMotion battery for my Husky, and it's smaller, lighter and more powerful than the stock battery. The price might be higher than an AGM battery, but given the farkles a lot of people are hanging on this bike, the price difference between battery types seems small.

[wessie]

I don't know much about Lithium batteries in auto-electrical systems, apart from they are significantly more costly.
 

 
The SPS LIPO10A seems to be an alternative to the standard YTZ10S - it has a whopping 210 CCA i.e. 20 more than the Yuasa YZ10s and 10 less than the larger Yuasa. It weighs in at 870g against 3.2kg for the Yuasa, so saves 2.3kg. In the UK it costs £130, so about twice the cost of the Yuasa.
 
That 2kg might be useful to a racer but on a sports touring bike? Same with the fast charge ability: on a total loss system like on an enduro racing bike then yes, that is a useful feature but on a high mileage touring bike? I think not but YMMV.
 
I have met a number of UK based MT09 Tracer owners and all of them, including me, could enhance the performance of their bikes more by a personal weight loss programme, rather than trying to shave a bit off the bike.
 
As I said above, the OE Yuasa is still going strong in my old Super Tenere 5.5 years after leaving the factory. There's nothing about the Li-on technology that convinces me it is worth the additional cost over a quality AGM battery in a road bike application.

[johan]

I don't know much about Lithium batteries in auto-electrical systems, apart from they are significantly more costly. 
<googles>
 
The SPS LIPO10A seems to be an alternative to the standard YTZ10S - it has a whopping 210 CCA i.e. 20 more than the Yuasa YZ10s and 10 less than the larger Yuasa. It weighs in at 870g against 3.2kg for the Yuasa, so saves 2.3kg. In the UK it costs £130, so about twice the cost of the Yuasa.
 
That 2kg might be useful to a racer but on a sports touring bike? Same with the fast charge ability: on a total loss system like on an enduro racing bike then yes, that is a useful feature but on a high mileage touring bike? I think not but YMMV.
 
I have met a number of UK based MT09 Tracer owners and all of them, including me, could enhance the performance of their bikes more by a personal weight loss programme, rather than trying to shave a bit off the bike.
 
As I said above, the OE Yuasa is still going strong in my old Super Tenere 5.5 years after leaving the factory. There's nothing about the Li-on technology that convinces me it is worth the additional cost over a quality AGM battery in a road bike application.

But losing 2.3kg would require at least three weeks of discipline and no wine or beer...

[troll]

I don't know much about Lithium batteries in auto-electrical systems, apart from they are significantly more costly. 
<googles>
 
The SPS LIPO10A seems to be an alternative to the standard YTZ10S - it has a whopping 210 CCA i.e. 20 more than the Yuasa YZ10s and 10 less than the larger Yuasa. It weighs in at 870g against 3.2kg for the Yuasa, so saves 2.3kg. In the UK it costs £130, so about twice the cost of the Yuasa.
 
That 2kg might be useful to a racer but on a sports touring bike? Same with the fast charge ability: on a total loss system like on an enduro racing bike then yes, that is a useful feature but on a high mileage touring bike? I think not but YMMV.
 
I have met a number of UK based MT09 Tracer owners and all of them, including me, could enhance the performance of their bikes more by a personal weight loss programme, rather than trying to shave a bit off the bike.
 
As I said above, the OE Yuasa is still going strong in my old Super Tenere 5.5 years after leaving the factory. There's nothing about the Li-on technology that convinces me it is worth the additional cost over a quality AGM battery in a road bike application.

But losing 2.3kg would require at least three weeks of discipline and no wine or beer...

And sustaining the weight reduction... well I'm just sayin.... 

[cretin]

I was going through an expensive sealed yuasa gel battery every year and a half or 2. The bike got finicky on cold mornings and I'd occasionally run the battery down. Very frustrating. I got a Shorai lithium ion battery for not that much more and never had a problem again. I don't see the need to replace a battery until it's completely worn out and starts stranding you, but I'm going the Shorai route for sure when my FJ battery kicks the bucket.

[spiritwalker2222]

Shorai batteries are lithium iron. Not ion.
 
I like them and you can get a much higher capacity too. I believe the shorai LFX19 will fit into the FJ-09. It's 19 ah and 285 cca's.
 
But they are expensive.

[cretin]

I bought mine (for my KTM) at http://www.batterystuff.com/all-products-by-brand/shorai/#10028
 
Good prices.

[panooch]

I'm getting ready to install a Battery Tender connection cable off my battery. Being the first fuel injected (ECU), ABS (control module), traction control gadgeted bike I've ever had I was wondering if there is a fuse which should be pulled prior to disconnecting the battery in order to protect the ECU and perhaps ABS module from a voltage serge? I understand in cars the ECU only draws so much battery current and a serge can create a problem. Being 12v also on the FJ, I figured I should ask prior to making a HUGE mistake. I've always done negative side disconnect and reconnect first. I would hate to do a simple task and fry my ECU or other electronics. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

[deersSlayer]

I'm getting ready to install a Battery Tender connection cable off my battery. Being the first fuel injected (ECU), ABS (control module), traction control gadgeted bike I've ever had I was wondering if there is a fuse which should be pulled prior to disconnecting the battery in order to protect the ECU and perhaps ABS module from a voltage serge? I understand in cars the ECU only draws so much battery current and a serge can create a problem. Being 12v also on the FJ, I figured I should ask prior to making a HUGE mistake. I've always done negative side disconnect and reconnect first. I would hate to do a simple task and fry my ECU or other electronics. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

From the owners guide (7-32 in mine) - make sure key is off (we all knew that one!)
- to remove: disconnect -'ve before +'ve
- to instal: connect +'ve before -'ve.
 

[skipperT]

I'm getting ready to install a Battery Tender connection cable off my battery. Being the first fuel injected (ECU), ABS (control module), traction control gadgeted bike I've ever had I was wondering if there is a fuse which should be pulled prior to disconnecting the battery in order to protect the ECU and perhaps ABS module from a voltage serge? I understand in cars the ECU only draws so much battery current and a serge can create a problem. Being 12v also on the FJ, I figured I should ask prior to making a HUGE mistake. I've always done negative side disconnect and reconnect first. I would hate to do a simple task and fry my ECU or other electronics. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

 
 
Nah, no need to worry about that.
Negative first as you said, then pos. reconnect the Neg last.
You can even disconnect the ecu without removing the battery first. Today's electronics, when well built, don't have issues like they did years ago.
 
-Skip

[panooch]

 
Nah, no need to worry about that.
Negative first as you said, then pos. reconnect the Neg last.
You can even disconnect the ecu without removing the battery first. Today's electronics, when well built, don't have issues like they did years ago.
 
-Skip

Thank you Skip, I appreciate your immediate response. I think my next expense should be a service manual on this bike. 

[panooch]

Thank you deersSlayer