trumpetman21 Posted October 7, 2010 Report Share Posted October 7, 2010 Battery in the bike is goosed, so need to get a new one. Problem is there seems to be 2 recommended types at wildly different prices - a CT12A-BS for around £45 and a YTZ12S for around £115. Obviously the Yuasa would be the better battery but is it 2.5x the price better? Advice sought, ta muchly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rompy McPoot Posted October 7, 2010 Report Share Posted October 7, 2010 How about one of those fancy mini ones that weigh about 8 grammes? Like the one Johnny has on the ZX7? They must be in the £100 ballpark, but save a shitload of weight If memory serves. Normal Rompy caveats apply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trumpetman21 Posted October 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2010 I need the cranking power mate - not sure those tiny ones will have much of that. It's the lack of cranking power that has condemned my current battery to death. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rompy McPoot Posted October 7, 2010 Report Share Posted October 7, 2010 Ah, fair enough. You may need someone who actually knows what they're talking about to come along then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vfr4 Posted October 7, 2010 Report Share Posted October 7, 2010 I've got an 8 cell lightweight one in my SP1 and its been fine so far - not started it for a few weeks now though. If I get a chance I'll try to start it some time this week and report back. I got mine from the states for £notmuch. Cheers, Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorenzo Posted October 7, 2010 Report Share Posted October 7, 2010 For a big twin I recommend going for a type of battery rather than brand. Obviously, buy cheap, buy twice, but you can still buy something that's worth having without spending a fortune. Get yourself a decent branded gel battery. These have a better tolerance of being left for a while and a much better cold cranking power, which is what you'll need on a winters morning. Normal lead acid types will have a much lesser power once the frosty mornings set in, Gel's the way to go, without a doubt. Them there nifty lightweight things though, don't be fooled by their size, they're simply a really good battery and will produce the same cranking power as the normal lead acid battery they're spec'd to replicate, but they are seriously pricey for what they are, and as an equiv for a 12Ah battery I'd have thought you'd be looking at paying £180 or so, which is lots of cash just to start your bike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babyjase Posted October 7, 2010 Report Share Posted October 7, 2010 What about one of these bad boys. Ive heard good things about them. http://www.odysseybatteriesonline.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trumpetman21 Posted October 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2010 Cheers for the advice boys, going to ring around a few places today and see what I can find at what price. Probably going to bite the bullet & go for the Yuasa, hopefully it'll last a few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trumpetman21 Posted October 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2010 Ended up getting a YTZ12S from MMC for £65 - result! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trumpetman21 Posted October 16, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2010 Perhaps there was a reason the battery was cheap.... Seems this one is buggered now - it's started the bike perhaps 4 or 5 times this week and was 'sounding' a little weak so have had it on the Optimate this morning. Optimate says it's fully charged so I try to start the bike again....nothing, zilch, nada. So either the battery was duff to begin with OR my bike is killing batteries in double-quick time. I know Hondas can have problems with reg/recs, could it be this? Cheers for any advice/info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strappy Posted October 16, 2010 Report Share Posted October 16, 2010 When I picked up my SP2, the guy gave me a new battery he'd bought for it, telling me that the one in there was goosed. I still haven't swapped them over or even charged the original and it still fires up every time I try and there's a Datatool System 3 patent battery-drainer fitted. Sounds like your fault is worth further investigation. Apologies for being no further help with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trumpetman21 Posted October 16, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2010 Cheers mate, thinking it's definitely something to do with the charging system - can't see a brand-new Yuasa being duff out of the box. Battery is so flat that the reg/reg just buzzes instead of the engine turning over. Got the battery out of the bike now and am charging it in the kitchen. Will call a few local dealers/repair shops on Monday to see how much a new reg/rec is fitted....don't suppose anyone has any ideas/experience do they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babyjase Posted October 17, 2010 Report Share Posted October 17, 2010 I thought my fireblade might have the same problem when my battery died after a coulple of days. I used a multimeter to check the voltage with the battery in the bike. You should get about 14.4 volts with the bike reving. Anything like 16/18 volts and the req's goosed, boiling the contents of the battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trumpetman21 Posted October 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2010 New reg/recs seem to be around £65-£80 or so, as this is the most likely reason think I'll just take the plunge & get one ordered so I can swap it with the one on the bike this weekend....fingers crossed it does the trick! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorenzo Posted October 18, 2010 Report Share Posted October 18, 2010 Don't buy a pukka Honda one, get an aftermarket one with as many fins on it as you can. Honda ones seem to overheat a bit easily. Also, fitting is a peice of piss, seriously, just a matter of unplugging and replugging and doing the 2 bolts to attach it. Taking your fairing off and finding it is probably more difficult than actually swapping it over. Do a search on here for how to chack the charging circuit and check the reg rec, there's been hundreds of write ups on it, and I know it'll piss you off more if you buy a new one and then find it's your starter motor that's knackered... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trumpetman21 Posted October 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2010 Cheers lorenzo....already got a price for a genuine Honda one - £145. Think I'll give that one a miss! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefatman Posted October 18, 2010 Report Share Posted October 18, 2010 One of an R1 will work well, you should get one for a tenner on ebay. Its 5 wires in total, +ve, -ve, and the three from the generator that can go in any order so its pretty easy to sort out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trumpetman21 Posted October 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 After consulting my mutimeter it seems that the original battery gets charged up to 13.3V by the Optimate but the replacement one barely manages 12.5V....and then drops to less than 12.3V overnight. So I am pretty sure the one I bought from MMC is infact buggered. One thing I'm not sure of - is a battery accepting a charge of 13.3V 'normal' or is it a sign that battery is buggered as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trumpetman21 Posted October 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2010 Testmate mini & multimeter both seem to say the reg/rec is fine - voltage never rises above 14.5v no matter what the bike is doing when running. It can drop below 13v with main beam/brake light/ indicators all on - with the small charging system on a bike (c.f a car) I presume this to be normal....? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorenzo Posted October 24, 2010 Report Share Posted October 24, 2010 Yep, sounds OK to me, so as unlikely as it is, I'd say you've got a duff battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trumpetman21 Posted October 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2010 Cheers Lorenzo, thought that was the case. May plump for a YTZ14S instead of the YTZ12S - bit more capacity & cranking power but the same overall dimensions....similar price too. Won't be a problem I imagine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorenzo Posted October 24, 2010 Report Share Posted October 24, 2010 I'm far from an expert, but it shouldn't be a problem at all, I wouldn't have thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trumpetman21 Posted October 25, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2010 Duff YTZ-12S has been taken back to the shop today and new YTZ14S will be in tomorrow, should be the end of it now....thanks for all the help chaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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