Ok

Having dealt off the same guys for over 30 years now I have no reason not to trust what these people say, about all aspects pertaining to motorcycling and mechanicals in general. HOWEVER . . .

When I was in the final throws of the rebuild on the K I purchased  new battery, yuasa 05030 model , it think it was. Anyway, I got this battery shipped to my city and uplifted it in DRY condition, =  NO ACID ADDED. I was to go and buy some acid and fill it myself. The bike shop paid the freight and got it shipped without the need for an hazardous goods courier service which was fine. I paid $116.00 which I thought was bloody good. The battery is exactly the right specs and size and is "the one" for the K bikes

Here is the things I need to know and if members can enlighten me on these things I will be eternally grateful

1. Given the fact that parts (correct one) are getting more and more difficult to obtain I asked my guy if I purchased 2 or 3 of these batteries in dry condition would the condition of the batteries deterioate over time. He said "yes they will and I don't advise you buying them in advance" I was under the impression that dry batteries only deterioate AFTER acid is added
   
2. When topping up the batteries what if I use acid instead of water -wil this lengthen the life of the battery (I thought it would) He said "no -that's not a good idea, just use distilled water"
   
3. Should I leave the battery on a trickle charger when The bike is not used - again, I thought the answer was yes and he said "no"
   

Now, don't get me wrong, I trust this guy, as I said and have done so for 30 odd years but I have to ask myself has he got all his battery information completely wrong or hae I , maybe he is expecting me to take the advice knowing that I will buy more batteries off him sooner than needed but that seems unlikely as sales strategy knowing that if I get confirmation he is all wrong I would not hesitate to go elsewhere forever and a day and he would lose all future sales from me

so . .  any ideas please members ???

He is right in everything he said.

These days I would never use a wet acid battery. All modern bikes get various sorts of gel battery which will not spill and throw acid everywhere should you drop your bike.
Batteries will never get scarce, there are thousands on ebay.de from many manufacturers that fit the K. I use a Hawker Oddysey PC680 on my bike, made in the US and fitted to many bikes and ultralites. It is about half the size of the 30 year old design wet acid battery with more punch.

Long term use of a low amp trickle charger will sulphate and eventually kill a battery.  A multi-stage charger is a different thing again.

I find that most modern bikes have AGM batteries which are not the same as a gel battery. The AGM is also no spill, sealed has higher starting current than Gel and also the AGM can be charged at the same voltage as standard wet-cell. Gel should be charged at a lower volt setting, if charged at too high a rate you can bake the gel which reduces its capacity.  Gel is good, I just think that AGM is a better technology for a starting battery.

Al

I use the term gel as a generic term. BMW have been using gel batteries for years now. My Oddysey is, of course, an AGM battery.

bikerboy wrote:These days I would never use a wet acid battery. All modern bikes get various sorts of gel battery which will not spill and throw acid everywhere should you drop your bike.
Batteries will never get scarce, there are thousands on ebay.de from many manufacturers that fit the K. I use a Hawker Oddysey PC680 on my bike, made in the US and fitted to many bikes and ultralites. It is about half the size of the 30 year old design wet acid battery with more punch.

Excellent/ Thank you. So then, one more question . . roughly how long do batteries last. one year, 2, years or maybe more?

Standard Gel batteries lasted: 8 years in my wifes R1100S, 7 years in my R1100S, and as for the other BMWs, I never keep them long enough to know. The PC680 has been in my ultralight for around 6 years and will turn the 4 cylinder 1400cc 100 hp engine over even if it has been left for 4 months.

G'day Be made , I'm also using a PC680 AGM , it's 5-6 years old , no problems , no messy acid spills /corrosive fumes , IMHO it's the way to go

JR

JR_K100RS wrote:G'day Be made , I'm also using a PC680 AGM , it's 5-6 years old , no problems , no messy acid spills /corrosive fumes , IMHO it's the way to go

JR

Thank you . . and

bikerboy wrote:Standard Gel batteries lasted: 8 years in my wifes R1100S, 7 years in my R1100S, and as for the other BMWs, I never keep them long enough to know. The PC680 has been in my ultralight for around 6 years and will turn the 4 cylinder 1400cc 100 hp engine over even if it has been left for 4 months.

Thank you! Now I know whats the go

Mind you . .  @ $440! . . wow . .

http://www.mrpositive.co.nz/search.php?search_query=PC680

4x the price . .mmm . . .would like to see how long the standard acid one last for

Regards

Keith

I use a Motobatt battery and it is now 8 years old and still going well. I couldn't recommend them highly enough.

I've got 7 years on a Panasonic LC-P1228P UPS battery (AGM technology, which also means no acid spills or fumes etc) now, still running just fine.  The bike does get left for months without riding sometimes, doesn't always get put on a charger but it just keeps going.  Nothing against the Odyssey, but at $175 for the Panasonic vs $350-375 for the equivalent Odyssey from the same supplier it's a real easy choice.

So I bought the same Panasonic for the 16v. 

Al

AL-58 wrote:I've got 7 years on a Panasonic LC-P1228P UPS battery (AGM technology, which also means no acid spills or fumes etc) now, still running just fine.  The bike does get left for months without riding sometimes, doesn't always get put on a charger but it just keeps going.  Nothing against the Odyssey, but at $175 for the Panasonic vs $350-375 for the equivalent Odyssey from the same supplier it's a real easy choice.

So I bought the same Panasonic for the 16v. 

Al

Thankyou. This is more like what I was hoping for.Nothing like this forum in the whole world, thanks guys  

And just to spoil the party I had my original 1991 BMW battery fitted to the bike for 13 years before it finally died.  I had to the check the manufactured date on the battery because I did not believe it. 

It did discharge a few times and I always use distilled water to top it up.  Nothing since has come near to that.

I have a  generic  32Ah lawnmower battery @ £37 cheap as chips and guaranteed for 2yrs. the last one lasted just over 3 before it started to fail.

Never having riden the bike in Aus, I've had no problems with acid spills  

TacKler wrote:And just to spoil the party I had my original 1991 BMW battery fitted to the bike for 13 years before it finally died.  I had to the check the manufactured date on the battery because I did not believe it. 

It did discharge a few times and I always use distilled water to top it up.  Nothing since has come near to that.

Hell yeah . . . thats very cool.

Unfortunately I will have to wait until mine dies to see just how long it goes for but I am hoping (if its anything like the cars) to get about 5 years or more out of it.

@ $120ish thats like, . . . $20 a year.

Just out of interest . .  what was the replacement battery? Type / model / cost ??

Thanks the.postman , that actually explains a lot , I never had battery issues when I rode the thing in Europe only when I got it home

Ta for that

JR

Be made wrote:

TacKler wrote:And just to spoil the party I had my original 1991 BMW battery fitted to the bike for 13 years before it finally died.  I had to the check the manufactured date on the battery because I did not believe it. 

It did discharge a few times and I always use distilled water to top it up.  Nothing since has come near to that.

Hell yeah . . . thats very cool.

Unfortunately I will have to wait until mine dies to see just how long it goes for but I am hoping (if its anything like the cars) to get about 5 years or more out of it.

@ $120ish thats like, . . . $20 a year.

Just out of interest . .  what was the replacement battery? Type / model / cost ??

I replaced it with another BMW battery from the dealer, expecting the same result.  But alas, I was disappointed.  It probably lasted 3 or 4 years which is what I normally expect with a battery.  It cost about $160? 

Nowadays, Battery World normally have what I want on the shelf as I normally want a new battery straight away.  I'm still using wet batteries and because my work supplied distilled water ran out, I have to buy it. 

Most car or bike batteries I buy are around the $100 mark, and the car is still going strong after 4 years.  But with winter approaching will see how it handles the cold.

Cheers, Dave.

The old Mareg BMW batt lasted 7 years, the Mareg before it lasted 10, The 7 year batt was because I left the bike with my little brother whilst I travelled by Caravan around OZ and when I got back to my bike it was as flat as, so only 7 years. I now have a Motobatt bought last year

I expect a minimum of 5 years from a lead/acid battery, so going that a gel costs at least 4 times as much then they should last at least 20 years to breaking even and I cannot see that happening.

billtr96sn wrote:I expect a minimum of 5 years from a lead/acid battery, so going that a gel costs at least 4 times as much then they should last at least 20 years to breaking even and I cannot see that happening.

Nice observation. Thanks

K75cster wrote:The old Mareg BMW batt lasted 7 years, the Mareg before it lasted 10, The 7 year batt was because I left the bike with my little brother whilst I travelled by Caravan around OZ and when I got back to my bike it was as flat as, so only 7 years. I now have a Motobatt bought last year

The Mareg fitted from factory on my RS did last 9 years and 2 months.

The Exides that BMW have been fitting more recentlydont have that sort of reputation.  Pretty poor mostly.

Al

I think it is because the Exides these days are no longer made in the UK but outsourced to either China or India and along with penny pinching you get the loss in quality.

Little bit of history, Exides used to be made in Dagenham near the Ford factory as Fords were their largest customer.

AL-58 wrote:The Exides that BMW have been fitting more recentlydont have that sort of reputation.  Pretty poor mostly.

Al

+1. Not unusual with a lifetime around two years.

Also did read somewhere that back then Exide did buy Mareg,
and the doors was closed and locked a couple of years later.

Hmm. . . this is going to be interesting. I got a Yuasa, made in USA, thats what was in the bike when I got it so I bought another one same model and specs, lead / acid. It is 20 months old now. If I get 36 months out of it I will be very happy.

Wonder if they are any good? guess only time will tell

These guys "appear" to know there stuff, at least:

http://www.yuasabatteries.com/faqs.php?action=1&id=32

"Conventional batteries typically only last 2 to 3 years on average. Although, 4 to 5 years is possible, in the best environments, and with excellent maintenance."

Sealed AGM batteries typically last 3 to 5 years on average. 6 to 8 years is easily obtainable with proper maintenance.

http://www.yuasabatteries.com/history.php

yuasa have a very high reputation here in aussie (amongst all the electronics mob )....if that helps

charlie99 wrote:yuasa have a very high reputation here in aussie (amongst all the electronics mob )....if that helps

Yep . . . same here. and it does (help) :-)

and. wow . . . I found this;;REALLY interesting stuff

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/water_loss_acid_stratification_and_surface_charge

Inge K. wrote:

K75cster wrote:The old Mareg BMW batt lasted 7 years, the Mareg before it lasted 10, The 7 year batt was because I left the bike with my little brother whilst I travelled by Caravan around OZ and when I got back to my bike it was as flat as, so only 7 years. I now have a Motobatt bought last year

The Mareg fitted from factory on my RS did last 9 years and 2 months.

Sorry I'm late here but Thanks Inge K I'll be able to tell my little brother by how much he dropped the life of my Battery 2years 2moths Taa

As far as lead acid goes, 6 years is my average , car or bike, because I only use Century/ Yuasa,
one bought out the other I believe. At $90 for the bike I can put up with the corr.. What corrosion?
You mean that slight bloom in the Aluminium that you wipe off every couple of years?
Lead acid has way more grunt than the K needs IF used every few days.
Most of us aren;t that lucky and the Odessey and similar are great at holding start charge longer. 
My K100 OZ will have 2 lightweight AGM or similar batts but only because the stock position will be
taken up by a custom fuel tank, said 2 batts will be small and skinny but more importantly easily
"jump startable", to help out other riders of course!