Battery time, again

[1980GS1000E]

Suzuki recommends the 12N14-3A. I want to use an AGM this time, and have no idea what is good or proven. What is a good choice?

[Rob S.]

Suzuki recommends the 12N14-3A. I want to use an AGM this time, and have no idea what is good or proven. What is a good choice?

Yuasa AGMs worked well for me. Had two, still have one.

[bwringer]

Somewhat higher capacity, handy added terminals. It's yella:

https://www.batterymart.com/p-mbtx14au-motobatt-agm-battery.html

These are legit next-level batteries. Very high quality stuff.


Very damn good, US-made by Deka:

https://www.batterymart.com/p-Big-Crank-ETX15L-Battery.html

You can find these sometimes under assorted other brand names on Amazon or in auto parts stores like O'Reilly -- look for that distinctive light gray case and those odd chunky terminals.


And Battery Mart is an excellent supplier. Highly recommended. If you order from Amazon, be careful about the supplier and make sure they don't try and slip in a generic Chinese battery.

I've had terrible results with Yuasa AGM batteries. Lots of people like 'em, but they're turds in my book. YMMV.

In any case, don't even bother with the assorted cheap Chinese AGM batteries you'll find under a zillion different brand names. And of course, old-fashioned "wet" acid-puker batteries are just plain mechanical malpractice.

[steve murdoch]

Currently on year 7 with the Big Crank.

[1980GS1000E]

I have heard good things about big crank batteries.

[salty_monk]

Big Crank is a Penn state battery the same as a DEKA. I've used a few from here on different bikes: http://www.etx15l.com/

The Motobatt is better still though... seems to last longer in my experience & like Bwringer I like the extra terminals.

[Rob S.]

I've had terrible results with Yuasa AGM batteries. Lots of people like 'em, but they're turds in my book. YMMV.

What went wrong with the Yuasa AGMs?

[bwringer]

What went wrong with the Yuasa AGMs?

I've had at least three instances of sudden battery death with Yuasa AGM batteries while less than three years old on different bikes with perfectly functioning charging systems.


Twice I have found myself wandering the aisles of a remote small town Walmart seeking a Yuasa replacement that fit or could be adapted.

Once I found myself dead in the water with two saddlebags full of rapidly thawing groceries. Only a few blocks from home, fortunately, and I was able to beg a jump start from a kindly passerby.

With a fourth Yuasa failure after work, the engine was just able to crank enough to start on the last revolution and I made it home. Good thing, because I was working late and it would have been pretty difficult to find a jump start or a ride home.



It's impossible to say how many motorcycle batteries I've dealt with in my riding life, but it's a fair number. And most AGMs last at least four years, usually five or six, and outright failures are mostly unknown; one day I notice they're cranking a little slow and replace them before failure.

You can expect almost nothing from acid-puker wet batteries, but generally they'll get through a year or two.

I ride my fleet often enough that I rarely need to use a charger. My bikes are well-maintained and I almost always have a voltage meter in view. When one expensive and highly regarded brand causes that many unexpected failures, well... I can take a hint.

YMMV. This is only my experience; I'm fully aware that anecdotes are not statistics.

When I've mentioned my experiences with Yuasa's poor quality in the past, people always get somewhat offended and recite their own anecdotes.

[roeme]

I've yet to make out any rhyme or reason of my battery failures. I've had both Yuasa's, other highly regarded brands, No-Names, and almost-Names fail.
Some failures were completely explicable (not run often enough/not tended to/bad R/R), some were utterly confusing (failed one year after installation/dead flat after one night).
Some happily continued service after one or a few recharges, some not.

Current assumption: Failed batteries spent too much of their life on shelves between the factory and my bikes (even though that should be tracked). No statistically relevant correlation to brand name observable.

[Gorminrider]

If you care deeply, research here:

http://jgdarden.com/batteryfaq/batbrand.htm

There are lots of name-brands but they all devolve to fewer factories.
My Vietnam-made Yuasa AGM still works. after about 3 years in a bike I don't ride much. All my wet batteries (Canadiantire brand but Yuasa-made) still function...one, has to be 5 years old and only musters 12.25 at rest, but still soldiers on in a beater bike. (mind, it's a 400CC -maybe it would wheeze once and die on a 650+)

AGMS have their features (especially being tippable) but are more sensitive in some ways that a wet cell is not.

[1980GS1000E]

My experience with Yuasa is mixed, some good some not so good, although I have always used the wet cell batteries. On the GS, it seems to not last as long as I would expect, maybe 2-3 years of occasional riding and on a battery tender most of the other time. The charging system has been updated with a Rick's stator and the SH775 regulator, putting out about 14v at 5000 rpm. I ordered the Deka ETX15L from Amazon.

[bwringer]

Yep, not a lot of factories.

I'll clarify that the Motobatt batteries are made in China. Not ideal in many minds, including my own, but the fact remains that they are superb batteries. As we all know, Chinese factories are capable of whatever level of quality is desired to meet the price point. In this case, they're on the high end.

Motobatt batteries are a bit more expensive than the others, but you're legitimately getting what you pay for. I will say that the terminals are different from standard and can be a little annoying depending on the terminals found in your bike; you might have to bend your bike's connector, or modify the vinyl boot, to get it to hook up.


I usually go for the Deka-made (sold as Big Crank and dozens of other brand names) batteries; they're made in the US and a little cheaper than Motobatt, and you can usually find one at a local auto parts store quickly if needed; you just need to be willing to walk away if they try to substitute a cheap generic battery.


If you need something oddball, cheap, or fast (for example, the Suzuki Intruder/Boulevard cruisers require a weird terminal arrangement that's hard to find), I've used a company called Chrome Battery a few times with good results. They sell Chinese AGM batteries, but they're better quality than most such, and they stock all the oddball configurations with good prices. And the warehouse is not far from my house, so at least I'm supporting a local US business in some way, and they arrive quickly.

https://www.chromebattery.com/motorcycles/1983-suzuki-gs850g-ytx14ahl+bs-battery.html

I've also ordered SLA batteries for scooters and UPS systems from Chrome Battery a few times.

[Gorminrider]

Yes. it's good to support a quality product. And a local one too.

I wish it wasn't such a moving target in today's world. I've had batteries I grew to almost love! but replacing them exactly can be hard. A good one lasts longer than the turbulence of the market! The Asians seem partcularly bad. Hard to identify a real brand, however good they are. ( As in, "ah! that good ol' Sears "Diehard"! 11 years and was still going when I sold the vehicle"... )

[Rob S.]

I used to get five years or more with the old Yuasa wet ones, with the vent tube dripping that sweet tasting acid right in front of the rear tire. Good times!

[bwringer]

Yes. it's good to support a quality product. And a local one too.

I wish it wasn't such a moving target in today's world. I've had batteries I grew to almost love! but replacing them exactly can be hard. A good one lasts longer than the turbulence of the market! The Asians seem partcularly bad. Hard to identify a real brand, however good they are. ( As in, "ah! that good ol' Sears "Diehard"! 11 years and was still going when I sold the vehicle"... )

I guess this is probably a different rant for a different time, but there was a time when Sears brands like Diehard and Craftsman actually did represent a higher level of US-made quality and utility and a useful guarantee of that quality, at a fair price.

Now Diehard is just a meaningless sticker slapped on overpriced Chinese garbage and peddled all over the place. Same for Craftsman.

The younger folks will never believe us, I guess...