to suit an 80's shovelhead fxwg (which will be used occasionally-due to lack of spare time-), i'd be putting it on a suitable 'trickle'-type maintenance charge while it's not in use. i'm not interested in buying solely on price as i just want it to be reliable and longlasting and often 'biting the bullet' pricewise on the day results in cheaper longterm ownership (not to mention the corresponding lack of hassle and inconvenience that normally results from breakdowns/refusal to start etc) (and for the same reason i'm not interested in anything made in china or taiwan-from experience.) i know that not every pricey battery justifies it's price, hence my asking for genuine personal-experience referrals and the genuine reasons/stories for them (and i guess you'd need to have had a battery for a few years with no hassles from it to be able to really recommend it).i've been told that the genuine (NOT it's equivalent.) h-d battery, part # 65991-82b glass matted battery is a great option, any opinions! i'm also not sure which TYPE (i.e agm, vrla, gel, wet, mf, ca/ca, etc) are suited to the type of charging given by the factory alternator) thanks heaps in advance for your time!
kazbanz,
Jul 1, 1:08am
In my experience Yuasa batteries offer the best life cycle. that said it does come down to how a battery is treated.
desmodave,
Jul 1, 1:22am
Over 6 years with my last Yuasa & that without being on trickle charge .I wanted to buy the same battery but was sent a moto bat instead . I hope it lasts aslong as my previous yuasa
roadkillcafe,
Jul 1, 3:59am
Cheers for that. Any brand comparisons and/or opinions on types (i.e wet, gel, etc.) any more indepth info on what suits best, given the type of charging system etc on these bikes!t.i.a
NZTools,
Jul 1, 6:02am
two of the keenest bikers on this message board have both reccomended yuasa, as do I. Why bump it!
roadkillcafe,
Jul 1, 6:46am
Cheers, i'm just interested in reasons why and comparisons/conclusions, and i'm aware that sometimes people have a favourite-which may well serve them good enough, but may not actually be the optimum choice for me (or perhaps even them) and may not have been arrived at thru any particular process/comparison, etc, plus i'm after some slightly scientific background/reasoning into the optimum/suitability for my application/charging system.Cheers.
roadkillcafe,
Jul 1, 6:47am
P.s, and surely yuasa make more than the one type (i.e wet/gel/glass matted.).cheers.
ralphdog1,
Jul 1, 7:34am
Not taking a swipe at HD's but it would be a consideration that AGM batteries have much better resistance to vibration and shock due to their construction than most flooded batteries wouldn't it!
roadkillcafe,
Jul 1, 8:40am
good point mate.thoughts on this and other points anyone!
will do, actually someone else mentioned them to me, apparently they're fairly light.i guess i also need someone really tuned in auto electrically to recommend a battery type (i.e wet/glass matted/ ca-ca, etc.) most suited to the charging system of the bike/age of charging system technology.cheers
kwaka5,
Jul 1, 7:06pm
this is going in an old 79 R100. You may have to get an uprated regulator to come up to 14.4ish volts for full charging. You'll drop at least half the weight and can mount them anyway you like. We building a cafe racer so going to mount it under the seat cowl. Lay it flat.
stabi360,
Jul 1, 8:08pm
wow what a lot of trouble for an oldbike just go get a cheapie and a trickle charger when it stuffs out get another the problem is you wont be riding it much which will stuff the battery anyway (either your choice or the reliability of the bike)
roadkillcafe,
Jul 1, 9:29pm
i fail to see what the age of the bike has to do with it (if anything, they need a bit more help to start on average compared to a newer bike plus they're heavier to push when they break down and harder/impossible to replace when they get stolen while you have to leave them where they broke down to seek help.also, a 'cheapie' often works out to be an 'expensiveie' by the time you buy a few of them in the same timeframe that 1 GOOD battery would've outlasted (not to mention the fact that at the end of all that spending you still have a crappy battery, and the hassle/inconvenience/lack of security/lack of safety.etc involved in premature battery expiration), plus i'm not convinced that not riding the bike a lot necessarily needs to result in 'stuffing' the battery, especially if i do my homework on battery and charger choice. cheers though.
roadkillcafe,
Jul 2, 12:57am
any good, well founded/scientifically arrived at advice!
stabi360,
Jul 2, 4:13am
reliability and shovel head do not go hand in hand and as one of your last posts said you intend storing it so a cheaper battery plus a trickle charger would be better than just a good quality battery ive had 4 years out of the original one in my fatbob still going but have just purchased a trickle chargerseems to be the ducks nuts so far maybe you might have more luck in an australian forum!
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