BATTERIES-BATTERIES AND MORE QUESTIONS

[ekap1200]

Between this site and a few others concerning Voyager 1200 batteries I thought I would post some of YUASA'S P/N's of their 2 that are usable in our bikes.

CONVENTIONAL BATTERY ( NOT SEALED - WITH SUPPLIED RESISTOR LEVEL LEAD
( SY50-N18L-AT ) A good battery - but will leak if you should lay the bike down on the right side....
It will loose its charge at about ( 1% ) per 24 hours even when out of the bike , a normal issue with batteries. So in two weeks its down to about 86 percent charge unattended. One need to pay attention and not let it go dead and un-recoverable as time moves on during the cold winter months.

Now to the AGM BATTERY. ( YTX24HL-BS ) OUR charging system will handle this type, ( some bikes systems will not ) but ours will.
As I researched this info for this post, I came across a claim from YUASA that the AGM will hold its charge ( 3-times ) longer. Now that is quite a claim and almost to good to be true. SO ,,,, having a go at the math. and being at 27 days since I had it on the charger and brought it to 100%, I did a test when I arrived home today. The math shown that the AGM BATTERY should have only went down to about 93 % instead of down to 72 %. To my amazed look on my face it shown only down to 94 % of full charge in the heated shop of 65 to 68 deg. still in the bike but unhooked from the system. Very impressive and I am glad I did make the choice to go to the maintenance free battery.

If I find more info on why some bike systems will not handle a AGM battery I will add that info to this post. I am assuming it would have something to do with the regulators cut out or the amperage/or voltage output of the bikes system..

Enjoy the winter, gee its almost gone I know we will all miss it....
Gene Kap.

[SgtSlag]

AGM's are all I've bought/used in my bikes for a number of years already. Your comment on a regular battery leaking acid, if you dump the bike, is one of the primary reasons I switched: hydrochloric acid is not something to play with! The other improvements in the life, and quality, of AGM's over lead-acid wet cell batteries is more icing on the cake.

I've had them last a few years longer than wet-cell conventional batteries. I use a Battery Tender, hooking them up after each ride, except when touring, of course. The Battery Tender helps, considerably, but the wet-cell batteries just don't last very long for me. I never pulled them from the bikes in the winter, which likely hurt them considerably. They were, however, connected to a Battery Tender the entire winter season. I have not pulled the AGM's, either. Probably shortening the life of my AGM's, as well. I get around four years out of my AGM's.

I believe you will find that the AGM batteries require a higher charging voltage than do the wet-cell conventional batteries. This is likely why some bikes won't work with them. The AGM batteries also have a slightly higher output voltage, than a conventional battery. It makes a noticeable difference, for me, when starting the bike. The difference on my old Honda, with a conventional battery, was very noticeable, if I had not connected the Battery Tender: the few tenths of a volt difference made a very big difference in the speed of turning the engine over, when starting. The AGM spun the engine over like that, with/without the Battery Tender charging it to full voltage. On my XII, it starts fast every time, as long as there is fuel in the floats. It is quite reassuring to hear the bike start so quickly, in the parking lot of a motel, hundreds of miles away from home, and the bike is all we have for transportation...

I converted all, but the dash lights, to LED's a couple of years ago. This increased my charging voltage on my XII by more than a volt. It also freed up amperes to use for charging our cell phones, and my recently acquired Continuous Glucose Monitor. Soon I will have a smart Insulin Pump to charge on the bike, if necessary, as well. Those extra electrons will come in handy!

I scored a somewhat unique voltmeter, several years ago: it also monitors the life-expectancy of my battery, giving a percentage readout. When the percentage gets down to 25%, or less, it is time to replace the battery. It monitors the voltage drop across the battery every time I start the engine. It has proven to be quite accurate, on conventional batteries, as well as AGM's... Unfortunately, the maker stole the technology for the life-meter function, and they lost in a court battle. The device is no longer sold -- I think I got one of the last available, as it disappeared from the market shortly after I ordered mine.

Looking forward to reading your battery/charging system research results! Cheers!

[Mr Jensee]

I had a Yuasa AGM in my Kawasaki ZRX1100 for 8 years before it finally gave up the ghost. I kept the bike on a maintainer charger all the time I wasn't out riding it. I replaced it just before I sold it. It was natural for me to get an AGM for the Voyager. The lead acid battery failed my wife and I on a trip to Avery Island. I decided it wasn't worth saving the money on another one. AGMs are great batteries. My car now has one as well!