Battery Blues 4 New Batteries In 6 Years - All Marginal - Why?

Guys, I don't get it. I've owned a lot of bikes from just about every manufacturer out there, something close to 100 as I have been restoring and collecting for years. Aside from the old 60's, 70's, and 80's vintage bikes, I've owned a new Harley, 1500 Nomad, and a ZRX1100 - all purchased brand new. Even my 2013 Suzuki loves it's original battery. Batteries have always given me 3 - 4 years, but not the ST.

Of all of them, my 2009 ST1300 has the shortest battery life. My 4th new battery just died and will not reliably start my bike. This battery was one of the Scorpions that I'd read good things about - purchased entirely because of it's fantastic price. My 1st/original battery died in 2012 (3 years) after I left the lights on when a friend dropped his bike on his leg in a parking lot drop. The battery never recovered and the engine barely turned over - even after a full charge. The 2nd one came from a Honda Generator that one of the members here was selling new (take offs) at a good price. It lasted about a year and I figured that it may have been in storage long before I bought it. I purchased a new Yuasa and it gave me about 18 months, but soon it started dragging during start-up. This new Scorpion is only 10 months old and now even after a full day's charge will barely turn the bike over. I rode 440 miles on Saturday, but today - barely fast enough to start.

While my bike sits unused for weeks at the time, the ST1300 has always seemed to have "marginal battery" supply to me. I have never felt that with my other bikes - battery power was the last thing I worried about with them. I have a voltmeter wired into my bike (The new TPMS from Orange has it built-in), so I can see my charging system is working. While running, it shows a consistent 14.1~14.3 volts. At the end of the days' ride, I had 13.1 volts, this morning I had 12.6 and the bike was slow to turn over - all at 70 degree weather in my garage.


I will be buying the Yuasa factory battery this time (my 3rd) unless you have a better option. I'm stuck on this idea that the ST1300's battery should be a 16 Amp model.

Thanks for the inputs! Gordon

Well, you do live where it's hot and batteries won't last in the heat........ folks in high heat states won't have great battery life. Compounded by the relatively small battery in the ST.

I'm still using the honda generator batt from the same vendor and time as you.
I don't use a battery tender , but I rarely go more than a week without riding. .
I have killed it a few times, but it has come back for me.

Have you checked the battery connections ? The charging voltage ? Do you have any excess current draw when parked ?
How about aftermarket accessories that draw current ? Are they wired to switched voltage ? Extra lighting or other heavy current loads ?

The voltage reading you gave initially indicate the charging system is working and the battery was fully charged (12.6V) in the morning when you had slow cranking. You need to measure the voltage AT THE BATTERY during cranking. If it drops below 10.5 volts within 15 seconds while cranking the battery capacity is low and usually an indication of a bad battery. If the the voltage stays above the 10 volt mark check the current draw with a large capacity or clamp on amp meter. I don't have the exact specs but I suspect it should be around 80-120 amps for this size engine. Double check your connections at the battery and starter for corrosion or looseness. Some additional voltage drop tests are available for testing all of the ground and positive connections during cranking. Slow cranking can also be caused by using hi viscosity oils but usually that's not an issue at 70 degrees F unless you are running straight 50W. A dragging clutch can also cause slow cranking.

my 2009 ST1300 has the shortest battery life.
-.02 the battery size is marginal.

Scorpions purchased entirely because of it's fantastic price.
hmm...

My 1st/original battery died in 2012 (3 years)
- not "that" 'bad

after I left the lights on...The battery never recovered
- none do, again it's sized pretty skinny.

The 2nd one came from a Honda Generator that one of the members here was selling new (take offs) at a good price.
- so did I, The 1st was DoA. The second also had shipping damage on a terminal. I think otherwise they were a good deal on fresh batteries. I don't think they sat uncharged.


I figured that it may have been in storage long before I bought it.
- I think shiping killed mine. It had a decent charge when I got mine.

I purchased a new Yuasa and it gave me about 18 months,
-A few have speculated the replacement yuasa is not the same as the oem. They are silk screened differently.

While my bike sits unused for weeks at the time, the ST1300 has always seemed to have "marginal battery" supply to me.
- yup.

I'm stuck on this idea that the ST1300's battery should be a 16 Amp model.
+1

.02 the voltage tells you something about the state of charge. It doesn't tell you anything about its capacity. The voltage depression under load (cranking or load test) does.

Thanks for the inputs. Heat won't be the issue with mine as it lives in a heated/cooled garage. I will admit to going weeks without ever touching the bike. I do have a lot of accessories, but all of those are wired into a Eastern Beaver relay/fuse panel that I installed before adding the first accessory. My Denali D2 lights are also on relay and get their signal from the high-beams which are off when being cranked - I rarely ride at night unless I'm on a trip. I always start in neutral and with the clutch pulled in when cranking, and I run 10-40 Motul synthetic in all of my 4 strokes exclusively which is fairly thin, even when cool.

I will wire-in a voltmeter at the battery and check starting voltage drop. I've never had to spin the engine more than 2-3 seconds before it starts - when it turns freely. The problem is that after 12 ~ 18 months the battery starts whimping out on me. The previous 2 did the exact same. I may be killing my own batteries with too much down/storage time - one of the downsides of having more than a few bikes and loving to fish. Again, thanks for the inputs!

Gordon/RTS

.02 the charging system is up to the task charging the battery with all the toys. The battery is just spec'd a little skiny. Too many bikes too much time fishing... life's not bad

Ilbikes said:

I may be killing my own batteries with too much down/storage time

Click to expand...

Keeping a lead acid battery at full charge is critical. As these batteries discharge the active material (lead plates) turn to lead sulfate as a normal part of the chemical process that makes the electricity. If left partially discharged or not getting fully charged over time the lead sulfate begins to crystallize into a hard un-reactive plate. I believe a battery on the shelf at 70 degrees F (not connected) will loose about half of its charge in 30 days. Colder temperatures slow that down so near freezing it might take a year to loose that half charge. The point is the battery needs to be kept fully charged as much as possible to reduce the formation of the lead sulfate crystals. A good tender will pay for itself in a couple of years and save the annoyance of having a bike that won't always start when ever you have the itch to ride.

After you get the battery fully charged, take the power line off the battery to the fuse panel. Then see if it does the same thing after sitting for the few weeks. You might have something that stays on that is helping drain the battery. The computer and clock drain a tiny bit of power. I would get a battery tender from Deltran. That will solve your problem with it sitting weeks at a time. My original factory battery lasted 7 years on a battery tender. It was just starting to slow down at startup so I put in a new one before a big trip. I think it was a bike master. The aftermarket one was still going strong after 4 years when I sold the bike. My dual sport has a 7 year old Wal Mart battery in it as we speak. It sits for months at a time. It is on a tender, and still starts like I just put the battery in.

The common denominator sounds like your bike. Your failure rate is well beyond normal, something isn't right. I suspect a very tiny but constant drain.
My generator-sourced battery is still going strong after about 3 years. I don't own a Battery Tender, just try to ride every week or two year-round.

iirc 2.5 milliamps (.0025amps) is the max spec quiescent current.
You can check that by disconnecting the negative lead on the battery and connecting your multimeter in series with the disconnected lead and the battery terminal. Check your meter, you'll most likely have to change the red lead to the low current terminal. Don't turn the key on while measuring this.

Gordon, I live in eastern Ontario and can only ride about 8 months of the year. My '05 is on its second battery, but I still have the original as a backup. I also bought one of those generator batteries 3 or 4 years back. The battery tender is a must in this area as spring and fall temperatures drop to close to freezing and a cold engine takes more out of the battery to start. I only use the tender if the bike is going to sit more than 4 or 5 days without being used. Good luck with a new battery. Ed

Gordon, CruSTy hit the nail on the head regarding what is going on inside your batteries. Once the buildup begins the battery will not charge properly and will not put out at max capacity like it should. Take a look at the CTEK MUS (Multi US) 4.3 battery charger. Besides the normal charging mode which goes through several steps instead of just supplying one set voltage it can resurrect failing batteries by breaking down the coating that is forming on the plates. It can't bring back every battery if they are too far gone but it can on those that are in the early stages and prevent them from getting there again.

As pointed out, between battery drain and lack of riding your batteries have been failing sooner than on bikes that are ridden regularly.

My Yuasa just turned 5 years old, this week. It was installed at a dealer, when I bought the ST1300. It gets ridden several times a month, year round, and gets put on battery tender if not ridden for 2 weeks or more. In the last few weeks, it sounded like it was turning over a little slow, so I guess it's time for a new battery. If I get 5 years out of the next one, I'm happy. I also keep a battery tender on my riding mower battery and it's fine after 6 years.

Ride Safe
John and Janis

I switched to Lithium batteries they do very well for me.

ST1300s are "under batteried". Lots of threads out there on this. If you run a cheap Scorpion AGM, you will regret it if you leave your lights on more than two minutes with the engine off. My experience over the last 12 years on a ST1300, after learning the hard way.

AGM - Get this:
http://www.batteryweb.com/motorcycle-batteries-detail.cfm?model=PTZ14S

Lithium, get this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DCXIJJG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I ran AGM for many years, and changed them every three years. Then I switched to Lithium. My ST has never turned over so well. There are some downsides to Lithium, specifically a storage discharge rate with parasitic draw that is 3X quicker than AGM, but not a problem if you ride the bike frequently and /or keep it on a lithium specific tender. Any bike with a wired in clock, ecu, or battery dependent farkles is going to have parasitic draw. Cold starting requires a "warm up". I am told lithium will last a long time, with care. There is lots of info out there on proper care. I also have a Scorpion "Stinger" battery on my Ducati, and am happy with it too.

I've gone through a few batteries also. I put a Lithium in one of my '04s a few years back. After putting that bike in the shed for a bad waterpump, I allowed the battery to almost completely drain. I put it on the charger (one made for it) and recharged it a couple of times and then put it into my 2010 that I'm using for my commutes. It hasn't missed a beat since!

As for the other bikes, I bought a couple of BikeMaster AGMs. Currently they are both disconnected from the bikes since they aren't being ridden.

After doing THIS_MOD, I got 41 months from my first Odyssey PC545, and I'm currently at 44 months on my second.

Sounds to me like a battery tender is needed. I too use one if the bike sits for more than a week. In addition to sulfation, which will kill a battery over time, fully discharging a standard lead acid battery causes the lead sponge to expand and drop material from the cast grid structure of the plate. Sometimes one total discharge can cause a large enough piece to flake off and short out the battery - a permanent end. Some of the battery tender style chargers have a pulsating current mode that will break down some of the coating on sulfated plates, but deep discharging - or even partial discharging can seriously shorten battery life. AGM batteries are less susceptible to flaking plates, but they too are not deep cycle batteries and frown on being discharged.

I'm not sure about CruSTy's comment about losing half charge in a month. I thought it was on the order of 1% or 3 per week - but again, I'm not sure. There is a lot of battery info on other websites - search and ye shall find. Regardless, I think keeping the battery charged up has a lot to do with keeping your batt going. And as mentioned, check ground terminations and connections to the starter. Oh, one more thing...I tend to shy away from the cheapest of anything, though many guys here have great luck shopping and spending the least money for an item.