MOTOBATT Battery for ST1300

Joined
Feb 18, 2008
Messages
5
Location
North Carolina
I ordered the MBTX9U from Impact Batteries for $63.95 with free shipping. I ordered it on Friday afternoon and received it on Monday. It is a perfect fit and much less than the $200 YUASA. There are a lot of reviews out there, but I'm willing to give it a try. It does have a two year warranty and it is made in China (if that matters to you). I have to go pick up my new Michelin Pilot Road 2's. I'm trying to keep the economy going. 72 degrees and sunny here in NC.:poPoST1:
 
Joined
Apr 25, 2007
Messages
4,954
Age
62
Location
New Jersey
Bike
st1300 '04
STOC #
7163
Let us know how it works for you.
160cca is pretty low to be advertised as a replacement for the ytz14s
 
Joined
Nov 10, 2008
Messages
234
Location
Union Beach, NJ
Bike
ST1300
STOC #
7746
The CCA on both batteries is the same. The YUASA is the better battery. Weight alone can be the deciding factor. The YUASA is nearly a pound heavier and, as would be expected, a longer reserve time. The electrical difference wouldn't bother me at the price point. But, I would want at least three good years of trouble free service.

Tom
 
OP
OP
hansp1
Joined
Feb 18, 2008
Messages
5
Location
North Carolina
My OEM battery always seemed like it was struggling. But I bought the bike as a demo with 1,500 miles so that could explain the short life (about 3 years).

So I save $130 on my battery by ordering the Motobatt, and then I gave it to my dealer today when I decided to let him change the oil ($88) while I was getting my new Michelin Pilot Road 2's ($360 installed). Throw in some tax and it was a $480, and 20 minute ride home...in the rain...:bow1: But, the mirror and fairing deflectors do work really well...:D
 
Joined
May 29, 2006
Messages
221
Location
Aurora, Colorado
Here's a review of the Motobatt from last year... for what it is worth. An amazing test.
http://www.boulevardowners.com/cafe/index.cfm?page=topic&topicID=157926
After reading the above test, I ordered a Motobatt battery today for my 03 (still on the original battery). After placing the order I noticed the tested battery was rated for 260CCA and the MBTX9U is 160CCA. The Yuasa's web-site says the YTZ14S is rated at 230CCA. If I realized that, I probably would have steered away from the Motobatt. It'll be interesting to see how it performs.
 
Joined
Aug 10, 2010
Messages
44
Location
Chicago, Rochester NY now retired Lake Hartwell SC
Bike
GL1100, ST1300A
I know the economy is bad. My economy is stagnant. But I have to raise the observation: why would a rider purchase a high-end HONDA and think the cheapest battery obtainable is an acceptable idea? I wouldn't even CONSIDER buying the cheapest battery available...nor cheapest oil, nor cheapest tire.

I go thru Yuasa's all the time since 1967. I get 5 full seasons with a wet cell for my '82 WING and wife still on her original gel-cel in her 2001 Shadow. My used ST1300A has a MOTO-something in it now purchased by the dealer to get it to run when the Scorpion went flat in the showroom. When this battery goes flat...which is being held-up by a de-sufating 1 amp charger I will purchase the YUASA. It's a no-brainer. Not everything is about the money. I've never been left in a bad position by a YUASA, a DUNLOP or by MOBIL-1.....I have a best-of-breed mtcyl and it gets fed OEM or better consumables.

I save money somewhere else...not on the mtcyls.
 

Kevin_56

Site Supporter
Joined
Sep 3, 2006
Messages
2,824
Age
67
Location
Montfort, Wisconsin
Bike
20 R1250RT
STOC #
6495
I am on my original Yuasa in my 2003. It is showing signs of its age and I just ordered a new one from Cli-MAX $136.86. 8 seasons on the original battery, has me buying another one. If it only lasted 1 year, I am going cheap.

Kevin
 

STDaveNW

Dave
Joined
Nov 2, 2008
Messages
742
Location
Battle Ground, Washington
Bike
2004 ST1300
STOC #
7741
I know the economy is bad. My economy is stagnant. But I have to raise the observation: why would a rider purchase a high-end HONDA and think the cheapest battery obtainable is an acceptable idea? I wouldn't even CONSIDER buying the cheapest battery available...nor cheapest oil, nor cheapest tire.

I go thru Yuasa's all the time since 1967. I get 5 full seasons with a wet cell for my '82 WING and wife still on her original gel-cel in her 2001 Shadow. My used ST1300A has a MOTO-something in it now purchased by the dealer to get it to run when the Scorpion went flat in the showroom. When this battery goes flat...which is being held-up by a de-sufating 1 amp charger I will purchase the YUASA. It's a no-brainer. Not everything is about the money. I've never been left in a bad position by a YUASA, a DUNLOP or by MOBIL-1.....I have a best-of-breed mtcyl and it gets fed OEM or better consumables.

I save money somewhere else...not on the mtcyls.
You had me right till you included Dunflop tires:)
 
Joined
Aug 10, 2010
Messages
44
Location
Chicago, Rochester NY now retired Lake Hartwell SC
Bike
GL1100, ST1300A
Well...I have to admit I haven't tried a large assortment of tires. Perelli, Conti's, Bridgestone in my 45 years. I get good wear on Dunlop Elite II's on my WING. Pulling a Bunkhouse and a rider I'd use two rear's to one front...usually 10K on the rear. Now that she has her own bike I get 12 at least with the trailer. I tried a softer Qualifier when my dealer was out of Elite's. Good stiction but it was shot in 5K. With the ST it has Bridgestone's right now that have 5K and appear they'll last double that. Logbook from previous owner says he went to Michelin's that went 7K, Dunlop Sportmax that went 5K. Looks like I'll get 10+ on the Bridgestone's but I'm least experienced with this bike so...life and performance evaluation are ongoing. Excellent weather riding and long life is my experience across numerous bikes with Dunlops. All manufacturer's tires are weight, mileage & speed rated. I've never been sorry for purchasing the Dunlops matched to the individual machine so...I'll continue with the Dunlops. Oh....and they're made in Buffalo. Yuasa made in Pennsy.

I CAN change my mind but generally speaking Dunlops are MY TIRES. We'll see how things go with my recently acquired ST1300A.
 
Joined
Oct 15, 2009
Messages
595
Age
47
Location
Pflugerville, Texas
STOC #
8075
I seem to have killed a Motobatt MBTX9U in just under two years. :(

The battery was installed on February 27, 2012. I had a minor getoff in October of 2013, and after patching things up I rode off and on (well, mostly off, due to work) through November. December 2013 I didn't get any riding in, between major projects, overtime and a two week vacation. I put the bike on a tender in December, just to be on the safe side. Well, last week I needed to take the bike to work and found a very dead battery that wouldn't even turn the ST1300 over.

I pulled the Motobatt and placed it on my big charger, set to a 2amp slow charge. It immediately showed a 75% charge, and after a couple of hours indicated 100% charge. I tested and saw 12.4v at the battery terminals, but as soon as I put any load on the battery the voltage dropped to the mid 8's. The battery came back up to 12v, but then dropped to mid 8s again under load, without starting the bike. That's pretty much dead in my book.

The date code stamped onto the top of my battery shows "150711", and I'm guessing that's the 15th of July, 2011. This would put the age of the battery at failure to be right around 2.5yrs old. I'm not expecting any replacement through warranty, but I am a bit disappointed that I didn't get the life I was expecting from it. Of course, I only paid about $70 dollars, so I'm trying to convince myself that $35 a year isn't a terrible cost of ownership. Why does it seem so hard to find a battery at a reasonable price that lasts longer than 3 or 4 years?
 

Uncle Phil

Site Supporter
Joined
Feb 26, 2007
Messages
11,250
Age
71
Location
In The Holler West Of Nashville, Tennessee
Bike
4 ST1100(s)
2024 Miles
002064
STOC #
698
Jason - Thanks for the update. I have MotoBatts in all three of ST1100s and so far they are still holding up. It will be interesting to see when I get to the '2 year' mark! But I do ride pretty much year round which will probably make a difference.
 

JZH

International Bodger
Joined
Feb 26, 2006
Messages
430
Location
London, UK/So.Cal.,USA
AGM batteries (such as MotoBatts, OEM Hondas, Yuasas, etc.) are easily damaged by discharging, so unless the battery's never been allowed to "die", it is hard to tell if a failure was due to manufacturing defect or end-user misuse. As most modern powersport batteries are of the same basic design, I'm somewhat skeptical of claims that certain brands are always better than others. As a Yuasa man, I'd like to think so, but the evidence I've seen tends to support my skepticism. I have recently started buying MotoBatts, however.

Ciao,
 
Joined
Aug 9, 2010
Messages
58
Location
ilford
Bike
st 1100
So do i buy MOTOBATT or YUASA? LOL. Incidently not for my st1100 but for an old FZX 750 FAZER i use, i could do with a better battery had looked at ODYSSEY but seems they dont do one for this bike. It currently runs a YB14L-A2 So now i'm looking at another YUASA YTX14AHL-BS a more up to date one than i have or a MOTOBATT.
 

970mike

Mike Brown
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May 6, 2008
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6,167
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66
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Lompoc, California
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07 & 12 ST1300A
SPOT
LINK
STOC #
8057
So do i buy MOTOBATT or YUASA? LOL. Incidently not for my st1100 but for an old FZX 750 FAZER i use, i could do with a better battery had looked at ODYSSEY but seems they dont do one for this bike. It currently runs a YB14L-A2 So now i'm looking at another YUASA YTX14AHL-BS a more up to date one than i have or a MOTOBATT.
I have the MotoBatt in my DR650 and it rarely gets plugged into the battery tender and it is still good after 4 years, I had one in my wife's ST with no problems.

I like these MotoBatt batteries.
 
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