So when you need a new batter, where do you buy one from? I need to replace mine and there’s so many on line places all with wildly different prices! Just need a good battery that fits at a decent price. Where should I turn to?
Replace battery
- Thread starter seanners
- Start date
Avid Cycles - AvidCycles
Avid Cycles is a family owned and operated motorcycle parts and accessory store serving the high desert. We carry products for all makes and models including KTM Kawasaki Honda Yamaha Suzuki Polaris Can Am Arctic Cat Husqvarna.
www.avidcycles.com
Free shipping, fast service..
Been ordering stuff from this place for a few years, normally arrives the very next day!
I have had good luck with Chromebattery.com. VERY reasonable, and average life from them of 4-6 years. I use a Battery Minder, which claims to desulphate the battery, and it seems to work.
Shipping is very fast, too.
Shipping is very fast, too.
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2006
- Messages
- 9,685
- Location
- Jacksonville
- Bike
- GL1800 R1200RT NC700
- 2024 Miles
- 008131
- STOC #
- 6651
I've only bought one battery online and that was from the guy selling ex-Honda generator batteries here on ST-O a number of years ago. I live in a large city and there are several local retailers and industrial supply house distributors to choose from. My thinking is if I require warranty or replacement the source of customer service is local. That's only happened once with a MC battery but it was nice to walk in and walk out same day with an in-warranty replacement. The last couple of times I used Batteries Plus and they have a few stores in the Los Angeles area.
AGM from Walmart.
aniwack
Site Supporter
Avid.
Aniwack, you may laugh, but I got my 1100 in August of '18 and put in an $88 AGM from Walmart. No battery tender or fuel treatment, just under a Dowco cover outdoors. The past four springs, and every other time, it has started as if it had been ridden the day before.
Uncle Phil
Site Supporter
Been using MotoBatt AGM batteries in all of my ST1100s for quite a while.
Very happy with them and I like the ability to add a second set of terminals in the back for hooking up auxiliary stuff.
Very happy with them and I like the ability to add a second set of terminals in the back for hooking up auxiliary stuff.
bdalameda
PaleoCyclist
I recently bought a Duralast AGM battery (not for an ST) from my local autoparts store. I was surprised that it was made in the USA and appeared to be a high quality battery. I was expecting a Chinese made import battery.
CYYJ
Michael
I think that the safest (meaning, least stressful in the long run) thing to do is to plan to replace the battery with an OEM spec Yuasa. The price difference is not all that significant between the OEM and "supposedly good quality" alternatives.
So, just go shopping for the lowest price on the OEM battery.
Michael
So, just go shopping for the lowest price on the OEM battery.
Michael
larryg
Site Supporter
I bought a slightly bigger Yuasa It has a bit more cranking power, and is US Made....
www.batterystuff.com
It's physically bigger than the stock battery, and required some work to shoehorn it it, but will fit.
I've used one of these batterys in my other bike, and it lasted 10 years.
So, for me worth the little bit of work to fit it in.
YTX14H-BS Motocross 12v 240 CCA Sealed AGM Motorcycle Battery
This battery normally ships via USPS Priority mail, with expected* delivery time of 2-4 days. MAKE SURE YOU USE A POST OFFICE DELIVERABLE ADDRESS! Customer will be responsible for shipping charges on returns for undeliverable addresses.
It's physically bigger than the stock battery, and required some work to shoehorn it it, but will fit.
I've used one of these batterys in my other bike, and it lasted 10 years.
So, for me worth the little bit of work to fit it in.
OP
OP
Thanks, it would appear their site is down, or jat least broken. I can’t access anything past the home page. Hopefully they aren’t another retail covid apocalypse victim.Factory OEM battery Yuasa Much cheaper than dealershipsAvid Cycles - AvidCycles
Avid Cycles is a family owned and operated motorcycle parts and accessory store serving the high desert. We carry products for all makes and models including KTM Kawasaki Honda Yamaha Suzuki Polaris Can Am Arctic Cat Husqvarna.
Free shipping, fast service..
Been ordering stuff from this place for a few years, normally arrives the very next day!
Bottom line, you get what you pay for in most things, and batteries fit into this old rubrick. A number of guys here have had great luck with very cheap batteries, but we have also had at least one reported short lived batt of this flavor. You make the choice. I'd cast a very strong vote for patronizing a local bricks and mortar store (I've done so for over 35 years for all my car and bike batteries). Their customer service is outstanding, and they honored one failed battery under warranty instantly, no questions asked (save your receipt). I've even stacked up 'core' charges by returning a couple that I rescued from friends who wanted to throw them away.
Regardless of what the vendor says, you should charge the battery before use (they all come either dry or wet 'charged') or you can lose up to 10% of the battery's capacity. If you want the details on this, go to Practical Sailor magazine online and do a search for their battery tests. They do an excellent job of explaining the chemistry and care of lead acid batteries. Here is one of them:
www.practical-sailor.com
Lithium ion batts are lighter than lead acid. Advantages: Bike is lighter, therefore easier to pick up after a drop: bike accelerates faster. Disadvantages: cost, you should go with a special charger since some non Li chargers can kill a Li battery (this adds to the high cost); you may need to turn on the ignition and wait 30 seconds in v. cold weather before you can start the bike.
Regardless of what the vendor says, you should charge the battery before use (they all come either dry or wet 'charged') or you can lose up to 10% of the battery's capacity. If you want the details on this, go to Practical Sailor magazine online and do a search for their battery tests. They do an excellent job of explaining the chemistry and care of lead acid batteries. Here is one of them:
Don't Kill That New AGM Battery - Practical Sailor
Few cruising boats return their batteries to 100-percent state of charge after each cycle. This typical battery use, or abuse, is called partial state of charge operation, and if it continues, a sailor can see his AGM battery perform noticeably worse than a less costly, deep-cycle flooded...
www.practical-sailor.com
Lithium ion batts are lighter than lead acid. Advantages: Bike is lighter, therefore easier to pick up after a drop: bike accelerates faster. Disadvantages: cost, you should go with a special charger since some non Li chargers can kill a Li battery (this adds to the high cost); you may need to turn on the ignition and wait 30 seconds in v. cold weather before you can start the bike.
What in the way of work was required?
I had to replace the battery in mine not long ago. I bought a Lithium Ion battery from Batteries Plus Bulbs. It holds a charge so you don't have to worry about hooking up to battery tenders. Less maintenance, more reliability is a good thing in my book. It weighs one forth of a regular battery for the same power. My old battery was 8 pounds, my new battery is 2 pounds. Doesn't seem like much weight but the bike is heavy, so I'm tickled to lose that weight without any loss of function for many reasons including those listed in an earlier post on this thread. Lastly, the lead acid batteries I looked at came with a six month warranty for around $105. I got the Li-Ion for approximately $150 with a three year warranty, also, the guy said if I tried it and didn't like it I could bring it back no questions asked. I kept it. 
Not the least expensive route up front, but hopefully less over time. Hope this helps.
Not the least expensive route up front, but hopefully less over time. Hope this helps.
ST1100Y
Site Supporter
That's what I went with for my ST's and the GF's NT700VA... their NLP14...
no.co
won't sulphate
if fully drained charged in about 45 minutes (with the dedicated genious5 charger of course)
NOCO - Lithium Powersport Batteries
The most highly-designed and engineered lithium powersport battery series ever. The NLP series is better than lead-acid powersport batteries in almost every way - no sulfation, no activation, no acid, no maintenance, and no water needed. They are designed to withstand 50,000 start cycles and...
no.co
won't sulphate
if fully drained charged in about 45 minutes (with the dedicated genious5 charger of course)
larryg
Site Supporter
The new battery is taller than the stock one, so the original hold-down bracket will not fit.
So I used cable ties to secure the battery, and also to hold the fuse - as you can see in the photo.
But it's solid, and no issues in the year I've been using it.
And, because it's a bigger battery, electrically, it spins the starter faster than the stock batt.
(or maybe just faster than the 10 year old stock batt I removed
. )But I'm still pleased with it.
Andrew Shadow
Site Supporter
I would be surprised if you would notice a difference in cranking speeds with only 10 CCA more. More likely that you are noticing the difference between a new battery and an old tired one.
Just a note to keep an eye on those cable ties. I find that the nylon ones (that is what yours look like) tend to just snap after a while when they are in high heat conditions like these will be. When I say a while, I don't mean weeks. It is more like months or more than a year, but they seem to just let go.
Maybe just replace them at the beginning of every riding season as part of your start-up procedure.
larryg
Site Supporter
The white ones are Thomas & Betts that I got from my work ( $$ ). So I think they'll be OK.
But your advise is good, I will keep an eye on them.
Thanks...