Advice please on battery purchase

Joined
Aug 8, 2011
Messages
24
Location
New Hampshire
Bike
1991 ST1100
I'm going to be parking my 1991 ST in a parking area where I won't have access to plug it in and keep it on my battery tender. I don't know for sure yet but Im almost positive I only have the 28 amp. (It's been in storage since purchased in Sep and I haven't been able to check) I'll be running two 10W Cree front lights for added conspicuity and a LIN3 on the rear. Those are the only extra drains on the system. I'll probably be riding 4 days a week but it also may sit for 4 days of non use occasionally.
I like the sound of the scorpion stinger having more CCA but is this a good choice for my situation?
 
Just ride it....a good battery will stay up if used regularly......there's a thread on here for a genuine Yuasa factory battery for $65 if you need a new battery.....how old is it? ff
 
I think it would work just fine. Let us know how the battery works out if you get it.

In my case I have it. It was pulled from my 1300 before it went off to the scrap yard auction and the old battery which I still had was put in its place. So I have a new battery sitting on the shelf on the tender and no 1300 to put it in. The battery in my 1100 is at least 5 years old. Still works but might be time to change it out since I have it sitting there since it seems to fit. The OEM CCA rating for the 1100 is 200CCA. The YUSA that I have from the 1300 is rated to 230CCA. Dimension wise they are the same but the 1300 is about 1" shorter. So it will fit but might want a shim of some sort to secure it.

Once things thaw enough to get the 1100 out, I will pull the battery and swap it out. That will be a while.
 
After hashing through the 1300 vs 1100 battery I would give this recommendation. If you pick up a YUSA battery for the 1300 at a good price as mentioned in the link above this will give you a very good battery (much better than generics out there at the same price). You should look at making a shim of some sort (small board under the battery to ensure that it is secure in the bike. It will give a bit of weight savings as well. This all sounds good but there is a bit of a trade off. You have an older 1100 as I do and most likely have the same 28 amp alternator that I have. The only real issue that I can see is that the 1300 battery is going to have a lower capacity so should your charging system give out on you, the bike would not last as long as it would with the proper battery. How much difference is hard to say. If you haven't added a means to monitor the charging system on the bike, this really doesn't matter all that much as you won't have much of a warning until the bike dies. If dark out you might notice the lights dimming a bit but by then you are on your last leg anyhow.

So if paying full price a YUSA I would go for the proper 1100 battery. I am running a generic one in my 1100 now and it has been fine for the last 5 years. However if the 1300 YUSA battery can be had for $65 shipped, that is a really good deal and I would take that over the generic one for the 1100. I wouldn't pay $200+ for one because the YUSA 1100 spec battery normally runs about $110. If the 1300 battery cannot be bought cheap, then it is a personal decision on if you want a generic one for $60-70 or $110 for a YUSA. As long as the generic one can put out around 200 CCA it doesn't matter much. I am going with the 1300 battery in my 1100. Mainly because I have one that is almost new sitting on my workbench. While the battery in my 1100 still works, it is getting old and it would be better to keep the one from the 1300 in use at this point. If I didn't have it I would keep running the old one until it started showing signs of age.

Keep in mind that CCA really doesn't tell you capacity. CCA tells you what the peak Amp output is of the battery when cold. Typically this is a rating at 0F. Since you are from a northern state you know how it is harder for a battery to start an engine the colder it is. Partly because it is harder to turn over the engine with thicker oil and such but also because the battery is outputting less amps. Since your additional accessories are not on while cranking, CCA don't mean as much. It is more of a measurement for starting requirements as that is the only time you put a big load on a battery. There is a capacity measure many times found on batteries. This will tell you how much power they can provide. How long they can continue to provide 12V out with a given load. This is what will come into play should your charging system give out. This is probably the most important thing to consider. That and add a voltmeter or some other charging system monitor (there are a few options out there) which is a good idea no matter what you have if you are running a 28 amp alternator.
 
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