Bloody batteries!

King Rat

King Rat

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Can someone enlighten me as to why, with exactly the same riding pressure, storage and maintenance modern batteries die within a month of the 2 year guarantee, when the one it replaced lasted 8 years quite happily?

I haven't done anything different. i am riding the same number of miles with the same amount of draw on the system - and treating the battery exactly the same. FOUR TIMES the life fromone battery compared to the other.........sourced from Moto Birks (can't remember which, but supposedly the same as as OE)

Next question. Without going to either of the MOTO emporiums, because it seems they peddle cheaper options, where would you suggest to source a decent battery from - and what would you suggest I get. Exide? Varta? Odyssey? Anyone got a nugget of info about these boxes of sparks....because I expect to get a damn sigt more than 2 years out of one - 6 years as a minmum I would expect. Not TWO, that is just pants.

Disillusioned with Moto Birks now.
 
Get a Motobatt and get back to us in 6 years...hehe! It's like a yellow Odyssey, without the cable attachment problems or the high price. Can't comment on 6 years but the oldest of mine is now 3.5 years old and working fine.
 
I've always had excellent service from any Varta battery I've fitted ........ if that helps??
 
Thanks for those ideas - looked up the Motobatt, as you say, it is very yellow! Can you tell me which ne togo for - I don't know which YT number it replaces! It isn't the sort of thing you tend to remember, especially as I have ony replaced it the once.

I like my bikes to be so I just pour oil in one end, petrol in the other and put some wind in the tyres.
 
ghiribizzo said:
Dear oh...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Motobatt-...26?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item4612a289d6

It'll be a tight fit in the battery frame...
Click to expand...

There are a couple the same dimensions - at around £42.00 - I just don't know what the Yuasa nubers are to know which is the correct replacement. At £75 I will keep looking - but thank you for your efforts.

This is what I found:
View Full Description
Motobatt MB9U Upgrade Battery Replaces YB9-B, 12N9-4B-1, YB9L-B, 12N9-3B
 
ghiribizzo said:
Well - why doesn't my R1100 not have an MB9U fitted instead of an MB51814, mmm? Those two batteries are not the same size.
Click to expand...

Very probably - but I don't know which is which...there were four or five others listed, I just picked one of them! £42.00 - the others were between £40 and £45, so i just plumped for one in the middle as an example. MB9U, MB4U....that kind of thing. It would help if they gave the bikes they will fit.

E-parts battery store was where i found them.
 
Well, the guys on eBay are selling the batteries.

You find your bike model in here:

http://www.hilevel1.co.uk/hilevel/pdfs/motobatt-application-guide.pdf

Then go and find where you can get it cheapest! But if you've been fitting a cheapie battery out the local bike shop, then maybe that's why "with exactly the same riding pressure, storage and maintenance modern batteries die within a month of the 2 year guarantee, when the one it replaced lasted 8 years quite happily?"

You've got me worried in case the R doesn't start tomorrow!
 
King Rat said:
Can someone enlighten me as to why, with exactly the same riding pressure, storage and maintenance modern batteries die within a month of the 2 year guarantee, when the one it replaced lasted 8 years quite happily?

I haven't done anything different. i am riding the same number of miles with the same amount of draw on the system - and treating the battery exactly the same. FOUR TIMES the life fromone battery compared to the other.........sourced from Moto Birks (can't remember which, but supposedly the same as as OE)

Next question. Without going to either of the MOTO emporiums, because it seems they peddle cheaper options, where would you suggest to source a decent battery from - and what would you suggest I get. Exide? Varta? Odyssey? Anyone got a nugget of info about these boxes of sparks....because I expect to get a damn sigt more than 2 years out of one - 6 years as a minmum I would expect. Not TWO, that is just pants.

Disillusioned with Moto Birks now.
Click to expand...

It's the same with modern shoes.
The pair i'm currently wearing have only lasted 18 months. The previous pair lasted 5 years. And i've walked the same distance each day.
Can anyone explain why the lower quality replacement shoes bought from a market have worn out quicker than the well made shoes bought from a shoemaker.
And can anyone tell me where i can get some new cheap shoes that last as long as the quality pair. ..
 
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My OE battery lasted just over 2 years. Odyssey been in since late 2004 and still going strong.
 
carlhowe said:
My OE battery lasted just over 2 years. Odyssey been in since late 2004 and still going strong.
Click to expand...

On ABS 1100GS the longest runs I've had on the wet-batteries is 2 seasons (including an expensive Varta), the record is 3 years on Exide GEL battery. Very poor results considering how much pollution they create on recycling those poisonous materials in a consumerist fastion - replace the things like socks - every 1-2 years. I'd hope any battery should do better than 5+ years. So I decided on Odyssey which only around a year but I bought it reading long-term user reviews like yours :)

Motobatt sounds very interesting and attractively priced for what it is as well, but I haven't seen any Odyssey vs Motobatt long-term reliability tests yet. Odyssey is proven, not so much info on Motobatt.
 
Steptoe said:
It's the same with modern shoes.
The pair i'm currently wearing have only lasted 18 months. The previous pair lasted 5 years. And i've walked the same distance each day.
Can anyone explain why the lower quality replacement shoes bought from a market have worn out quicker than the well made shoes bought from a shoemaker.
And can anyone tell me where i can get some new cheap shoes that last as long as the quality pair. ..
Click to expand...

Neil, I fully understand and agree with your sentiment - but the one in now WASN'T a cheap alternative. I went for the so called Original BMW battery for precisely the reasons you state. The shoe analogy is a good one too - my boat deck shoes, which I wear probably 4 days a week, I have just replaced them, with a pair of Chathams, at £130 - the ones they have just replaced I have had so long....Sowester went bust 8 years ago and I got them when they were still trading! I am still wearing black brogues I had when I was at school (30 years old?)

SO - what would you recommend me to get in the way of a box of sparks, because the ORIGINAL BMW replacement was anything but - you worked on the bike and it is going beautifully, just the battery no longer holds charge. Bump started down the hill and it is fine for the day (down to Krazy Horse and back with several stop/starts during the day, but a 230mile run to get there in one hit.)

Thanks for your suggestions everyone. I am trying to avoid the same 2 year scenario - Odyssey sounds a reasonable option, unless someone has a better one. Maybe I can be a long term trialist of the Motobatt...just need to know which model to get.
 
Right then, after a lot of phoning around I have discovered the following pearls of wisdom:

Motobatt model for the R1150GS/Adv is MB51814 (this model number 2 years ago didn't fit, but has been made the right size since, by 5mm)

Dimensions are: 186x82x171

22Ah in actuality (needs 19 as standard)

I have ordered one from Stuff 4 Bikes at £68.00 delivered next day.

Will report back over time as to standard of fit and longevity.

Thanks for all your help. I hope this does last like you and they say it will.
 
King Rat said:
Right then, after a lot of phoning around I have discovered the following pearls of wisdom:

Motobatt model for the R1150GS/Adv is MB51814 (this model number 2 years ago didn't fit, but has been made the right size since, by 5mm)

Dimensions are: 186x82x171

22Ah in actuality (needs 19 as standard)

I have ordered one from Stuff 4 Bikes at £68.00 delivered next day.

Will report back over time as to standard of fit and longevity.

Thanks for all your help. I hope this does last like you and they say it will.
Click to expand...

How's the battery king rat ?
 
Steptoe said:
It's the same with modern shoes.
The pair i'm currently wearing have only lasted 18 months. The previous pair lasted 5 years. And i've walked the same distance each day.
Can anyone explain why the lower quality replacement shoes bought from a market have worn out quicker than the well made shoes bought from a shoemaker.
And can anyone tell me where i can get some new cheap shoes that last as long as the quality pair. ..
Click to expand...

that mad bloke who sells shoes down brick lane he will sort you out
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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