Motobatt 51814 fitment

[Slipperyeel]

After sorting the starter and fitting the new battery my bike is starting instantly and the clock is keeping the time without flippin zeroing all the time

But I thought I'd leave some feedback on fitting the the Motobatt battery (51814) as i had a little uncertainty about it, but it worked out just fine.

This refers to fitting into an 1150 GS with servo.

• the battery fit is perfect. Despite conflicting dims given in various places, this motobatt model is identical in size to the standard Exide battery.

• the connectors on the Motobatt however are not a standard fitment as per the Exide. So there's a little bit of fiddling to be done. See photos below. You'll need some sort M6 bolts and suitable washers. I wasn't really satisfied that the bolts /screws sold with battery would stay fixed and not vibrate lose. So I fitted some wave washers I had kicking around. Either way, I think some kind of locking washer is needed (obviously thread lock adhesive is out in this case).

• One great advantage with the battery is the double terminals. I have a PDM60 fitted and to plug it into the laptop to make changes demands it is disconnected. That is now dead easy without interfering with the main + terminal as it has a dedicated terminal

• The double terminal for the negative connection creates an interruption for the rubber band that retains the battery. I want sure if this would cause it to work is way off, so I screwed in a longer screw with a 12mm spacer to 'fill the gap'. It worked just fine.

The following pictures might be of use to anyone considering a Motobatt.

 

[Puffin]

Nice the yellow gives a good contrast to the black frame
What is the motobatt rated too we dont have them available over here

 

[Slipperyeel]

Yep, no chance you'll not notice is fitted!

Interestingly, the specs are not printed on the battery, at least not conspicuously. But if I believe the spec, then they have a 22 Amp hr rating (10hrs) and a CCA of 220. Not sure where that puts it against all the other options.

It's an experiment for my part. The Exide batteries seem to die after about 3yrs. I'm using the bike all year round and my thoughts are that it's winter that takes its toll on them? But I'd have to admit I'm no expert on batteries. I'm interested to see how this one does over the same period.

 

[Puffin]

Thats good cranking power. 3 years is a short life for a battery, my 1100`s battery is 8 yrs and still going strong, starting easily even in minus conditions

 

[Slipperyeel]

I think the old batteries still have life in them, but not enough grunt to turn over the motor, especially if stood in <0° for 4-5 days.

Any ideas what I can use the old batteries for?!

And you're right, 3yrs doesn't seem long enough. I used to get 8yrs from the batteries on my old ST1100...

 

[Slipperyeel]

Not sure what happened to that last post?!

I finished off saying... that after standing in <0° for 4-5 days then the the old battery can't work enough magic, but I'm sure they're useful for something. Any ideas? !

 

[JonF]

I use mine for starting my petrol strimmer. The batery on that is knackered, and they're £72 to replace, so I made up a plug and use jump leads to the old GS battery. Works a treat.