YTX14-BS Exide battery R1150GS

[DrAlf]

So ordered a replacement battery from Ebay. Advertised to fit R1150GS model number YTX14-BS. It arrived and of course I immediately filled with acid before checking sizes however upon checking it looks a lot shorter and thinner than the PC680 that I took out and a little fatter too.

Is this thing gonna fit? Please save me the hassle/disappointment of finding out tomorrow. Not looking good

 

[wessie]

So ordered a replacement battery from Ebay. Advertised to fit R1150GS model number YTX14-BS. It arrived and of course I immediately filled with acid before checking sizes however upon checking it looks a lot shorter and thinner than the PC680 that I took out and a little fatter too.

Is this thing gonna fit? Please save me the hassle/disappointment of finding out tomorrow. Not looking good

IIRC the YTX14BS is for the R1150GS without ABS. The ABS bike has a longer 12V20P/51913 battery. The battery box on a non-ABS bike has a spacer fitted in the base. You can either drop some sort of spacer into your battery box and live with the lower power output or try to sell the YTX14-BS and get a proper battery such as http://www.tayna.co.uk/51913-MB20P-Sealed-Numax-Motorbike-Battery-P7549.html

Seems the Ebay seller has realised their mistake now:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YTX14-BS-...71?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item2c5f03dcc7

You could try seeking a refund but adding the acid makes returning it difficult.

 

[DrAlf]

Perfect info - thanks Wessie As it happens my 1150 doesn't have ABS anyway - well, not now. I can tell that my GCSE in woodwork is going to be put to the test tomorrow morning

 

[Ian J Hartley]

Am I right in thinking you have replaced a dry cell battery with a lead acid battery?

If so you may want to think about the consequences of acid spillage incase you lay the bike down. Early R1150GS had a small overflow tube to fit to the lead acid batteries which passed any spilled acid away to the same point that the fuel tank drain ended. Later models which had the gel battery fitted did not need this overflow tube, so it was omitted

If you haven't got the drain tube, then you may want to consider fitting one.


Ian

 

[DrAlf]

Am I right in thinking you have replaced a dry cell battery with a lead acid battery?

If so you may want to think about the consequences of acid spillage incase you lay the bike down. Early R1150GS had a small overflow tube to fit to the lead acid batteries which passed any spilled acid away to the same point that the fuel tank drain ended. Later models which had the gel battery fitted did not need this overflow tube, so it was omitted

If you haven't got the drain tube, then you may want to consider fitting one.


Ian

Yep that's correct Ian. Bought simply on the grounds of cost and necessity. Now that you mention it I remember my first 1150 having a battery breather pipe. This battery doesn't appear to have a breather hole so I guess I'd better not drop it

Being the font of all things electrical could you tell me whether its possible to breath life back into my apparently dead Odyssey PC680? It's currently loosing over a volt overnight sat on my kitchen table

 

[wessie]

Yep that's correct Ian. Bought simply on the grounds of cost and necessity. Now that you mention it I remember my first 1150 having a battery breather pipe. This battery doesn't appear to have a breather hole so I guess I'd better not drop it

Being the font of all things electrical could you tell me whether its possible to breath life back into my apparently dead Odyssey PC680? It's currently loosing over a volt overnight sat on my kitchen table

If the PC680 is losing voltage at that rate with no load then it has a serious internal fault and is best discarded.

You may find your new lead acid battery is of the maintenance free variety: once the acid has been added and the cells sealed then they are designed not to be opened again. The battery may have a breather valve that lets gas escape but not liquid. I wouldn't worry about it -you'll be changing it in a couple of years anyway

 

[Ian J Hartley]

If the PC680 is losing voltage at that rate with no load then it has a serious internal fault and is best discarded.

You may find your new lead acid battery is of the maintenance free variety: once the acid has been added and the cells sealed then they are designed not to be opened again. The battery may have a breather valve that lets gas escape but not liquid. I wouldn't worry about it -you'll be changing it in a couple of years anyway

+1

Ian

 

[Cook1e]

I have a couple of OEM Exide batteries free for collection if any use to you or anyone else.

Should be OK, I have had a trickle charger on them every couple of weeks.

Could post, but HEAVY, man

 

[Dom S]

I have a 2001 non-ABS 1150 and an Odyssey PC680 which appears to need replacing as my chargers report it as being "charged" even though there's no oomph in the battery to turn the engine over anymore. It's been off the bike for a few days and is still showing over 13 volts, but fails under load ...yes, connections are good.

There are a few 51913 batteries under £50 inc. acid and delivery, just need confirmation the positive terminal is on the RH side.

The PC680 is only a couple of years old, but I think the way it's been used/charged has helped it's demise. Apparently Odyssey batteries (and possibly other AGM ones) are quite fussy about charging and need a high power (7 amp) "approved" charger to fully charge them, or a long "revvy" ride to be fully charged by the alternator. A standard "fit and forget" OptiMate III etc. apparently won't do it.

As my bike mainly had low-speed runs across town with dipped beam running and has been left on a low amp trickle charger when not used (e.g. OptiMate III), I think the battery never really got FULLY charged and deteriorated more rapidly (sulphation?) when left with a low amp trickle charger, trying to fully charge it instead of just maintaining a full charge.

Wet (non AGM) batteries like the one on my other litre-twin bike, seem quite happy being charged up by the low amp chargers (eventually) and seem to fire up the bike easily after sitting on a trickle charger for weeks/months at a time. I guess it's possible that the battery doesn't get very low because whenever the bike is started, it's usually taken out for a proper ride ...either way, the batteries always last a lot longer than in the GS

I'll probably be getting as cheap a battery as possible for the GS as the more expensive AGM ones (Westco and Odyssey) never last more than a couple of years anyway and my current augie) chargers should be sufficient to charge and maintain a cheaper non-AGM battery ...I hope!

 

[carlhowe]

I have an Odyssey PC680 on my bike. Left on an Optimate to charge whenever not in use. Now around 10 years old and fine. Chemically speaking, voltage is crucial when charging - as lomg as the applied voltage is grater than the output voltage of the battery, then it will charge, but the lower the current the onger it will take to charge. Voltage of output from alterbator should be enough to start charging once above tick-over - so should charge (albeit slowly) once you are going (of course, if you run very slowly, then drain due to lights etc. will exceed alternator output and battery drains...but you would have to bimble very very slowly for that to happen).