Time to "poke the bear"

[Uncle Fester]

Okay, this COULD wind out like a "best oil" question, but here goes. . . . .

What is everyones preference for BATTERIES for our GL1500s ?

Along with your personal preference, what kind of life do you get out of your battery ?

I currently have a INTERSTATE battery and get about 12-18 months out of them, is that good or should I get better ?

I am not sure what style the battery is, but it has caps on it so I can add distilled water to it if needed. . .

I guess I will get out the popcorn and watch the show now. . . . .

[WingAdmin]

That's a horrible lifespan.

The Yuasa AGM battery in my GL1500 is now six years old and counting, and still works like brand new. The main reason why? Whenever my bike is parked, it is plugged into a Battery Tender Jr.

When this battery one day does die, I'll replace it with a MotoBatt.

[detdrbuzzard]

i put an odyssey pc680 in my 1200 and 1500 wings back in '08, I gave my niece the 1200 last year

[Bluewaterhooker0]

I've got a Yuasa AGM that is coming up on 5 years, with no sign of weakening at this time. I even took it down to 10 volts or less (not intentionally), when my alternator died in the middle of a ride 2 years ago. That's supposed to shorten life expectancy, as 10 volts is pretty much dead, 0% charge. You apparently have a standard wet cell battery, if it has caps for maintaining water level. Those are not looked upon very highly on this forum for use on a 1500, due to the heavy electrical loads applied to the battery and charging system. That probably explains the short life span. A battery tender might help, as WingAdmin suggested, but I would go with an AGM (absorbed glass mat) battery in the future.

[CrystalPistol]

I posted the below in another thread here a couple months or more ago, I know some will look at specs and say it's less than others .... but do yourself a favor and look up the specs on Odyssey's web site and read how the battery is rated differently because it is different.

I currently have Odyssey PC680 AGM batteries in both my '85 and my '97 .... and I still have a decent 2004 vintage PC680 as portable power or spare booster if needed.
Check out---> http://www.4wheelparts.com/Electrical/O ... n=ODYPC680 .... for current good price!

I believe a GL1800 of 2006 vintage uses a Odyssey PC545 ..... http://www.4wheelparts.com/Electrical/E ... n=ODYPC545

That's an excellent deal!

Both of mine use the Odyssey PC-680 ....
http://www.4wheelparts.com/Electrical/E ... n=ODYPC680

I put a new one in our '97 GL1500 Trike in August 2004. It has performed flawlessly. The nice thing about a Odyssey AGM is it's strong start amp capability and it's ability to absorb many deep cycles without harm You can't compare it strictly on CCA.

Past year I bought two more, one for the '85 GL1200 and another for the '97 Trike. I installed both early Spring 2016. When I got them I checked the manufacture date wondering how they sell them so cheap (as I paid $104 back in 2004 at a Batteries Plus outlet!) .... and both were less than a month from manufacture date and both were fully charged.

That 2004 battery is now my spare / extra / portable power / or temp top carry in a box on my '74 Triumph on the times I take it out instead of buying a small OEM size for it. I charged that 2004 battery with my battery charger that has AGM settings ... in Spring and just checked it a few days ago, still at 12.6 VDC sitting on the bench.

In August 2005 or 06 I was on a ride to the southern end of the BRP and it was raining off and on, I was leading maybe 8 - 10 bikes & trikes and one 4 wheeler shoes "rider" had a cast on his leg. As we pulled into Orchard Gap near 190 mm I noticed my new volt meter was down under 11 volts, UHH OHH! Checked a few things, we still had 70 miles to motel at Benge Gap. Alternator was out, it was raining. Asked a friend to lead the rest on to motel as the fellow with the car recharged my Odyssey with his car alt and cables. One other rider decided to stay with the car and myself.

Over next 70 miles with my lights on as it "was rainy and some foggy" and rode slower and used gears as much as possible toi slow staying off brake lights as best as I could. I was pulling a trailer as well. When my volt meter was down to 9-10 volts, I looked for a place to pull over and my buddy would pull up on my right and I'd hook cables with bike off as he ran his car and recharged my Odyssey. Seems we did this maybe half a dozen times at least, I was pulling some lights! The last time the volt meter got down I was a mile from the motel ... as I pulled into the motel I went to the top of the hill to our rooms and found everyone waiting ... volt meter was down to 8. something VDC and she died as I hit the stop button.

It was raining again. We unloaded and changed and chilled and went down hill to restaurant and to pay for my room. Next morning I borrowed a spare OEM alt from a buddy who keeps one in his trailer and while others went for coffee, swapped out my Compufire for his OEM in under 30 minutes. I figured I'd need a jump start ... but what the hey ... I stuck key in and hit start and set enrichment lever .... WOW .... the near dead Odyssey had arisen to the challenge .... the trike fired up. I let it run a few minutes while I went in the room and washed up, then shut off and road down to breakfast with the others. When I got home a few days later, took Compufire to local rebuilders and he slipped in a new rotor as mine had a open winding, likely a cold fracture he said ... and brushes .... was near $100 repair .... and all good since.

That is the same Odyssey that I removed in Spring 2016. NO way I would have gotten that service from a regular battery.

The PC 680 is a little bigger than a PC 545 .... bigger enough I doubt you can use it in a 1800 but worth a look as the PC680 is itself a little smaller than the lead acid battery it replaces in a GL1200 or 1500?
Technical DetailsPC 680 for 1984-2000 GL 1200s & 1500s
⦁ 520 PHCA
⦁ 170 CCA
⦁ 300 MCA
⦁ RC Min. 24
⦁ L-7.15 in.
⦁ W-3 in.
⦁ H-6.65 in.


Technical Details PC 545 for 2001-2008 GL1800s?
⦁ 460 PHCA
⦁ 150 CCA
⦁ RC Min. 18
⦁ L-7.0 in.
⦁ W-3.38 in.
⦁ H-5.17 in.

[boonny]

I have an Odyssey in my 84 wing. It has to be at least 7 years old and probably older, has never seen a battery tender. During the big sleep I bring in the house and in the spring I put the battery on a charger for a hour or two and that's the only time it sees a charger until next spring. Never had a problem...... battery wise that is.

[Alan_Hepburn]

Looking at pictures of the Odyssey PC-680 it looks like it has the terminals on top - doesn't the battery in the GL1500 have side terminals? Is there a gadget to convert the terminals?

[Viking]

I think it all boils down to getting what you pay for. A wet cell Yuasa is a maximum two year battery, and has a one year warranty. I never got more than a year out of one of them in my life. I do admit tho that they all died in the Harleys they were put in. I figured it as a maintenance item. Every spring, change it.

The AGM and Lithium batteries out there are far superior to any wet cell. As WingAdmin mentioned, his Yuasa AGM is six years old. He did not, however, get it for $49. You pay more, you get more. I am still on the original AGM in my 2009 GL1800, but switched off to AGMs and Lithiums in my Harleys several years ago, and have not bought a new motorcycle battery since then. Motobatt is said to be pretty great, but I cannot seem to get one here in Canada so cannot verify that.

[harvey01]

I tend to keep my motorcycles for a few years. My Wing was bought new in 2004 and my 2004 VTX was bought in 2005. I have had my 81 CBX since 1998. I have owned motorcycles sine 1966.

I have learned that most batteries if properly cared for will last 3-7 years and some longer. I have also learned the hard way to follow the manufacturer's directions to properly initialize the battery prior to installation so the battery starts out in the bet condition. Not surprisingly the batteries that have failed me over the years have been the one that I bought, added the fluid if necessary and hooked up and went for a ride without charging the battery completely before installation. The one that still haunts me was bought in New Hampshire for the wifes Virago 1100, hooked up in the auto store parking lot and we continued our journey throughout New England and returned to VA. I went to crank that bike that winter to take it for a short ride and the battery was dead. I bought a replacement Yuasa, properly initialized it and it lasted some 5 years and was working fine when I sold the bike after buying the VTX.

Back in 1988 when I started touring on a motorcycle I started then to use the Yuasa battery designed for the bike and that Virago was the only one to finally fail after 6 years in New Hampshire.

So simply put, Yuasa has worked the best for me. I get the correct Yuasa battery speced for the bike I am buying. Most specs today call for an AGM or sealed battery so that simplifies.

Yuasa also offers a great tech manual you can download from their website. It is naturally slanted to their products but provides great easy to understand info about different batteries and the proper maintenance to get the battery to last 5+ years.

[Chronos70]

When I got my GL1500SE in 2014, I went with the standard Wal-Mart "fits my bike" battery. It lasted two years...mainly because I forgot about it, and several cells dried up. Then I got another one of the same brand/type from Walmart. This time I stayed on top of battery maintenance. This time it has survived almost a years worth of operating the bike minus the Alternator. I'd trickle charge it overnight and during the day I'd run the bike without the headlight for several hours then come home to once again trickle charge it overnight. I stayed on top of keeping the water level correct this time. That was 2016, and it's still going. I have since gotten the Alternator replaced. So this time this battery has lasted 3 years?

[ct1500]

One more for the Yuasa AGM. You get what you pay for.

[WingAdmin]

The GL1500 is a power-hungry beast, it does not tolerate weak batteries. A Wal-Mart "Neverstart" cheapie is cheap today, but more expensive in the long run.

My last Yuasa AGM lasted just over 6 years, I now have a MotoBatt AGM - doesn't cost a whole lot more than the Wal-Mart cheapie, and so far it's been great. Plus, no more cells to dry up and worry about!

[Sadanorakman]

I just bought a Motorbatt AGM MBTX24U as part of my 1500 resurrection project, and a CTEK MXS 5.0 intelligent charger/maintainer. Have to say I'm very impressed with both.

The Motorbatt comes with an adapter plate that clips to the underside to make it fit in other applications, but it's not required for the wing, where it's a really good fit. It has a pair of battery posts on each side, which makes it pretty flexible... I'm going to run accessories off the second pair. It's got a Cold-Crank Amps rating of 300 Amps, which is 60A (25%) greater than the OEM Yuasa flooded-cell, and a 10 hour capacity of 25Ah, which again is 25% greater than the 20Ah Yuasa flooded-cell... can't be bad!

The Motorbatt cranks the engine superbly fast, although she won't fire just yet as no fuel getting through. Getting a good spark though!!! First thing I did was drain two gallons of stale fuel out of her and filled the tank with fresh fuel and Stabil to prevent any winter rust. Going to be starting at the front end and working backwards soon to sort her from her several year slumber. Got a list of parts as long as my arm, and slowly starting to acquire all the bits. I'll get to the carbs after the forks, front brakes, steering bearings, and cam belts.

Come back in seven or eight years to see if the Motorbatt holds up!

[89 1500]

Been running what ever agm brand batterys plus sells. On year 4 now. Still cranks like new. Kept on a cycle gear battery tender when not in use. When it fails I'll go back spend another $125 with extended warranty.

[AZgl1800]

Been running what ever agm brand batterys plus sells. On year 4 now. Still cranks like new. Kept on a cycle gear battery tender when not in use. When it fails I'll go back spend another $125 with extended warranty.

Might be the same company, I have bought all of my batteries from this website.

https://www.batterymart.com/c-honda-mot ... eries.html

I think the last one was a MotoBat ? cheapest they have, and the highest output.
works just like Brand X.

[WingAdmin]

I'm on my second year with my MotoBatt, and it's still running like new - and yes, on a Battery Tender Jr.

MotoBatt review: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=36953

[AZgl1800]

Started up the ole 1800 today, first time in nearly 5 months?
maybe longer....

the dash VM was setting on 13.6ish, and she just cranked right over like it was just a few minutes ago, and varoom!

love those Battery Tenders...

[CrystalPistol]

Looking at pictures of the Odyssey PC-680 it looks like it has the terminals on top - doesn't the battery in the GL1500 have side terminals? Is there a gadget to convert the terminals?

I used an oversize ss nut as a pacer, a longer ss bolt, and just bent the bike cable end a hair, on the 1500 … works great. Piece of old rubber inner tube on top covering term in both cases. I bought the trike in 2004, PO bought me a new PC680 then and I never saw what OEM batt was like.

[edaddy0]

I used to replace a battery once a year until I got my battery tender junior. Now I can go at least 3 years before replacing and that usually happens if i have to park the bike for a week without it hooked up.

[tsandvik]

The key to get longest life from any battery is to use a trickle charger/maintainer.
Will add years to it's life. Here in Florida with the year round heat batteries get eaten up like candy in both car and bike unless I use a maintainer when not running for a couple of days.
Can get a trickle charger with the harness for 39 bucks. Best investment I have made.

[C-dub]

Whatever it came with new two years ago. No problems yet. Batteries in my cages don't seem to last more than three years and sometimes as little as two here in Texas. I get more miles out of their tires. However, they're guaranteed for xx months, usually around 60-72, so they're always prorated for the time I didn't get to use them.

[Happytrails]

6th season and going strong on an Odyssey pc680. Its been a good battery.

[Swagonmaster]

"Only" have two years on an Interstate battery with no problems with the battery. On the other hand the voltage regulator gave up and the bike shut off after the battery ran down recently. After a recharge and alternator repair the battery seemed none the worse for the experience. I have run Interstate batteries in the cars for years and they have been very reliable, HOWEVER as has been said previously, a battery tender is a must if the bike isn't being driven regularly.