What is the BEST battery for ...

[TwoBye]

My 1999 GL1500SE trike? My battery is still OK but I'm thinking about next spring (already). My trike has a battery tender plugged almost every night if that makes a difference. Just looking to draw from the combined intellect here. Thanks,

Wow, 80 plus views and still no answer. C'mon guys & gals, what battery did you buy and are happy with?

[Calgary]

I've always had good luck with Yuasa batteries!
http://www.yuasabatteries.com

[TwoBye]

Thank You Calgary. Appreciate it.

[JaysGone]

Battery questions are the same as oil questions.
They all work some better for this guy then for that guy.
Ive gone through 2 gel batteries in 36 months for 1 bike. OEM YUSA lasted 5 years there.
So far with my 2010 driven 300+ days a year commuting. The OEM YUSA is still going strong.
Any group 20 battery is a hit or miss whether it be a lead/acid or gel battery.
My next battery is going to be this one.
http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender...7WR5S5AH3C602D
From what Ive read about them.
Lithium batteries can sit for a year unattended and loss is only 5% of its charge..........

Whats the most I have to lose??
I don't know, getting stranded someplace far far away from home??
$100 bux really.

[TwoBye]

Thank you JaysGone, again I appreciate your response. Interesting battery, will be watching these for a while to see if anyone else has experience with them.

[Calgary]

Battery questions are the same as oil questions.
They all work some better for this guy then for that guy.
Ive gone through 2 gel batteries in 36 months for 1 bike. OEM YUSA lasted 5 years there.
So far with my 2010 driven 300+ days a year commuting. The OEM YUSA is still going strong.
Any group 20 battery is a hit or miss whether it be a lead/acid or gel battery.
My next battery is going to be this one.
http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender...7WR5S5AH3C602D
From what Ive read about them.
Lithium batteries can sit for a year unattended and loss is only 5% of its charge..........

Whats the most I have to lose??
I don't know, getting stranded someplace far far away from home??
$100 bux really.

If I was in the need for a battery, I'd be tempted to try the Battery Tender. They claim it will last five times longer than a regular lead battery. The weight saving is very impressive!

I've had good service with the OEM batteries, usually lasting about six years - but batteries last longer in cooler climates and the bikes are put into winter storage (plugged in) for at least five months.

By the time I get around to needing a battery (I hope) there'll be plenty of Battery Tender user experience to draw on!

[Sully]

Battery questions are the same as oil questions.
They all work some better for this guy then for that guy.
Ive gone through 2 gel batteries in 36 months for 1 bike. OEM YUSA lasted 5 years there.
So far with my 2010 driven 300+ days a year commuting. The OEM YUSA is still going strong.
Any group 20 battery is a hit or miss whether it be a lead/acid or gel battery.
My next battery is going to be this one.
http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender...7WR5S5AH3C602D
From what Ive read about them.
Lithium batteries can sit for a year unattended and loss is only 5% of its charge..........

Whats the most I have to lose??
I don't know, getting stranded someplace far far away from home??
$100 bux really.

Dang, says it won't fit the TriGlide

[TwoBye]

Sully, they have that do fit the TG. Amazon does list them.

[JaysGone]

Dang, says it won't fit the TriGlide

Says the same for my RoadStar. Doesn't fit.
Its a bit smaller then a regular Group 20 battery
And its only 240cc.
The right sized ones are 2 and 3 times the price.
I can jump start the bike with as little as a 12v 18amp battery.
I don't see its size as being an issue.
This brands priced too good to be true.
Ill just put some foam wherever needed.

[John Luciano]

1st time is saw the tender battery at Americade this year. ( 3 weeks after I just purchased a wet cell ) I thought it was only a display. I picked it up and it weighed next to nothing. A little pricey, but from my experience with battery operated lithium battery tools I sell , this looks like a real winner. Leaving on a tender with one is a bad idea. lithium is unstable gets extremely hot if left to charge over long period. See U Tube video of laptops and I phone fires. I have been using a wet battery for. Years. The gel is 2 times the price. My reasoning is I change the battery every 3 to 4 years. Same price but have the warm fuzzy feeling of a brand new battery that lasted 8 years for the same money, not a 6 year old battery.

[Konrad]

1st time is saw the tender battery at Americade this year. ( 3 weeks after I just purchased a wet cell ) I thought it was only a display. I picked it up and it weighed next to nothing. A little pricey, but from my experience with battery operated lithium battery tools I sell , this looks like a real winner. Leaving on a tender with one is a bad idea. lithium is unstable gets extremely hot if left to charge over long period. See U Tube video of laptops and I phone fires. I have been using a wet battery for. Years. The gel is 2 times the price. My reasoning is I change the battery every 3 to 4 years. Same price but have the warm fuzzy feeling of a brand new battery that lasted 8 years for the same money, not a 6 year old battery.

I checked that out and it sure looked good to me! But then I got to thinking: My OEM YUASA in my 2006 Wing has lasted 8 - yes, EIGHT years - and the Battery Bug indicates it still has 29% of life left! But I noticed that over the past month that percentage has been dropping and the Battery Bug "beware" icon is now showing. So I checked prices and found the OEM Yuasa for only $80 on the net. Shucks - $10 a year for a battery that has never failed or caused a glitch or a burp was a no-brainer for me. I ordered it. Made more financial sense to me than a $200 Lithium battery which is supposed to last 5X as long - what? - 40 years? Somehow I doubt that.

[TwoBye]

Now that makes a lot of sense to me, Konrad. 8 years is a LONG time for a bike battery to last for sure. If the replacement battery is as good as the original then you are right,its a no brainer. Guess only time will tell. Thanks for sharing your thoughts ...

[jfingalls]

Battery technology has evolved significantly with the advent of the Hybrid automobiles. Lithium is everything that they advertise it as. For example, Hybrid cars (Hyundai) guarantee their Lithium battery for life. They are pricey but what is it worth to never have a dead battery and never have to put an external charger on it? Plus their size and weight is impressive.

[87Trike1200]

Dang, says it won't fit the TriGlide

Sully - Check the dimensions of the battery vs. your battery "box" or the area where the battery goes. It seems to be a "one size fits all" and is held in place with foam blocks.

I would be tempted to try one, but I only have about 2 yrs on an Odyssey and it is still giving outstanding service...

TwoBye - In addition to the battery suggested by JaysGone (looks good), also look into an Odyssey. I have 2 of them - one in each trike - and am very pleased with their performance. Except for long storage periods (such as winter in Jersey), I never even use a floated charger. Two years so far and both are performing like new.

[TwoBye]

Thank You 87Trike1200. Love all the info I can gather from this place in such a short time.

[Konrad]

Battery technology has evolved significantly with the advent of the Hybrid automobiles. Lithium is everything that they advertise it as. For example, Hybrid cars (Hyundai) guarantee their Lithium battery for life. They are pricey but what is it worth to never have a dead battery and never have to put an external charger on it? Plus their size and weight is impressive.

I agree - to a point. I now have a Prius whose technology has been proven over a number of successful years, I trust it. But I am skeptical of anything claiming a lifetime guarantee. Whose life? The device? The person? The company? Simple economics dictates that if a manufacturer makes a device that lasts forever, for each one he sells, his market is diminished by one - no repeat sales. Not good for the future of the business, hence built-in obsolescence to guarantee future sales. That is not necessarily intentional, just the nature of all manufactured products so in their hype the term "lifetime warranty" has a great many varying definitions, frequently accompanied by the term "pro-rated".

Now, having said all that, If I were buying a brand new bike and had the option to pay $100 extra for a Lithium Iron battery, I would do just that. But not for an 8-year-old bike which I might decide to trade and would never recover the extra cost of the battery.

[Mick]

The batteries for our bikes in Lithium come in various types but not quite the same as your laptops and phones. The upside is the weight saving. The downside-especially for those of us in the upper midwest is lack of performance in cold weather. If you go on the web and look up the various brands you can read about the plus and minuses of owning one. With the cost of newer technology batteries and performance and cost of older technology and its overall performance ,Ill stick with my AGM Yuasa.Up here we ride as early as March depending on the streets and as late as December. Once salt hits the streets my trike gets parked. The last thing I want to worry about when its 34 degrees out is whether my batteries going to work.

[John Luciano]

Most of the tools we sell now are 20 volt Lith batteries. Complaints from contractors about leaving the tools in the truck over night during the winter. The old Ni Cad was not bothered by the cold. The new Lith don't work till they warm up.

[Cycleguy]

Lithium batteries are not likely to last longer than a well maintained lead acid. So the well maintained lead acid is probably more cost effective. The light weight of the lithium battery is pretty meaningless on a 1000 pound trike. The cold temperature thing is another issue, as is the price.

I vote for the Yuasa, people typically get 5+ years out of one.