Topic: Battery recomendations

[Butchbaby]

I want to put an agm battery in my cb550 anyone know a part number for one. I would appreciate any recomendations. I cant seem to find one listed on amy site for my bike.

[eldar]

If you can fit it, go with this.
http://www.batteriesplus.com/p-34344-xtreme-permaseal-high-performance-agm-powersport-battery.aspx

It is used in the 750 bikes and I thought the battery boxes were the same size.

[NH_CB550F]

I'm in the same situation with my 75 550F. My battery has what you might call battery tendernitus ! If you take it off the battery tender and don't ride before long it's soon crying out for its juice !

In researching the dimensions of the 550 and 750 batteries at Yuasabatteries.com. Though (albeit tight) they should fit ( I somewhat recall someone here having done this on their CB500/550) with the overall height of the 750 batteries vs ours is that its 4/16" taller. The other dimensions ,Length and Width are the same, at 5 5/16" 3 3/16" respectively.

The battery trays are different as well. My eyeballing of my tray there is
an L brace/support on the back of the tray on top which might need some mods to fit in the taller battery

Another consideration is that You don't want the exact 750 battery specified in the link "XTA14AHL-BS" because the terminals are reversed from those on the 550.
Ours are, looking at the battery box are oriented (+)-------(-), the battery depicted in the link is the opposite, as is spec'd for the 750s.

According to the YUASA spec sheet, The part number for the same battery with the opposite pole configuration would be
XTA14AH-BS , losing the L.

Perhaps some other 550 & 750 owners could help out here as far as the
fit is concerned.

Well, let me know how it works out. I'm going to be ordering one soon too. I'm getting tired of running the extension cord across my garage floor over to the bike to keep it juiced.

Todd
aka NH_CB550F

[TwoTired]

I have both 750s and 550s.  I cannot put the 750 battery in the 550 as it will not fit, and the battery terminals are reversed.  I'm sure it could be made to work with metal modifications and cable alterations.  But, I prefer a battery that fits properly.

Cheers,

[NH_CB550F]

Thanks TwoTired !

That bit of Twofold experience is exactly what we were looking for.
An AGM battery would be a nicety especially here in the cold winters of New Hampshire but at what expense ?
I just see a very tight fit trying to get that additional 4/16" + 1/16" for breathing room out of the 550 tray. Maybe I'll pick up a junk tray on the Bay and see what a bit of persuasion can attain.

The pole configuration isn't a problem with the correct polarity battery ordered as I'd mentioned.

Maybe the person who's wedged one into their 500/550 could reply....
preventing me from searching the entire site now...

[eldar]

So find a different agm that will fit. I didn't think it was rocket surgery.

Christ sakes, it was a suggestion and nothing more. Besides that I would bet the cables on the 550 would make the distance. they did when I had a backward battery and it worked fine.

So maybe instead of soapboxing it, you could have actually helped out the guy and suggested a battery model that will fit.

[Quail "Owner of the comfortable k8"]

Hello Eldar

This is HAL,  you seem a little upset Eldar....... are you feeling upset?  I think you need to just close your eyes and dream...... I dream.....My God!!! It's full of stars!!!!!!!


How are you doing old friend?  It has been a while for me.  I see Canada is trying to slip some snow down on you.  I talk to Terry every month or so when he needs some part for a build.

[jbailey]

This is the only sealed battery I've found that is specifically for a 550.  It is a direct YB12A-A replacement.  I have not bought one of these yet since I just got a cheapy from WalMart this spring because I couldn't find a sealed unit.  I ran across this one right after buying the WalMart battery.  Oh well, here's a link:  http://www.bikebatts.com/product_info.php/products_id/79

I just noticed that they are out of stock, but you may not need one until spring.

[eldar]

Who are you???Wait... The name rings a bell......

I was a bit harsh there. I had gotten to my second job and found they had formatted the comps there and locked them down. 4 years there and nothing and now suddenly everything is locked down like a virgin not allowed to go to prom! So I was already peeved and I didnt have time to figure out how to hack the freeze.

So where have you been? I was fearing the worst since it is hunting season!

[NH_CB550F]

Thanks Jbailey !

That should fit the bill. The original sized batteries for the 550 are the same as the 67 450 ! In fact all of the older 350 and up bikes used that battery.
The battery companies apparently don't have an upgrade for these batteries as they're too old and small by today's standards.
Good find though and I hear that they have a waiting list for those coming on the slow boat from China so I'll probably get on the list asap.

Regards

[eldar]

I would not bet on that. There have been members here who have gotten smaller batteries with no trouble. If you have the size you need and the post order you need, then you can email places or even stop in and check.

I still fail to see how having to stretch your cables a bit suddenly means "not working". The cables are longer for a reason and it is to allow some flexibility in battery choice.

[Quail "Owner of the comfortable k8"]

my battery is four years old and i got it from JC Witney.  I just keep it full of distilled water and use a $10.00 battery tender.

[NH_CB550F]

I actually work with automotive ECU firmware and that's our biggest issue which is battery voltage fluctuations or transients so I'm somewhat familiar with batteries and DC systems in general. We do quite a bit of under/over voltage testing and how our firmware behaves.

I called my local BatteriesPlus and asked about the possibility of them providing an AGM battery to fit my 12N/YB12 specs. In short NO.
 Their reponse ...due to the AGM batteries being sealed at the factory and that the factory builds them to their own specs AND that there isn't a large demand for the battery size, they couldn't provide or build an AGM battery in the 12N/YB12 size they also added that unfortunately "The battery shrinker is on the Fritz"  !!
So it looks as if the battery from the online place is still the solution.
I'm wondering if we could possibly find the same item elsewhere though.

As far as the configuration of the battery cables...
At least on my bike, perhaps it's been modified by the PO, both of my battery cables have been trimmed to line up with the battery posts with little if any excess.
My (-) cable is only about 6-8" long and bolts to the rear of the tranny case so it wouldn't be able to stretch to the other side of the battery even if I wanted to. Thus a battery configured opposite to that specified wouldn't work at least on the grounds of the existing ground cable wouldn't reach.
Of course you could extend them etc. but since I'm planning on a new battery anyway .... its a moot point now.

I do have a battery tender and after having acquired the bike and going thru it I'd topped off the battery with distilled water it still loses charge .5V/2hrs  w/o the ignition even turned on.

That's why it's NEW Battery Time !

I love the bike though and can't wait to see how she runs with a fully charged battery !

Regards

[TwoTired]

As far as the configuration of the battery cables...
At least on my bike, perhaps it's been modified by the PO, both of my battery cables have been trimmed to line up with the battery posts with little if any excess.
My (-) cable is only about 6-8" long and bolts to the rear of the tranny case so it wouldn't be able to stretch to the other side of the battery even if I wanted to. Thus a battery configured opposite to that specified wouldn't work at least on the grounds of the existing ground cable wouldn't reach.
Of course you could extend them etc. but since I'm planning on a new battery anyway .... its a moot point now.

I can assure you that the neg battery cable length as you describe is standard configuration on all stock CB550s.  I believe this is done, in part, so as to preclude connecting battery terminals incorrectly given the proper installation of the proper battery.
This attempt at making it fool proof did not account for the deviousness of some fools that, sadly, do exist in this world.

Cheers,

[dusterdude]

odyssey

[Butchbaby]

The cable being short is the reason I was havving problems finding a battery. I looked lat the local parts stores and most of them say they never heard of an agm battery or a sealed one for a motorcycle. I called an advance auto parts and they said they had one, so I droive 20 miles to get it and it wasn't an agm and the parts guy said he had never seen a sealed motorcycle battery.
Thanks for the info on the battery.

[NH_CB550F]

Thanks again TwoTired !

Yes, I feel that the engineers spec these things for a reason and I feel that they're purposely short to prevent the possibility of them crossing and shorting. We all know Murphys Law !

ButchBaby, unfortunately the prerequisite to working at some of these parts stores appears to be the ability of one to count to 10 on their fingers so I'm not really all that much suprised. I just tell them "Thanks", and move on.
But fortunately we have the internet.

The battery that JBailey pointed out at bikebatts.com looks like the ticket so far but since they're not even available until 2008 I've thought that in the meantime I'll continue searching for it from another source. I merely have to find the name of the manufacturer in China. Perhaps Tim at BikeBatts will even provide that info.

Regards

[NH_CB550F]

Thanks DusterDude !

I just called on the price of the Odyssey PC310 which would fit the 88-91 650 Hawk, which I've found is also the same sized YB-12A battery as the CB550 and it was quoted to me at $130.95 w/o shipping which wasn't bad at $11. but we're looking at practically a $150. battery WITH reversed 750 polarity posts.
Hmmm... I could practically buy 3 Yuasa batteries or even 3 of these  Chinese AGMs for that, rotating keeping two on the tender and one on the bike ~!
But that's California prices for you.
Nice battery though, I like the dry cell concept. They just need to lower their production costs a bit !

Regards

[Butchbaby]

Finally bought an AGM battery for my bike . The one in it was an agm I took the number off it and found one with the + and - on the right side. It was a magna power etx 15 I think. You just have to maje sure the * and - are right. Its fits okay. I figured it was in there and it worked and I got another just like it. I think I paid like 46 or 48 dollars for it. Hope this helps people with 550"s.

[Hope]

Finally bought an AGM battery for my bike . The one in it was an agm I took the number off it and found one with the + and - on the right side. It was a magna power etx 15 I think. You just have to maje sure the * and - are right. Its fits okay. I figured it was in there and it worked and I got another just like it. I think I paid like 46 or 48 dollars for it. Hope this helps people with 550"s.

I believe this is a link to the battery you are referencing: http://www.batterywarehouseco.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=19388&products_id=1848&zenid=ada8c80dedb232118ad6a599e3b17108

[Butchbaby]

I got it at batterygiant.com it was $48  when I bought it about 3 months ago . The price has gone up now. So far its been a good battery. Hope this helped someone.

[d_benet]

I realize this thread is ancient, but I find myself needing a new battery for my 1977 Honda CB 550F. Anyone find a sealed / AGM battery they like that replaces a YB12A-A?

[dave500]

youve gone back even further than member "lucky"has ever done!!i think the first post was done on a coal fired steam computer?

[Stev-o]

 I like the Scorpion batteries, $59 shipped.


http://www.batterystuff.com/powersports-batteries/sYT12C.html

[cabrala]

youve gone back even further than member "lucky"has ever done!!i think the first post was done on a coal fired steam computer?

At least we know d_benet uses the search function

+1 on Stev-o's suggestion. That's what I bought for my 550.