Topic: So what kind of battery is everyone running? (CB750)

[calj737]

do the lithium ones work with the stock regulator/rectifier?

anyone?

Yes, if the stock reg/rec is functioning properly.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Size, weight, vibration proof, can be mounted in any orientation, smart charging. Can store themselves for months without any parasitic loss.

wait those aren't disadvantages to the gels right?

EDIT: just realized you were replying to the comment above you. So AGMs are not vibration proof?

They are much smaller and MUCH lighter than gels and suffer almost no parasitic loss.

They also provide more cranking amps.  Great for cold starts.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

do the lithium ones work with the stock regulator/rectifier?

Yes!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

The only disadvantage is that you are not supposed to use a standard trickle charger (Battery Tender) with a lithium battery. 

Shorai has its own charger which has a storage mode -- like a battery tender -- so you can plug it in an leave it alone.  It comes with a quick connect cable so you can tuck it under your side cover and access it when you need it.  If you are not going to run the bike for a number of months, you can simply remove the negative and the battery will retain its charge with no loss.

[strynboen]

normal standart regulators give heigh voltage at heigh rpm..if the battery are lov on volt.
.i have run a voltmeter ,,and often got more then 16 volt..some minuts after start..i use old fasion batteryes on mine bikes so no problem for me
 
..put a elektronic regulator  in vho stabilices the voltage at 14,5 at heigest bu use this litium batteries and others sensibel/Sealed types
the regulator can be a bosch type..or other elektromagenet regulated types..they are used on a lot of cars...and are easy to exthange the load/resistens type regulator as Honda used.. just bay the unit and thange it..its 3 vires some kabel Shues and bolt it on...

[PeWe]

Sealed GEL battery, 14A without any outlet hose. I bought a cheap one.

Possible to link to the one you bought? Hows it holding up for you?

Yes, battery is OK. Bought it August 2013. Started bike end of october. On the street 1 year ago. I charge it once per month during a few days.

12V   14A   134 x 89 x 160mm   4,63 kg
http://images.biltema.com/PAXToImageService.svc/article/xlarge/80823

The photo is not for my battery that is higher. Link to a Swedish low price car part dealer.
You will find similar when eBay search on GEL battery + 134 x 89 x 160 mm   or GEL Battery YB14L-A2

[ChopSticks]

The only disadvantage is that you are not supposed to use a standard trickle charger (Battery Tender) with a lithium battery. 

Shorai has its own charger which has a storage mode -- like a battery tender -- so you can plug it in an leave it alone.  It comes with a quick connect cable so you can tuck it under your side cover and access it when you need it.  If you are not going to run the bike for a number of months, you can simply remove the negative and the battery will retain its charge with no loss.

Seems like the lithiums are almost twice the price of an AGM, your previous advantage description was that comparing gel to lithium or AGM to lithium? I thought the only advantage would be the weight cut?

[przjohn]

The only disadvantage is that you are not supposed to use a standard trickle charger (Battery Tender) with a lithium battery. 

Shorai has its own charger which has a storage mode -- like a battery tender -- so you can plug it in an leave it alone.  It comes with a quick connect cable so you can tuck it under your side cover and access it when you need it.  If you are not going to run the bike for a number of months, you can simply remove the negative and the battery will retain its charge with no loss.

Seems like the lithiums are almost twice the price of an AGM, your previous advantage description was that comparing gel to lithium or AGM to lithium? I thought the only advantage would be the weight cut?

The main reason on a street bike for me to go to the Lithium is the maintenance free aspect. Unless you have a parasitic drain like an alarm, GPS, or something else that is draining the battery you can leave them for a year and they will be fine when asked to crank your bike back up. A parasitic drain will kill any non tended battery so this is not Lithium specific. On a dirt bike they are the battery of choice because of the lighter weight.  Yes, they cost more but I have spent more on a lot of stuff less crucial to a nice reliable vintage bike. An AGM would be my next choice due to price and no vent line. As has been stated Lead/Acid is not for me because of the leakage issue. They also die on battery tenders after awhile, loosing their fluid. I have had Lead/Acid batteries that have been on a tender for 6 months show a green light and when hooked up to the bike die in a few seconds.

[rickmoore24]

I'm running a Bikemaster Platinum II AGM. It's my second one. The first one lasted me 6 years. Kept it on a tender most times and my bike runs the original charging system. I ride the bike frequently, year round. 

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

If you let your AGM battery sit even if not hooked up, it will still drain gradually.  Not so with the lithium.  If you thought the AGM was lighter than the lead, the lithium will surprise you with how little it weighs, and how small it can be.  The big advantage is if you want to hide your battery, the lithium can fit in a very small space and will shave some pounds from your bike.  If you don't care about weight savings or space, buy a gel battery and keep it on a tender during non-use months.

[ChopSticks]

I think it depends on what you are using the bike for. If it is a daily rider, not trying to save any weight or space, I would recommend an AGM battery. For my 750 I used a scorpion AGM battery, it fit in factory location, does its job, and it is sealed so no maintenance/filling.

Think I've decided to go with the Scorpion AGM, do you have a model # or link to the one you got?

[ChopSticks]

Yes, if it was dry, it probably is sulfated....never to retain a usable charge again.

I think it depends on what you are using the bike for. If it is a daily rider, not trying to save any weight or space, I would recommend an AGM battery. For my 750 I used a scorpion AGM battery, it fit in factory location, does its jog, and it is sealed so no maintenance/filling.

+1 for scorpion agm...
http://www.batterystuff.com/powersports-batteries/sYTX14AHL-BS.html

Assuming these aren't the same batteries?

http://www.slabatterystore.com/motorcycle-batteries/by-battery-manufacturer/scorpion/scorpion-ytx14ah-bs-replacement-battery/?gclid=CNz0gJDgqMUCFXQV7AodjFQASA

[Davez134]

This is where I got mine.

http://www.batterystuff.com/powersports-batteries/sYTX14AHL-BS.html

[jodangler]

I use lithium by battery tender, the only reason I went with it was the price and the price of the charger... The guys from revival motorcycles seem to use antigravity and other like kott motorcycles... My bike has the old r/r and I adjusted the reg for the lithium and so far no problems with my voltage or battery, I also run halogen/bulbs on all my lights (headlight,tail,signals). One thing I do notice is that if I run on my high beams my battery runs down to 13.3(ish) volts and without beams it runs around 13.6(ish), I'm sure I could mess with reg and bump the voltage up a little but if you haven't messed with the reg before, it can be a pain so I'm leaving it the way it is...

[72 yellow]

On a related subject on keeping batteries charged when not being used, how do you verify the output of a Battery Tender Jr. ?  I bought a new Yuasa AGM battery and a new Battery Tender Jr. last year.  We had a power surge during the winter, which the power company denied was their fault of course.  I lost my TV and some smaller items.  I checked the battery and the voltage 13.6v.  But when I installed it in the bike (72 CB750),  I would only crank for about 2 seconds.  I put the old  wet cell 6 year old back in and it started right up.

[ChopSticks]

Alright so I finally got a multimeter to test the current battery before I put in an order in for a new battery. It's showing 12.28 volts, the manual says it should be between 15-16 volts? that seems a bit high, am I reading this incorrectly? Specifically page 113 in the shop manual

[turboed13b]

I was using a ballistic lithium battery but my stiff suspension broke a internal connection. I went through two of them and suffered the same problem. Decided to use a cheap battery from Walmart. I found the smallest one I could find If I remember correctly it was about $35 dollars and I have about three seasons on it now.

[calj737]

Alright so I finally got a multimeter to test the current battery before I put in an order in for a new battery. It's showing 12.28 volts, the manual says it should be between 15-16 volts? that seems a bit high, am I reading this incorrectly? Specifically page 113 in the shop manual

15-16v is too high. Manual is misprinted if it says that. 12.28 is a bit low, but if that's fully charged and rested, it's a good indication a new battery is in your future.

[ChopSticks]

Alright so I finally got a multimeter to test the current battery before I put in an order in for a new battery. It's showing 12.28 volts, the manual says it should be between 15-16 volts? that seems a bit high, am I reading this incorrectly? Specifically page 113 in the shop manual

15-16v is too high. Manual is misprinted if it says that. 12.28 is a bit low, but if that's fully charged and rested, it's a good indication a new battery is in your future.

How much should a full charged battery be?

It was 12.28 prior to charging. I charged it over night, my battery tender then turned solid green (fully charged) and I tested it while on the tender it's output was 13.05, took the tender off and I am only getting 12.58?

I bought this multimeter and it has an indicator on the top left if the battery is good, low, or bad. Are these accurate? (it says the battery is good btw)

http://www.amazon.com/INNOVA-3320-Auto-Ranging-Digital-Multimeter/dp/B000EVYGZA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431005055&sr=8-1&keywords=multimeter

[ofreen]

How much should a full charged battery be?

A healthy battery will hold about 12.8 volts fully charged after sitting a bit.

[ChopSticks]

How much should a full charged battery be?

A healthy battery will hold about 12.8 volts fully charged after sitting a bit.

This doesn't matter if it's lead, AGM, or lithium right?

Also would 12.5 be enough to turn a bike over? or should I really just cut my losses right now?

[flybox1]

On the tender, sure, it'll read 13v+, but the true test is a few hours after you remove it from the charger.
12.5 might not be enough to turn the starter, but you'd still be able to kick it over.
My scorpion reads 12.87v, 5 hours off the tender.

[ofreen]

This doesn't matter if it's lead, AGM, or lithium right?

Also would 12.5 be enough to turn a bike over? or should I really just cut my losses right now?

I have yet to use a lithium battery, but the 12.8 figure is good for any lead acid battery, whether AGM or whatever. 12.5 volts may well crank the engine and allow it to start, but there is more to it than just static voltage. A battery showing decent voltage may not be able to perform with a load on it. If you don't have anything to test it with(a simple homemade test light works) put it in the bike and see what happens.

[ChopSticks]

On the tender, sure, it'll read 13v+, but the true test is a few hours after you remove it from the charger.
12.5 might not be enough to turn the starter, but you'd still be able to kick it over.
My scorpion reads 12.87v, 5 hours off the tender.

Yeah I just read that somewhere, I unplugged it before going to work I'll have to check again when I get home

[ChopSticks]

This doesn't matter if it's lead, AGM, or lithium right?

Also would 12.5 be enough to turn a bike over? or should I really just cut my losses right now?

I have yet to use a lithium battery, but the 12.8 figure is good for any lead acid battery, whether AGM or whatever. 12.5 volts may well crank the engine and allow it to start, but there is more to it than just static voltage. A battery showing decent voltage may not be able to perform with a load on it. If you don't have anything to test it with(a simple homemade test light works) put it in the bike and see what happens.

Is there anyway to test a battery under load without bringing it to a shop? I had the battery in last week, and all the lights/horns work. I was able to turn the bike over for about 3 seconds and then it died. Tried to turn it over again and you can hear the starter but to no avail. Figured I probably drained it trying to restart it so many times. Recharged to full and then tried a few more times but was never able to get it running again...