Author Topic: Battery Options available / recommendation?  (Read 6887 times)

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Offline oldskullero

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Battery Options available / recommendation?
« on: May 10, 2016, 08:19:12 AM »
Hi guys,

Does anybody have any idea what other options we can put on our CB750 when it comes to batteries coz i hate the fact that batteries can actually play a big role on:

1. Adding more weight
2. Can cause damage to metal parts particularly the battery box and the worst our Bike frame.
3. It requires Maintenance.

The battery technology is now more advance unlike the years when we had our cb750's.
currently this is the battery i found from my Cb750F:




Pls give your recommendations that answers the most basic problems about traditional batteries. Thanks ahead guys. Let the posts keep on coming.

Offline Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er

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Re: Battery Options available / recommendation?
« Reply #1 on: May 10, 2016, 08:29:47 AM »
The original is a 12N14-3A. It is the older terminology. Newer model number now.

I got an AGM from Advance Auto. Maintenance free. Strong battery. I'm happy.

Then there's the newer types. LiPO4 or something like that. $$. Smaller and lighter. Not sure about the compatibility/adaptability. I know someone that is familiar with these will chime in here.
As of today 3/13/2012 my original owner 75 CB750F has made it through 3 wives, er EX-wives. Free at last.  ;-)

Offline SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan

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Re: Battery Options available / recommendation?
« Reply #2 on: May 10, 2016, 08:33:35 AM »
I would recommend either a gel-based battery (AGM).  Maintenance free and no leaks -- and you can hook it up to a battery tender when not in use.

Alternatively, if weight and size need to be reduced, then you can opt for a Lithium based battery.  If you install one of these, you should upgrade to a solid-state regulator-rectifier unit -- like one made by Rick's electronics.  Shorai makes very reliable lithium batteries.
1975 CB550K1 "Blue" Stockish Restomod (http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=135005.0)
1975 CB550F1 frame/CB650 engine hybrid "The Hot Mess" (http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,150220.0.html)
2008 Triumph Thruxton (http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,190956.0.html)
2014 MV Agusta Brutale Dragster 800
2015 Yamaha FZ-09 (http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,186861.0.html)

"There are some things nobody needs in this world, and a bright-red, hunch-back, warp-speed 900cc cafe racer is one of them — but I want one anyway, and on some days I actually believe I need one.... Being shot out of a cannon will always be better than being squeezed out of a tube. That is why God made fast motorcycles, Bubba." Hunter S. Thompson, Song of the Sausage Creature, Cycle World, March 1995.  (http://www.latexnet.org/~csmith/sausage.html and https://magazine.cycleworld.com/article/1995/3/1/song-of-the-sausage-creature)

Sold/Emeritus
1973 CB750K2 "Bionic Mongrel" (http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=132734.0) - Sold
1977 CB750K7 "Nine Lives" Restomod (http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=50490.0) - Sold
2005 RVT1000RR RC51-SP2 "El Diablo" - Sold
2016+ Triumph Thruxton 1200 R (http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,170198.0.html) - Sold

Offline flybox1

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Re: Battery Options available / recommendation?
« Reply #3 on: May 10, 2016, 08:42:11 AM »
Pleased with my Scorpion AGM from batterystuff.com
'78 750K (F3 engine) PD42b's, Modified airbox w/K&N  filter, 40/110 jets, 1 needle shim, IMS@ 1 turn out. Kerker + Cone 18" QuietCore

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Offline Chachi

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Re: Battery Options available / recommendation?
« Reply #4 on: May 10, 2016, 09:09:59 AM »
+1 to what Flybox said. I use them and highly recommend. No maintenance and quick shipping from batterystuff.com and they arrive charged and ready to go.
73 CB750 K3
72 CB500 K1 - Sold
75 MR50 Elsinore K1

Offline mrfish2

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Re: Battery Options available / recommendation?
« Reply #5 on: May 10, 2016, 09:31:06 AM »
+2 to what flybox said. I have a Scorpian AGM in 2 of my bikes and can't complain one bit.
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Offline Mantree

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Re: Battery Options available / recommendation?
« Reply #6 on: May 10, 2016, 01:16:13 PM »
The original is a 12N14-3A. It is the older terminology. Newer model number now.

I got an AGM from Advance Auto. Maintenance free. Strong battery. I'm happy.

Then there's the newer types. LiPO4 or something like that. $$. Smaller and lighter. Not sure about the compatibility/adaptability. I know someone that is familiar with these will chime in here.
Agm is the way to go the prob with lipo is they have a very narrow charge voltage I have agm in both my bikes one of them the battery sits sideways so it needs to be a sealed battery

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Offline PeWe

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Re: Battery Options available / recommendation?
« Reply #7 on: May 10, 2016, 01:23:03 PM »
I installed a cheap GEL battery, 11Ah instead of std 14Ah to egt more space for ign module and other things as extra relays and fuses.
If battery is "too heavy"...I'll gain more weight reduction if I reduce the intake! :) I need to remove at least 5 batteries in weight.
CB750 K6-76  970cc (Earlier 1005cc JMR Billet block on the shelf waiting for a comeback)
CB750 K2-75 Parts assembled to a stock K2

Updates of the CB750 K6 -1976
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http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,168243.msg1948381.html#msg1948381
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Offline Stev-o

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Re: Battery Options available / recommendation?
« Reply #8 on: May 10, 2016, 02:10:13 PM »
+2 to what flybox said. I have a Scorpian AGM in 2 of my bikes and can't complain one bit.

+3.  But, you are in the Philippines so not sure what options you have there. 

Think AGM...
'74 "Big Bang" Honda 750K [836].....'76 Honda 550F.....K3 Park Racer!......and a Bomber!............plus plus plus.........

Offline przjohn

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Re: Battery Options available / recommendation?
« Reply #9 on: May 10, 2016, 02:49:48 PM »
I'm a Lithium fan but both Lithium and AGM are great choices. IMO Lead Acid is dead, no pun intended.  ;D
I like poetry, long walks on the beach, and poking at dead things with a stick.

Offline firebane

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Re: Battery Options available / recommendation?
« Reply #10 on: May 10, 2016, 02:55:43 PM »
I'm a Lithium fan but both Lithium and AGM are great choices. IMO Lead Acid is dead, no pun intended.  ;D

I agree about AGM batteries but Lithium you have to be so damn careful with otherwise you will end up with a very expensive paperweight.

Offline oldhatt45

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Re: Battery Options available / recommendation?
« Reply #11 on: May 10, 2016, 03:09:54 PM »
oldskullero,

I put in a Scorpion AGM last October when I completed my restore.
Rode the bike a few times, then put it away for the winter.
Didn't put the battery on a Battery tender.  Bike sat in a cold garage over the winter.
A couple of weeks ago when I recommissioned the bike, I turned the key, hit the start button and the battery kicked her over like I just bought the battery yesterday. 

So, I can recommend the Scorpion AGM as the others have said.

Charlie

Offline Deltarider

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Re: Battery Options available / recommendation?
« Reply #12 on: May 10, 2016, 11:37:58 PM »
Quote
IMO Lead Acid is dead
Not IMO. They're cheap (you don't pay for advertisements), they're proven reliable, they fit, have the right terminals for your bike, require hardly any maintenance and if they end before the 6 years that you can normally do, it's no big thing. BTW, if you think you need more Ahs, there's something wrong with your bike that needs to be adressed.
« Last Edit: May 11, 2016, 02:47:11 AM by Deltarider »
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Offline Mantree

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Re: Battery Options available / recommendation?
« Reply #13 on: May 11, 2016, 04:34:27 AM »
Quote
IMO Lead Acid is dead
Not IMO. They're cheap (you don't pay for advertisements), they're proven reliable, they fit, have the right terminals for your bike, require hardly any maintenance and if they end before the 6 years that you can normally do, it's no big thing. BTW, if you think you need more Ahs, there's something wrong with your bike that needs to be adressed.
More Ahs is good if you are starting in the kold alot.  My yamaha regularly gets taken out below freezing and takes a bit more convening to start when it's that cold

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Offline lrutt

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Re: Battery Options available / recommendation?
« Reply #14 on: May 11, 2016, 05:41:41 AM »
+10 on AGMs, but I am putting an LiFePo in my 550 bobber project for space reasons.
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Offline strynboen

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Re: Battery Options available / recommendation?
« Reply #15 on: May 11, 2016, 06:25:20 AM »
i just go for the Sealed acid battery..biltema had some real fine  ,,they fit the simpel load sentive loadsystem on sohc..
..have dropped the open ventilated type..china made.
(have used them for years..not have problems) but.the last 2 did not last..i got one new on garentie,
,but it just stayes in the shop as a renember,,not to bay to theep...
i kan not speak english/but trying!!
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Offline Stev-o

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Re: Battery Options available / recommendation?
« Reply #16 on: May 11, 2016, 07:08:38 AM »
Quote
IMO Lead Acid is dead
Not IMO. They're cheap

The issue I have with them is they can leak acid. 

Have you ever seen a bike with damage to the paint or exhaust? I've had many with this issue...
'74 "Big Bang" Honda 750K [836].....'76 Honda 550F.....K3 Park Racer!......and a Bomber!............plus plus plus.........

Offline evanphi

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Re: Battery Options available / recommendation?
« Reply #17 on: May 11, 2016, 07:20:55 AM »
+N for an AGM battery. I bought a Yuasa for mine. Been great for the past year... I brought it inside at the start of the winter, and when I tested the voltage a month ago it was still holding 12V. Didn't see a charger once!
--Evan

1975 CB750K "Rhonda"
Delkevic Stainless 4-1 Header, Cone Engineering 18" Quiet Core Reverse Cone, K&N Filter in Drilled Airbox
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Offline Deltarider

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Re: Battery Options available / recommendation?
« Reply #18 on: May 11, 2016, 07:26:44 AM »
Quote
when I tested the voltage a month ago it was still holding 12V.
12V is about 80% depleted. Needs to be charged immediately.
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"There is enough for everyone's need but not enough for anybody's greed."

Offline evanphi

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Re: Battery Options available / recommendation?
« Reply #19 on: May 11, 2016, 07:36:03 AM »
Quote
when I tested the voltage a month ago it was still holding 12V.
12V is about 80% depleted. Needs to be charged immediately.

This was after it was sitting all winter and I hadn't charged it yet.

Bike is fine.
--Evan

1975 CB750K "Rhonda"
Delkevic Stainless 4-1 Header, Cone Engineering 18" Quiet Core Reverse Cone, K&N Filter in Drilled Airbox
K5 Crankcase/Frame, K4 Head and Cylinders, K1 Carbs (42;120;1 Turn)

She's a mix-matched (former) basket case, but she's mine.

CB750 Shop Manual (all years), searchable text PDF
Calculating the correct input circumference for digital speedometers connected to the original speedometer drive

Offline Chachi

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Re: Battery Options available / recommendation?
« Reply #20 on: May 11, 2016, 09:36:26 AM »
And like odlhatt45 said... I can let my Scorpion AGM sit forever (over the winter for example) and it fires right back up. I nurse it on the tender here and there just b/c... but never seems to need it.
73 CB750 K3
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75 MR50 Elsinore K1

Offline firebane

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Re: Battery Options available / recommendation?
« Reply #21 on: May 11, 2016, 11:12:29 AM »
AGM battery doesn't discharge as fast as it doesn't lose fluid like a lead acid battery

Offline SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan

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Re: Battery Options available / recommendation?
« Reply #22 on: May 11, 2016, 12:46:46 PM »
Quote
IMO Lead Acid is dead
Not IMO. They're cheap

The issue I have with them is they can leak acid. 

Have you ever seen a bike with damage to the paint or exhaust? I've had many with this issue...

I've seen this damage on many CBs.  Lead Acid not only can leak, but the water tends to cook off when hooked up to a Battery Tender.  No bueno!
1975 CB550K1 "Blue" Stockish Restomod (http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=135005.0)
1975 CB550F1 frame/CB650 engine hybrid "The Hot Mess" (http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,150220.0.html)
2008 Triumph Thruxton (http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,190956.0.html)
2014 MV Agusta Brutale Dragster 800
2015 Yamaha FZ-09 (http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,186861.0.html)

"There are some things nobody needs in this world, and a bright-red, hunch-back, warp-speed 900cc cafe racer is one of them — but I want one anyway, and on some days I actually believe I need one.... Being shot out of a cannon will always be better than being squeezed out of a tube. That is why God made fast motorcycles, Bubba." Hunter S. Thompson, Song of the Sausage Creature, Cycle World, March 1995.  (http://www.latexnet.org/~csmith/sausage.html and https://magazine.cycleworld.com/article/1995/3/1/song-of-the-sausage-creature)

Sold/Emeritus
1973 CB750K2 "Bionic Mongrel" (http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=132734.0) - Sold
1977 CB750K7 "Nine Lives" Restomod (http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=50490.0) - Sold
2005 RVT1000RR RC51-SP2 "El Diablo" - Sold
2016+ Triumph Thruxton 1200 R (http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,170198.0.html) - Sold

Offline przjohn

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Re: Battery Options available / recommendation?
« Reply #23 on: May 11, 2016, 02:00:37 PM »
Quote
IMO Lead Acid is dead
Not IMO. They're cheap

The issue I have with them is they can leak acid. 

Have you ever seen a bike with damage to the paint or exhaust? I've had many with this issue...

I've seen this damage on many CBs.  Lead Acid not only can leak, but the water tends to cook off when hooked up to a Battery Tender.  No bueno!

Same here. I've seen some nice exhausts ruined from Lead Acid, but to be fair it is usually an incorrect routing of the vent line. Thing is, with these bikes a lot of hands are in there after 40 years, so vent lines get moved. I have also had more than a few Lead Acid Batteries boil off over a Winter on a Battery Tender. I don't think Lithiums are for everyone, but AGM is pretty much fool proof, as well as plug and play.
I like poetry, long walks on the beach, and poking at dead things with a stick.

Offline firebane

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Re: Battery Options available / recommendation?
« Reply #24 on: May 11, 2016, 02:40:36 PM »
Quote
IMO Lead Acid is dead
Not IMO. They're cheap

The issue I have with them is they can leak acid. 

Have you ever seen a bike with damage to the paint or exhaust? I've had many with this issue...

I've seen this damage on many CBs.  Lead Acid not only can leak, but the water tends to cook off when hooked up to a Battery Tender.  No bueno!

Same here. I've seen some nice exhausts ruined from Lead Acid, but to be fair it is usually an incorrect routing of the vent line. Thing is, with these bikes a lot of hands are in there after 40 years, so vent lines get moved. I have also had more than a few Lead Acid Batteries boil off over a Winter on a Battery Tender. I don't think Lithiums are for everyone, but AGM is pretty much fool proof, as well as plug and play.

I had battery residue in places on my bike I really did not even think was possible because of this.