Topic: What's the best battery for a Cb550?

[grcamna2]

I've always enjoyed purchasing and running the OEM brand Yuasa YB12A-A(for the 550 and many other applications)which is a 'Yumicron' type battery:they add 20% more plates into it by making the separators between the plates thinner.They can be purchased on Ebay and shipped dry and kept on the shelf for a couple years until you need it,then add acid to it when ready.I know it's a wet cell/flooded standard type battery but they perform well.
I also make sure to add only distilled water when it needs it,then charge it up for a small duration until the specific gravity comes-up to proper specification using my hydrometer.

[Alan F.]

Nice one Stev-o, might wanna throw that into the tips & tricks section.

[Shtonecb500]

Im falling in love with my Shorai, and Ive killed it/almost killed it a couple times and its still solid. I give it a full charge end of the season and put it on the shelf....throw back in a few months later no need for charging. I ordered another one in December and I just got an email that its about to ship....ill have one in the 750 and 550...I actually have the 550 model in the 750 just flipped backwards.

otherwise any sealed acid battery is aight.

[seanbarney41]

I won't use a lead acid battery anymore, in any nice bike I intend to keep very long.  The vent tubes always seem to get dislodged or misplaced somehow and nice parts are spoiled.  I have used lots of Scorpion AGM's the last several years.  They seem to work excellent in bikes that get used regularly, but have a poor track record in bikes that don't get ridden or are still long term projects.  I get 5 or 6 years out of a Scorpion AGM in bike that is regularly used, more like 1 or 2 when they sit.  I don't ever put my batteries on a charger unless they won't crank the bike.  Even over winter, just keep 'em stored above freezing and they crank the bike up fine without charging.  I feel like people have lots of battery problems when they don't use the bike regularly and rely on a charger, that probably isn't as smart as it claims, to preserve the battery.

[Kelly E]

In my experience using trickle chargers tends to cook the battery when used long term. Either fully charged and put on the shelf or ridden regularly is the only way to get long life from a battery. I use my riding mower all summer mowing and hauling the firewood all winter. The battery is small like a bike battery and lasts 5 to 6 years no problem.

[Deltarider]

Thinner plates mean more CCA, which on our bikes you don't need btw. Thicker plates are robuster, which may result in longer life. The old 12N12A-4a-1 can still be had, only - at all shops that I've checked - it will cost you around € 5 more...
I prefer longer life, so it's going to be my next again. About the vent tube. After over 40 years, I've replaced it. It had become rather stiff, but never came loose and still didn't leak. Don't you love these reliable batteries that are forgiving towards spike voltages and - above all - have these wonderful, tailormade  terminals which will prevent you making errors connecting?

[Stev-o]

I won't use a lead acid battery anymore, in any nice bike I intend to keep very long. 

Agree, I wont even consider buying one, not worth the risk of getting acid damage.

[grcamna2]

Thinner plates mean more CCA, which on our bikes you don't need btw. Thicker plates are robuster, which may result in longer life. The old 12N12A-4a-1 can still be had, only - at all shops that I've checked - it will cost you around € 5 more...
I prefer longer life, so it's going to be my next again. About the vent tube. After over 40 years, I've replaced it. It had become rather stiff, but never came loose and still didn't leak. Don't you love these reliable batteries that are forgiving towards spike voltages and - above all - have these wonderful, tailormade  terminals which will prevent you making errors connecting?

I think the most difficult part about the vent tubes that come inside the package with new batteries is they get rolled-up and,depending on how long that battery was on the shelf,they get formed into a 'curl' and sometimes they aren't the correct length.Those vent tubes aren't my choice;I've even ordered a new OEM vent tube from online parts suppliers and will adapt a vent tube that's black rubber from another model.They come to me straight and stay that way,plus I can make them longer so they stay-put.The little steel 'loop' on the frames that hold the bottom of the battery vent tube sometimes gets rusted-off though..
I know that AGM batteries are great and last quite a while in my daily driver but when they sit,they don't last too long for me,imo.

[Kelly E]

We bought a new battery for the 70' CB 450 and the new vent hose had permanent kinks in it. In their instructions it said that kinking the vent hose may cause an explosion. So I took a picture with the hose laying on the instructions right below the warning and sent it to the manufacturer. They sent me 3 different types of vent hose with an apology and blamed an overseas vendor for the hose kit. So I'll play the blame game and call out my buddy Paul for buying a cheap ass Bikemaster battery for a flip bike.

[Translations]

I switched recently to the Motobatt as well from a Shorai lithium and its been great so far. Seems many of the vintage motorcycle guys and shops around my area use these exclusively in all there old bikes 

[flatlander]

i'll try something different now. got myself a shido lifepo4 battery and a rick's 14-100 reg/rect. still need to install these.

until now i've had a motobatt for almost 7 years. i always only charged it in the bike itself, just from riding and it's been fine. only now towards the end it got weaker and i had to resort to kickstarting more often. still, i'm impressed with how long it lasted.

[exponent]

Motobatt MB12U! Died and charged plenty of times, still going like a champ