Topic: Battery re-location

[JZEROE]

Hi there.

So next weekend I'm stripping the 550 down to send the frame off the powedercoater's (quick poll: red or chrome?), and I've been thinking a lot about the battery. I hate the sidecovers. I want to move the battery, but I don't want to put it cafe-style under the seat, because I need to be able to give rides to the girl. Any opinions about where to put it? I was thinking of moving the battery down to on top of the swingarm, between the two sides of the frame instead of hanging out the side. Better for balance and center of gravity, yes? Any ideas/advice?

Thanks.
J

[754]

Should be room under the swingarm I think, if you use small battery and  no e-start. That is where I want mine..

[Shenanigans]

Also you can get a smaller gel battery so you can lay it flat under the seat.

[DollarBill]

With the smaller gel batteries are you able to use the electric start?  How are they on life and do they charge well using the bikes charging system?

[tygrant]

i would say they are equal on charge and power but you dont have to worry about the acid pooring out everywhere if you tip them every wich way.

[my78k]

Shenanigans, is that the set up on the bike you took on your trip this summer? Or is that on your other bike?

Dennis

[JZEROE]

Also you can get a smaller gel battery so you can lay it flat under the seat.

Sweet solution--thanks! What did you do with the electrical panel?

[noose74]

i had BCR make me a battery box that sits basically on top of the swing arm...the rest of the elecricals are under the rear seat...i went with a 2 seater with removable cowl cuz my wife likes to ride but i wanted a cafe bike and love the look of the openess under the seat... heres a pict

[JZEROE]

That's awesome, and the weight distribution is what I'm looking for. Do you have a pic of the bike from the side, so I can get a better sense of the appearance when put-together?

[Jim F]

I didn't think the small gel type battery's could handle the starter
I do like the battery location near the swing arm though
is that the stock size battery?

Jim

[d3buttz]

i wouldnt recommend sending the frame off to the p.coaters untill you relocate the battery for sure with your new battery mount brackets(bolted or welded)and in your bike completely together.  or even any other custom stuff you do-build your bike complete first the way you want- then take it apart and paint. i built this box for my battery and electric card and i had to weld up 4 mount tabs to bolt it to the frame. id be a shame to ruin all the powder coating by touching it up with crappy regular paint over tabs. good luck!

[Shenanigans]

Shenanigans, is that the set up on the bike you took on your trip this summer? Or is that on your other bike?

Dennis

Thats on the bike I took on my trip and this setup never gave me any trouble.



All the wires you see there are all the bikes electrics except for the Reg./Rec. that is mounted underneath next to the key switch.

You can use the electric start but your bike better be easy to start or you will soon run your battery dead. I think about 6AH is the lowest you want to go. I dont think it would handle stop and go traffic for extended periods of time.

[ieism]

I used an 8Ah Odessey battery. It has enough power to start the bike easily, but I can't use the starter for more then 30 seconds. The battery does charge rather fast, so i've had no problems riding in slow traffic . In fact, the bike wouldn't start on the e-start the other day, so I kept trying untill it was nearly dead. I then realized a stuck float was the problem and eventually started it with the kickstarter. I took off and 10 minutes later the battery had enough power to work the starter already. This is the best battery i've ever had, on any bike. They are more expensive but IMO well worth it.

[doobiebro]

If one were to keep the liquid acid type battery and relocate it to the top of the swingarm, would the vibrations and jolts from the swingarm movement lead to premature failure of the battery?

[KB02]

Red.

So next weekend I'm stripping the 550 down to send the frame off the powedercoater's (quick poll: red or chrome?)

No one else has posted an opinion yet on color choice. 

As for the battery, I would avoid placing it actually on the swing arm (I could be mis-interpreting that) as you will get a lot of bumps and jolts that a battery won't really care for. Lower CG and cteralized weight is always a good thing, though.