| Author | Message | ||
     Billybob |
whats the best battery for my 06 xb9?it's still is working good ,i keep it on abattery tender. how long do these batteries last it's the original. | ||
| Garyz28 |
My original battery lasted about 20k miles. | ||
| Iman501 |
i to am in the market for a new battery, mines about three years old, and i had to push start it after work the other day so any good brands you guys use? | ||
| Froggy |
Erik Buell Racing Nanotek battery is the best battery.  | ||
| Hogs |
Get a HD> replacement battery, I think they are the same as the V-Rods but check part numbers to be sure...They are the best , or if ya can find Who makes them for HD. then buy from there may be cheaper all the rest will NOT last like the stock ones. | ||
| Greg_e |
I do not think that these Lithium based batteries are ready for the day to day road use required out of a battery. I would not suggest one at this time as you could end up replacing one every year which is something none of us wants to do. You are probably best off with the correct AGM lead/acid battery for now. Since my bike has some kind of after market battery in it and the cables do not attach properly, I would suggest the factory battery for now which is on my list but very low down since the current battery continues to work. | ||
| Froggy |
I have been using a (real) Speedcell on my XB for a year and a half without issue | ||
| Terrys1980 |
Another downfall of lithium batteries is they generally produce more heat. Also the heat from the bike will degrade the battery and shorten its life. (Message edited by terrys1980 on May 11, 2010) | ||
| Boliver |
My 2005 XB 12SCG HAS to have a SEALED battery because it lays on its side.I don't think the manufacturer really matters but make sure you get the kind you need.DO NOT buy one that isn't sealed if yours lays on its side.Somethings can be substituted but I went with a factory one from HD.Yeah it was a little more expensive but better safe than sorry right? RIGHT! | ||
| Greg_e |
Froggy, how often do you ride that XB? Isn't it the one that has been busted for more than 6 months? I do not think they are practical for on road bikes at this moment. Give it another couple years and I'm sure they might be a better choice as the cost drops due to more widespread implementation of the cells. A123 and the Killacycle are doing their best to educate the masses, give them time. Now if you are racing and every pound (ounce, gram, etc.) matters, then the Li chemistry batteries are definitely going to win being lighter and stronger per weight so that you can run fuel pump, ignition, etc. on the track without alternator or starter. It's good chemistry but even if you have to replace the stock battery ($88) or the Li battery ($400+) every three years on your road bike, which one is a better value? I don't think you'll make up the difference in fuel over that term to justify the weight savings. If the Li batteries were only $200 it would be a lot closer call, but I haven't found any yet, and of those I did find there are a couple that are much more expensive than the Erik Buell Racing battery. Now of the third party lead/acid AGM batteries, I only found one or two that might work correctly, and they were listed at $60+ which kind of points back to the factory battery so you know the cables will bolt up correctly. Also remember that once in a while the controllers for the Li batteries go bad and things start to burn up. Been a while since the last laptop battery recall so maybe that is all solid now, but it does happen sometimes and these Lithium fires are hot and hard to put out. And you are probably sitting right over it! The above is my opinion, basically (like everything else in life) do what you want. When I need to put a new battery in my road bike, I'll just get a stock battery. If I build a race bike I'll get whatever I can afford that is lighter, might even make my own out of 18 volt Dewalt power tools packs because they are way cheaper (5s2p configuration should do it), and connect them to a custom DIY charging controller (or not charge them from the alternator and use an external balance charger). | ||
| Nightripper |
buy a top of the line yuasa, from a non buell or harley dealer. Parts unlimited or tucker rocky has them. The original equipment batteries that harley and buell sell are the cheapest models made and they charge a premium price for stock ones. The top of the line yuasa for my 1200 sportster go for around $60 and the junk harley battery sells for a $130 | ||
| Mikef5000 |
Pass on the Xtreme battery from Batteries Plus. I'm not pleased with mine and it's only a few months old. | ||
| Ochoa0042 |
Pass on the Xtreme battery from Batteries Plus. I'm not pleased with mine and it's only a few months old. why is that? i just bought one from autozone.... (Message edited by ochoa0042 on May 11, 2010) | ||
| Froggy |
Greg, my XB will be back on the road soon, but I ended up transferring the battery into my Blast after I accidentally drained the stock one. The battery runs great on either bike. Sure as hell is overkill on the Blast as that thing can be started with a potato battery. On the XB, it performed better than my original (2006) stock battery. The Speedcell would crank easier in everything except below freezing temps, and the Speedcell was holding charges longer than the stock battery when I sit at lights with the engine off. The battery should last around 10 years according to what I have read online (remains to be seen), so if it does then I economically came out ahead. Also the lighter weight improves fuel economy and handling. | ||
| Greg_e |
Lithium cells used to have a 3 year life span whether you used them or not. They also still have a finite number of charges. If it last for ten years then it would be getting really close to a wash for the price. Hopefully you can keep something running long enough to test the lifespan, all the batteries of similar chemistry that we use at work give about 3-4 years before performance starts to degrade a lot. Self discharge with Lithium is practically zero, so they should remain charged for a good long time and if you battery is a 2P configuration then it should have about 600 instant amps (short term) to use for cranking, the 1p configurations are between 200 and 300 amps short term. | ||
| Ourdee |
I ordered a Deka ETX-14 battery for $66.00 with free shipping last night. | ||
| Greg_e |
Let us know if the cables attach correctly on that Deka. | ||
| Bumblebee |
The HD battery is very good. | ||
| Nightripper |
pardon the language , but harley batteries are good for shit and they are only worth $35-$40 not a $120-$150 and they have the worst waranty of any battery. Every month you own it, it will loose 1/12th of its value per month at the time of purchase. I put a harley battery in my 04 1200 sportster and it failed in 8 months in the middle of november and it was kept on a trickle charger and I paid a $125 for it, when I took it in for waranty replacement the dealer only offered me about $25 credit to a new one. I complained about the quality and they said they have a premium harley battery for $250. I told them to stick it and I bought a top of the line yuasa battery for only $56 that is equal to or better than the harley battery. Note I also have a 2007 gsxr1000 that I never charge the battery on and it starts up even in the cold of winter and is still going strong and its the stock yuasa battery. For harley oem batteries to fail in less than a year simply means that they are shit batteries. | ||
| Bitbear |
Yuasa a good reputation. I'd be giving them a close look. | ||
| Ourdee |
I'll try and remember to post it Greg_e. | ||
| Doubled |
Interstate has good stuff and most of them are made right here in the good ol' US of A. Support your brothers and sisters: http://www.interstatebatteries.com/cs_eStore/Resul ts.aspx/Motorcycles/BUELL-MOTORCYCLES?dsNavigation =N~38-4282937860 Never heard a bad thing about Yuasa: http://www.yuasabatteries.com/vehicle_search.php?a ction=showListing | ||
| Ourdee |
Deka batteries are made in the USA. | ||
| Fast1075 |
You might be suprised to find out who actually built the battery under the label that says "so and so"....outsourcing is real big in the battery business. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
O'Reilly's Auto Parts SUPERSTART - BATTERY (MAGNA POWER H/P AGM) Item No: ETX14 $76.99 Each [plus: $10.00 core charge] 1year free replacement I put one of these in my Uly and it works pretty good.... and the price isn't that bad | ||
| Nightripper |
the hd dealer told me harley batteries are yuasa, but I really doubt it. The truth is most batteries are made in asia, there are ways to get around saying things are made in the USA on them. Its like when nissan says there trucks are made in the USA , but most of the parts are made overseas and they are sent into the USA as sub assemblies and finally put the whole truck together in kentucy on the body. For the batteries they could probably import them in with no acid in then and fill and activate them in the USA and put a made in USA sticker on it. | ||
| Afinley |
Not Interstate. Don't you watch How It's Made? | ||
| Bumblebee |
>>>Interstate has good stuff and most of them are made right here in the good ol' US of A. Support your brothers and sisters: I too have had good luck with Interstate products. What ever you get just be certain it's a AGM or Gell battery, these sit on their backs and a flooded battery will leak and make a gigantic mess of everything. The HD batteries are sort of hit-n-miss, the durability seems to depend on the actual battery you get, but generally they are good. Yuasa, the sealed AGM (Yuasa calls them "MF" are also excellent. Yuasa's flooded battery quality is variable, but you won't be using one of them in your XB, right? } | ||
| Ourdee |
The Deka came in the post today. So far it all looks the same. pos. and neg. post locations, check. Threaded holes on the side and on top, check.(I like the extra threaded holes for my farkles) New bolts and spacers included, check. Size looks right. I'll put it in later tonight. This one gets a plug-in for the tender hard wired. | ||
| Mikemax |
My stock battery is just starting to struggle after 4 years. Never on a tender and I do everything from daily commute to touring to leaving it sit for up to 3 months at a time when on business trips or when it is raining... Not bad for a stock battery, I only expected two years. | ||
| Ourdee |
It went right in. The extra bolt holes work great for my farkles. I didn't have to move my cables. Fits like a glove, or like the old battery. The old bat. isn't far from bad. | ||
| Greg_e |
Thanks, that will help in the future. |
