| Author | Message | ||
     Signguy |
1 - Does anyone else have trouble pulling the rubber hold down strap on and off? Its seems the one on my bike is a 1/2" too short cause its nearly impossible to clip it on or off. 2 - What's the list price on a XB9S's battery from the dealer? I'd call and find out myself but they are closed and I am hoping to have an answer before the morning. Is there a better aftermarket battery available? Thanks! | ||
| Johnnyxb9 |
1. it is supposed to be that tight. it sucks because that thing is really tight. 2. the battery is $72.00 Im pretty sure. My suggestion would be to buy a battery tender. your local H-D/Buell dealer should have one. Its 30 or 40 dollars and comes with 2 leads. One is a hard wire the other with Gator clips. I have one on my bike and if I park it for a couple days I plug it in. It turns it self on  (not like that)and off to maintain a constant voltage in the battery. Just unplug and ride away. | ||
| Signguy |
Yeah, I now it should be tight but requiring two people to stretch it over the battery to get it back on is rediculous. A friend of mine gave me a battery tender he no longer needs so I'll definately be using it once I get a new battery. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Signguy... its a bit early for a battery to be going on an XB (but not impossible)... What are your symptoms? Looking at the Harley battery, its actually a very nice part for the price. | ||
| Signguy |
Symptoms are its dead after a couple tries at charging it for 2 hours. Is the Harley battery you mention different from the Buell battery? | ||
| Dasxb9s |
My battery went south within the first week of ownership. Don't cha think I was an unhappy camper when I walked out for my second ride on the new toy, 3 days after the purchase, then when turning the key it had no visible effect on the electronics? DOA! It was then trailered to the dealer after sitting an additional three days, which included two days of snow. By the time I got there it looked like someone ran a snow blower next to it the entire trip... there was a blob of snow bank on the trailer when I arrived... with my new baby someplace underneath. more frowning! After the battery replacement and a delivery in a covered van... all was as it should have been... or so I thought! It then sat for three weeks because of bad weather (I took delivery in late winter), then after sitting for 3 weeks the internal electronics that constantly draw power had drained the battery to the point it would power everything up... but not enough to power the fuel pump or the starter relay! Yet another big frown! Two hours of charging and it finally had the juice to start. OK... BATTERY TENDER!!! REMEMBER THESE WORDS!!! The big unit or the JR. model... one will work as good as the other! The JR just has a slower lower charging rate if using it to bring back a needy battery. For the maintenance charge while sitting... I see no effective difference... so you may get by cheaper with the JR model. My BMW is the same way... if it sits for more that three week without use... the battery drains from the electronic systems to the point it will/may not start. If I know it will be a week or more between rides... I plug in the Battery Tender. It will not harm the battery... and it is claimed it will extend the life of the battery as the battery is rollercoastered less from drain when setting of running down... peaking out when used. Two seasons on a bike battery is not out of the ordinary... three or more any you are the exception... the Battery Tender will make 3 seasons more likely. YMMV | ||
| Signguy |
Thanks for the info. Thats sucks about your dealer and the battery. Hopefully it'll be "smooth sailing" for you from now on. | ||
| Boulderbiker |
I dunno, sounds to me like something else has got to be going on. My bike sat longer than three weeks at a time this winter, no battery tender, and even when I did start it up on cold mornings round 15 degrees Faranheit it would start right up without any hesitation. Either mine is exceptional in the good way or there's something out of the norm going on with yours, but I certainly have had a different experience and thats with a 12R during the winter in Colorado. | ||
| Dasxb9s |
I failed to add I have alarm systems on both. However... I am pretty sure there is always a drain (as there are some active electronics) with the key off anyway... plus the natural tendency for batteries to have a self drain rate that may increase in higher humidity, or maybe even very low humidity, etc. I have always been told to never store a battery on a concrete floor as it increases the chance of the battery draining faster. Don't have hard facts on that... but don't do so. I leave the battery in the bike all year and use a Battery Tender and highly recommend the product! | ||
| Fullpower |
Das. the self discharge rate of the stock AGM battery is extremely low. if it was fully charged, it should easily start the bike after six months of sitting. The industry standard number for your battery is YTX14BS. that is a yuasa number, interstate battery uses the same number. the price of the Harley D factory part is very reasonably priced, and a very good quality unit. either you got a defective battery or you are killing it with some aftermarket add-ons. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Did you slap a volt meter on the battery after trying to charge it? What was the voltage, both with the ignition (headlight) on, and off? Buell Battery == Harley Battery. | ||
| Glitch |
Mine died after about 9 months. Bought a YUSA and it's been fine ever since. Funny how I've had motorcycle batteries last for years, the Bandit lasted me for 5 years, the same battery is still in the Bandit. The guy I sold it to says it's still going strong. My guess was (is) that because the Buell has some much higher compression it takes more of the battery's power to turn it over. | ||
| Dasxb9s |
Full... That might be a factor... the alarm shouldn't draw much... and I run a gps and radar detector... which may be a factor on short ride where the charging system might not have time to recover from the drain to start. The Blast can set for 6 months and crank over. I read someplace that it takes 20 minutes of riding to bring back what was used to start a bike... don't know if that is accurate. on the XB, this was true the first two times it sat 3 weeks in near zero weather after the battery was replaced... and short rides may have factored there along with the cold weather (plus I doubt the HD shop put the battery on the charger when it was replaced, so it might have been "needy" when installed). Until late last year, the bikes had to set out in a carport, and it now might not be as much a problem aggravated by subfreezing weather in the winter. The BMW is voltage sensitive where what would happen was not that it wouldn't start... but that the voltage would drop where the ABS brake system would not set up due to the low voltage until I rode it for enough distance to charge the battery. I love the ABS, and was uncomfortable when after setting for a couple of weeks or so, it wound not setup until I rode a few miles and brought the battery up to the proper level. When the BMW battery failed... I did not realize that was the issue, until I called the BMW shop to question about the ABS system problem, to be hit with "How old is the battery, and are you letting it set out in this nasty cold weather?". The answer after that from BMW was, get a new battery... the ABS seems to be an early warning system for a weak battery. ...and it was!! I might be a little paranoid about letting them set for more than a week or so without the Battery Tender... but it really gets my goat when I get a chance to ride after being land-locked for a couple of weeks or so in the winter... then the damn thing won't start because of the cold and other factors that tax a battery. I have not let anything set for more than 2 1/2 weeks without a Battery Tender hanging from it since. This way I know the battery should never prevent me from hopping and going! Someday I should get adventurous and NOT hook it up and see how long it can set without a battery issue... so I may have understated my situation... and over paranoided the battery drain. Did not intend to over state the battery drain... did want to praise the Battery Tender and recommend it for longer periods of non-riding. I think it works better than pulling the battery for the winter, and putting it back in when it warms up. I want to be ready for a ride... if a warm day appears in the middle of the winter without having to wrench! |
