Yuasa Battery Replacement?

[MrFryMoto]

hey guys, i need a battery for my 2000 monster 900ie
the Yuasa YB16al-a2 is going for about $123 in my area
i'm wondering if there is any other cheaper batteries that work as well?

any suggestions?

[Speeddog]

I've heard good things about the Odyssey batteries, no FHE tho...

Batteries have gotten a good bit more expensive recently. 

[NAKID]

Only problem with the Odyssey batteries is you have to use their specific tender to keep it charged...

[Speeddog]

Only problem with the Odyssey batteries is you have to use their specific tender to keep it charged...

Really 

Wasn't aware of that.

[hooligan machinist]

I use a schumacher tender from WAL MART on mine. Meets all the specs. No problems in 9 months now.

[Howie]

For any "dry battery" AGM or tell, you need a charger capable of maintaining a float charge of 13.2 volts or higher to fully charge the battery.  A charger that cannot do that will work, sorta.  The battery just won't reach 100% charge, which can be an issue in long term storage.

[RodeoClown]

I love my odyssey battery especially during the colder months.

[Desmo Demon]

That is the same huge battery that was originally in the early ST bikes. I think they are only available as a conventional lead-acid battery. I know you can easily adapt the smaller 12B-4 sealed battery that was used on the 2001 and newer ST2, Monster, 748, 996, etc bikes with a simple into the battery tray of the older bikes with the 16AL-A2 batteries. If you go to this link and go to page 7, you can see how I did the conversion on my ST2 for cheap. If I didn't buy the Ducati spacer, I could have done the conversion with only the price of a bracket, a nut and bolt, and a block of wood....for under $10:

http://usdesmo.com/leanings/Leanings_2007_3_Fall.pdf


For a battery, you can get a sealed 12B-4 for as little as $67 with free shipping to your door (or the original 16AL-A2 for $74 without acid) from www.ebatteriestogo.com.

http://www.ebatteriestogo.com/landing_pages/powersport/UB12B-4.htm

[ducpainter]

Buy the Yuasa.

[MrFryMoto]

Buy the Yuasa.

according to my local dealer (and various online sources) Parts Unlimited has the same battery (made by Yuasa) for about $80

any input on this? are they of lesser quality?

[LMT]

I have an Odyssey in my 2000 M900sie and have never had a problem with it.  It sat outside on the carport under a dowco cover in the Oregon winters and always started.  Even after a couple of months sitting.

[Smokescreen]

is there a spiral cell battery for replacing the yuasa?  I would really like to update to a more modern battery.

[Howie]

is there a spiral cell battery for replacing the yuasa?  I would really like to update to a more modern battery.

IMO, spiral round or flat plates , it is still an AGM battery, same chemistry.  Optima is the biggest brand of spiral wounds.  The remainder are mostly Exides or re-badged Exides.  AFIAK, there is no direct replacement for your bike, but you may be able to buy something physically smaller and adapt.  If cold weather starting is an issue or you are running high compression, make sure capacity is equal or better.

[Desmo Demon]

any input on this? are they of lesser quality?

Here is a little something I've written in that past.....

=====================================================

I'll waste my breath, as I seem to do on every forum when the topic of batteries come up.....

From 1987-1993 I worked to Yuasa-Exide Battery in Sumter, SC as a production operator in several departments and then as an Engineering Technician the last two years I was there. We manufactured batteries with the brands of "Yuasa" and "Exide" but also *lesser quality* brands as Challenger. The thing is, all of these batteries came from the exact same batch of batteries. They went through every aspect of the manufacturing process, side-by-side, until the "Formation Room". In this department, the cells were filled with acid, charged, and then put through at least one discharge test that determined their quality.

The discharge test was a quick draw-down of the cells, and every few minutes, the operator would go through the circuit with a hand-held multimeter and check the voltage across each battery. Depending on the battery's voltage at a given time, it would be deemed as good enough quality for Brand A, Brand B, Brand C, Brand D, or as scrap.

Now, most circuits of batteries that were being charged consisted of 18-96 batteries. The operator started at one end and worked their way through each cell, calling out the voltages, as another operator wrote down the numbers. The draw-dawn tests were a short period of time, such as fifteen minutes, so if the operator started on one end of a 96-battery circuit, by the time he reached the 96th battery, it would naturally be much lower than the voltage of the first battery he read. Now, take into account illegible hand-writing and water smearing the ink on the paper (there are shower heads constantly spraying water on the batteries to keep them cool), and you have a lot of good batteries being started as bad, when in fact they may have been better quality than the better branded ones. After the ranking of these batteries from the draw-down tests, they were separated after being recharged and sent to shipping where they were cleaned, had labels slapped on them, and boxed for shipping.

So, I tend to buy the cheapest battery I can find and often buy off-brand batteries from places such as www.ebatteriestogo.com . I've owned and seen a LOT of crap Yuasa, Exide, and Interstate batteries that couldn't hold a candle to most of the cheaper batteries I've owned. If not anything else, for the going price of an OEM Yuasa battery, I can easily buy 2-3 cheaper brands that will far outlast the life of that one Yuasa battery.

Ok, continue preaching how great OEM and Yuasa batteries are. I'll go back to surfing....

[MrFryMoto]

Here is a little something I've written in that past.....

=====================================================

I'll waste my breath, as I seem to do on every forum when the topic of batteries come up.....

From 1987-1993 I worked to Yuasa-Exide Battery in Sumter, SC as a production operator in several departments and then as an Engineering Technician the last two years I was there. We manufactured batteries with the brands of "Yuasa" and "Exide" but also *lesser quality* brands as Challenger. The thing is, all of these batteries came from the exact same batch of batteries. They went through every aspect of the manufacturing process, side-by-side, until the "Formation Room". In this department, the cells were filled with acid, charged, and then put through at least one discharge test that determined their quality.

The discharge test was a quick draw-down of the cells, and every few minutes, the operator would go through the circuit with a hand-held multimeter and check the voltage across each battery. Depending on the battery's voltage at a given time, it would be deemed as good enough quality for Brand A, Brand B, Brand C, Brand D, or as scrap.

Now, most circuits of batteries that were being charged consisted of 18-96 batteries. The operator started at one end and worked their way through each cell, calling out the voltages, as another operator wrote down the numbers. The draw-dawn tests were a short period of time, such as fifteen minutes, so if the operator started on one end of a 96-battery circuit, by the time he reached the 96th battery, it would naturally be much lower than the voltage of the first battery he read. Now, take into account illegible hand-writing and water smearing the ink on the paper (there are shower heads constantly spraying water on the batteries to keep them cool), and you have a lot of good batteries being started as bad, when in fact they may have been better quality than the better branded ones. After the ranking of these batteries from the draw-down tests, they were separated after being recharged and sent to shipping where they were cleaned, had labels slapped on them, and boxed for shipping.

So, I tend to buy the cheapest battery I can find and often buy off-brand batteries from places such as www.ebatteriestogo.com . I've owned and seen a LOT of crap Yuasa, Exide, and Interstate batteries that couldn't hold a candle to most of the cheaper batteries I've owned. If not anything else, for the going price of an OEM Yuasa battery, I can easily buy 2-3 cheaper brands that will far outlast the life of that one Yuasa battery.

Ok, continue preaching how great OEM and Yuasa batteries are. I'll go back to surfing....

That's what i'm looking to hear!
i have the parts unlimited one on order (or at least i think i do, waiting to hear back).

Danke