Who has an AGM battery? Recommendations welcome

Skip to the bold part if you dont want to read my background thoughts, haha.

Looking to replace the batt in my 83 750 max.

Alright, so towards the end of last season when it was getting cold, i would pretty much have to jump my bike constantly unless it had been running recently, and this year the three times ive ridden it i've had to jump it.

Water levels are in range, I havent thrown it on a charger again this year, but i think its just time for a new one. It is the one that came with the bike and theres no date on it, so who knows how old it is and what it's history is.

I really like the idea of a maintenance free battery, not that i'm lazy or anything, its just a misconvienence to always check the water levels and then pull it out and make sure each cell is filled to the correct level. Since i'm going to be dropping the monies on a new batt anyway, i may as well spend the money on one that i wont have to mess with.

Or do you think its the charging system? Would i just throw a dmm on the terminals and bring the rpms up above 2k to see what she's charging at?

I guess i just jumped to conclusions that its the battery because i have no idea of its history.

SO:

-How many of you guys run AGM batts and how happy have you been with them?

-How many of you guys run the "gel" batteries? still maintience free, but cheaper than AGM

-Pros/cons of running AGM vs. gel type? longevity?

- Any issues running a AGM batt? I know with the bikes with the atari it throws a warning light or something iirc, but on the 83 750 maxims theres no atari/voltage meter/etc.

-Any issues running an AGM batt in a 550 seca? voltmeter still read properly? I cant imagine why not but just asking to be sure.

Just because i'll need to be picking up a battery for the 550 too one of these days and perhaps i can get a discount if i buy two at the same time.

-If you have used/do use an AGM or some kind of maintinence free battery, how satisfied have you been with it?

-As well as what kind you have

-And how long you've had it/been using it.


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I want to invest in a trickle charger and then am going to wire in a an easy connect plug that i can leave tucked under the seat so i can throw it on the charger from time to time.

- How often would you suggest putting it on the trickle charger?

LASTLY - What is the stock size/rating/etc. etc. for the battery of an 81 550 seca, as it did not come with one being the basket case it was, haha


I know its a lot of questions, but thanks so much for taking the time!!

 

I've tried a lot of batteries and I haven't found one yet that beats Motobatt. Had one for a couple of years. I've also read a number of reviews and haven't found one yet that criticises them.

 

I have a agm battery and i could not be any happier . it cranks for ever no fumes no overflow tube . ready to go right out of the box and it seems like it has twice the power of a reg acid battery . worth the 90 dollars

 

Yes in deed motobatt AGM for sure

 

just got a motobatt for the fj, its a big battery , 82 bucks delivered from battries direct in sydney,, delivered to brisbane in less thaN 24 HOURS after payment, im not affiliated with them at all but this is my second batt from them and cant be faulted in my dealings with them so far,

 

Yours is a motobatt, correct? I vaguely remember a thread you had posted having not realizing there was a spacer on the bottom of it making it not fit into your bike.

 

Yes a yellow moto bat , and yes you too will have to remove spacer on bottom .. It comes with great customer service and 4 different ways you can hook it up . I can crank all day on that starter and the battery never skips a beat with no maint ... tuning the bike after carb rebuild and all it has never even hinted of needing a charge , or of slowing down .

 

Motobatt.

 

To answer your question of the charging system, if it was this at fault then the test you suggested wouldn't show up the fault since the bike's obviously charging OK (bike will start if it's been used recently).

If you keep coming to it and the battery has drained overnight, the test you need to do is for current drain. Leave the bike switched off, keys out, as you'd park it up normally and disconnect the battery negative lead, then set your meter to the amps setting (ideally start at the larger 10/20A setting and work down) and put the red lead to the battery negative (I know, counter intuitive) and the black lead to the negative lead.

You'll probably see nothing on the 10a setting but worth a check first, and then go down to the smaller (usually 250Ma fused) setting on the meter and see if you have any drain on the battery.

If you have a clock you may see a *tiny* couple of milliamps drain but otherwise there should be nothing. It's most likely the battery draining itself but worth testing just in case (another way you could test it is to charge the battery fully & leave it disconnected for at least a couple of days & only hook it up as soon as you want to start the bike)

 

Longevity is still to be seen. Pros are that it can be installed in any orientation, is totally sealed, never needs water, and is nearly impervious to vibration (which is what kills most conventional motorcycle batteries).

That's just due to not having the sensor in the battery - just have to run a shunt for that to trick it.

Voltmeters and/or ammeters don't care what kind of battery you have

Mine has been wonderful so far - this will be my 3rd year with it.
It's from a company called "XS Power" and the model number is "CBTX12AHL-BS"

One of the limitations of the AGM batteries is that they need to be fully charged properly from time to time to keep them working. Our charging systems in the bikes will keep them topped up, but will not charge them properly. To do that you need to use - not a trickle charger per se - but a charger that's been rated for AGM batteries. They're usually 3 stage chargers, and many are also 'float' chargers, so you can leave them connected for days/weeks/months and never hurt the battery.
I put mine on the charger pretty much all winter (Nov - Apr), and occasionally do a full charge mid-summer sometime. I also have the charging connector hard-wired into the bike for this purpose; but it also works as an available power socket too

 

I have an AGM in my 650 Maxim and my 1100 Maxim. I will be installing one in my 700 MaximX this summer. I bought mine from http://etx18l.com/ which is an extension of http://www.bohannonbattery.com/html/deka.html Their price includes shipping in the lower 48. I chose this one because of the favorable comments on this brand & it's made in the states.

to insert the one in the 650 you see listed in my signature I needed to remove the screws holding the battery box which allowed the box to move inward 1/4" or so and I removed the battery retaining strap which was not needed to restrain the battery. I did this because I chose a larger battery than the stock just because I wanted the greater CCA of a larger battery. That was 3 years ago and it was an excellent decision on my part.

I am selling the 650 and would transfer the battery to the MaximX except the terminals are reversed on the X and the cables won't reach properly.. To find the one for your 550 you'll need to have the dimensions and know which terminal is + and - so you know which one to order.

As to my personal experiences, I love these AGM batteries, they hold a charge wonderfully, I use a smart charger on them I bought from Auto-Zone I think it was and it has worked flawlessly for three years on many batteries but the AGM need much less topping off than any of the lead acid ones I have. In the first link above they have a "battery maintainer" which is like a battery tender and like the smart charger I have. I have a pigtail attached to each battery and just snug the charger onto the end of the pigtail. That connector end on the bike also provides me with an easy access to a mating plug with a cigarette lighter socket attached which lets me attach a GPS and a plug-in 90W DC to 120V converter which I sometimes need to charge my cell phone when away. But I digress.

No cons to the AGM that I have found & there is no chance of leakage of overflow acid doing damage & there is no maintenance involved regarding electrolyte level.

 

I bought a similar one from MikesXS for my XS650 but it is a CBTX14AHL-BS, same company. Very durable battery, no problem. It is a bit too big to fit the Maxim750 battery space.

 

here's what the inside of one looks like after they get dropped from a bucket truck and dry out.
notice the in service dates on some of them
round style agm

 

This winter I added an AGM (scorpion) and a Genius Tender. So my setup is like KA1J now.

I've not been able to ride (damn winter) but when working on the bike I got a lot more cranks and spark than from my regular (1 yr old) battery. I have high hopes that I'll really like this setup.

 

In Tennessee we have Decca Battery. They cary them for around $50. Great battery and you can run it in any position so it up your options on battery choices.

 

After buying 2 x Wet Type batteries and then eventually switching to a Motobatt AGM type I am NEVER going to buy another standard wet battery again, fullstop.

 

Thanks for all the insight guys - after being stranded at the store when I was supposed to be working, my boss hooked me up with a decent price on one of these:

http://www.batteriesplus.com/product_se ... --15L.aspx

Also wired in a battery tender plug to just chill under the seat, so when I'm at work I can just pop the seat off at work sometimes and plug it in to top it off, and then eventually going to buy one myself.

http://www.techbatterysolutions.com/Del ... 27_a_7cC01

Deff glad I went the AGM route, it cranks HARD, better than I ever heard with the old battery or even when I would jump it from my car batt.

 

I will NEVER go back to a wet cell type again! The AGM lasts better and no maintenance. win-win.

 

For sure, super impressed so far.