Replacing the Battery
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Recently put an Antigravity lithium in my 1300S and yes they are expensive, but it has 450 CCA and the engine starting is night and day. My bike had the "hot start" issue where it would fire up fine when cold, but hiccup when warmed up. I plan to implement the wiring change, but have not done it yet. With the new battery the starting when warm is absolutely instant.
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I have the same antigravity battery as CKD1 in my k12R and will not go back to a wet battery. Do a battery search on this forum an d have a look at the various discussions
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I would be very careful with the up rated CCA battery with the oem wiring. If the wiring is too small for the standard wiring causing the hot start issues then putting more amps through it could cause the wiring to dangerously overheat
Yep Capt, the OEM cables look to be 10 gauge and the fusing amperage (melting point) is about 330 amps at most for 10g wire. I suspect the starting issue I was seeing is a combination of old battery and the OEM cables being "just" large enough to get the task done. I didn't get a chance to check voltage when cranking with the old battery, but I suspect I would have seen sub 10 volts.
We're in the thick of the grey NW Washington winter so plenty of time to upgrade the cables to match a fresh battery!
We're in the thick of the grey NW Washington winter so plenty of time to upgrade the cables to match a fresh battery!
I used this - big upgrade over stock - have one in my suzuki vx800 holds a charge for a year with no support (bike unused)
Motobatt MB51814
for my KTM 1290 I was aiming to play with one of their later ones but no one stocks them here (below is the k1300GT version) - but seeing the spec check how really pathetic the lithium ones are 5 amp/hr vs 22 amp/hr, so if you need to park with your lights on, hazards , side of the road tinkering etc. it could easily run out of go....
MPL51814-HP
Motobatt MB51814
| Type | Quadflex |
| Voltage | 12v |
| Capacity (10HR) | 22 ah |
| CCA (-18ยบ) | 220 |
| Weight | 14,88 lb/6,75 kg |
| Terminals | 4. M6X2.5 (MPT3/20) |
| Terminals Caps | 4 12x5.5 (MPC2) |
| Screws | 4 M6X7 (MPS2-2) |
| Allen Wrench | 1 4X4 (MPAK2) |
| Dimensions | L:7,2 W:3,15 H:6,69 (inches) L:186 W:82 H:171 (mm) |
for my KTM 1290 I was aiming to play with one of their later ones but no one stocks them here (below is the k1300GT version) - but seeing the spec check how really pathetic the lithium ones are 5 amp/hr vs 22 amp/hr, so if you need to park with your lights on, hazards , side of the road tinkering etc. it could easily run out of go....
MPL51814-HP
| Type | Pro-Lithium-HP |
| Voltage | 12v |
| Capacity (10HR) | 5 ah |
| CCA (-18ยบ) | 370 |
| Weight | 2,53 lb/1,15 kg |
| Terminals | 4 |
| Terminals Caps | - |
| Screws | - |
| Allen Wrench | - |
| Dimensions | L:7,32 W:3,23 H:6,73 (inches) L:186 W:82 H:171 (mm) |
| Spacers | - |
| Units replaced | 2 |
| Replaces | 51814 51913 |
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708 Posts
Bit of an incorrect argument Botus. Gel batteries for example should only be run to 50% depth of discharge. Beyond that point, you risk negatively affecting their lifespan.Lithium batteries however can handle deep discharges of 80% or more. This essentially means they feature a higher usable capacity so while the a/hr is lower they can be discharged to a greater degree
The lithium has 50% more CCA too, which is what counts, plus the deep discharge capacity as the good Capt said
I was only getting 18 months to 2 years from these, leading to hot start problems, changed to Lithium much better
Maybe should've gone for a Motobatt AGM battery. This Exide has the same starting capacity as original (170 CCA). The Motobatt AGM battery has 22 Ah and 220 CCA as starting capacity for the K44. Got one in another bike of mine and in two years time it still works like a charm.
generic lithium for half the price XDI have an Odessey in my old 2007 GS1200... worked perfectly for 4 years then just stopped being happy.... I popped off the clip on lid, to find 6 rubber bungs on the cells and it was empty... each cell took 140ml of distilled water... (which is incredible for a baby battery) and it has been right as rain for a further three years.... refusing the need for a charge over this winter.... but the numbers and behaviour trying to charge seemed off track, I popped the lid off over chrimbo to find it bone dry again... this time I used a mix of acid and water and put at least 120ml in each cell... the oxford charger then took quite some time to charge but then comes back saying "strong". This somehow is a very accurate indication, as any wobbly battery that won't respond always says weak from the outset and never gets over life...The Unibat from Italy seems like good value, same price here as an Odessey PC680
I still have my original grey k1300gt battery - gel rubbish - the bike a well loved 2010 that had only ever done a pampered 14k miles when it gave up - inside it was a joke - fighting the moulded lid, the top of the cells were all uncovered and covered in bone dry chunks of dried out gel, more like a scattering of gravel than anything that could ever make the battery work...
Mate with a motobatt he gave up on, handed me that AGM, after a little bit of fun I cracked of the bonded lid to find 6 rubber bungs and a design much like the odessey and it too was totally empty... but this one isn't happy - I knew something was amiss as two cells were pulling a big vacuum before I got the tops off ?
the Idea of topping up an AGM is well established, my 17 year old merc 25kg one is better than BOTH its replacements after topping up
Theres an odyssey in mine. The previous owner said it was new when he sold me the bike, and I believe him. That was 5 years ago and it's been going strong ever since. Kept on a Optimate charger all the time.
I suspect it might start to die this year, and I'd be tempted by a lithium. 1kg of weight verses 7kg. That's a stone in old money perched beside the tank.
Still, it will be a while before it warms up enough to tempt me out on the bike.
I suspect it might start to die this year, and I'd be tempted by a lithium. 1kg of weight verses 7kg. That's a stone in old money perched beside the tank.
Still, it will be a while before it warms up enough to tempt me out on the bike.
I don't talk about batteries on boards. Every time I do, I wind up buying a new battery a couple of weeks later.
(Doh! Now I've done it. Will probably need new batteries in all three bikes now.)
(Doh! Now I've done it. Will probably need new batteries in all three bikes now.)
top it up - I bet its empty...
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