The comparisons that I saw on the Gel compared to the AGM is that the AGM provides a higher output for starting. Just put a AGM in my ACE this spring and replaced the original AGM in my 99 Miata this fall.

 

Depending on your maintenance practices and the brand, yes, I like the gels.

Are they worth the extra money? I don't know, because I'm pretty meticulous about maintaining my motorcycle and cars.

 

Depending on your maintenance practices and the brand, yes, I like the gels.

Are they worth the extra money? I don't know, because I'm pretty meticulous about maintaining my motorcycle and cars.

+1 on that I am very picky on maintenance also

 

well every vt1100 i have seen in ausrtalia all have the tell tale '' acid stain'' on the frame from the overflow tube leaking , mine included . the tube either falls off when it gets old or mud wasps and hornets build nets in the nice little hole they found ! the pressure from the gasses in the battery blow the tube off and the acid dribbles on the frome .. i went gel and no more leaks , how every , dont leave your ingition on for long after you stop ! the gels here are a bit smaller than the old T battery the ace takes and to fit a 14bs was giung to mean chopping the battery box or getting a sabre box ..

 

I am also meticulous on the maintenance. I don't mind spending the money if the product is worth it. Just wanted to make sure they perform and last as long as a standard battery. The battery I have now is the original (2007) and was getting weak. I figured I would replace it.

 

Your 2007 had an AGM battery in it when new.

A Gel Cell battery is a poor choice for a motorcycle because of the heat and charging rate. If a Gel Cell is recharged too fast, especially when the battery is hot, bubbles will form in the gel and permanently reduce the capacity of the battery. Gel Cell batteries are more commonly used in wheel chairs and lighting for sail boats, or other applications where the batteries can be recharged slowly.

The “acid stain” is caused by vented “flooded cell” batteries.

 

Is AGM a brand name? Is it better than a Yuasa battery? Someone had told me that they are one of the best brands out there for a motorcycle.

I asked this question because I know little about batteries and types of batteries.

 

Gel cell

I think that people are confusing a gel cell and a AGM battery, they are two different types of batteries. A gel cell as pointed out, is not a good choice for a motorcycle. The common battery is bikes today is a AGM( Absorbed glass mat) is good choice all around and does not produce battery fumes and will not harm a bikes paint job.

 

dumb question time, but..........
how do u k now when your battery is running low? apart from the bike not starting?
My 2002 still has the original in it (I think) as it o nly had 6000km's on it when I got it.

 

My battery is getting weak because If I let the bike sit for a week or two, then try starting it, its hard to turn over especially in the cold. I assumed the factory battery is at the end of its life. If I ride daily and the weather warmed up, then the bike had no problem starting. I also figured better to be safe than sorry and be stranded somewhere looking for a jump.

 

I replaced the T-shaped Lead Acid battery in my bike when I bought it with an AGM battery that would fit in the box but was not T shaped. When the bike is cold, I sometimes have a little trouble getting the bike to start before the battery is too weak to turn it over. However, I have 110W of extra lights on my bike that come on with the key, it has been very cold here lately, and my bike only gets started about once every 10 days so I am waiting to see things get better when the weather warms up and I can ride every day.

For now, I have installed a float-charge wire/plug that I can get to with the battery cover ON - I am hoping that helps in this cold weather.

Update - this morning, the bike started right up. The wire I installed for the float charger works perfectly!

 

Where is the best place to buy a battery? Any recommended internet sites?

 

concidering the weight of the battery and the fact thats theres a dangerous corrosive involved .. you might be better off shopping localy ?

 

If the battery is turning the motor over, but still not starting, you may need a new battery. Just went thru this with my Valkyrie now that the weather has turned cold. She would start fine when the temps were in the 50's, but now in the mid teens and no go on the battery. Try taking the battery inside and throwing it on your battery tender overnight and see if it will hold a charge.

 

It's time to replace the battery when it will no longer hold a full charge, or the time it will hold the charge drops off to a short time.

A fully charged healthy battery should start the bike even after sitting for a couple of weeks.

Cold weather could be makeing the oil much thicker and making it hard to start. Might not be the battery at all, although a new, fully charged battery will help in that case. An older one might hurt it a bit.

If your not going to ride it at least every 2 weeks or so, put it on a battery tender/maintance type of charger and leave it. Not a regular car "quick" type of charger.

 

Normal battery energy loss of 2% per day can be expected from either lead-acid or AGM batteries, this is natural. So if your bike sits for 2-weeks, your battery will only be at about 85% when you need it.

Use a smart charger / float charger / battery tender - this is why they were invented.

 

battery

I think that 2% drop a day is way over what it actually is. More like about .1-.2% loss.

 

Found this on the web at a site about battery storage.

Myth: A battery will not lose its charge sitting in storage.

Depending on the type of battery and temperature, batteries have a natural self-discharge or internal electrochemical “leakage” at a 1% to 25% rate per month. Over time the battery will become sulfated and fully discharged. Higher temperatures accelerate this process. A battery stored at 95° F will self-discharge twice as fast as one stored at 75° F.

Using this information, maybe my numbers were a little high, but basically we are both partially correct. Natural self-discharge could be from .03% per day or as much as 1% per day, depending on the temperature and storage environment. In order to get .1%-.2% discharge your battery would have to be stored at pretty low temperatures (close to freezing or below). The trouble is that sulfation of the battery plates starts happening as soon as the battery is less that 100% charged, so without a float charger you should only expect a limited use battery (like those in a recreational vehicle) to last two or three seasons at best.

Most sites I have visited claim that keeping a battery at 98% charge or better all the time is idea. Which would mean that in warm climates, you would need to either ride your bike every-other day or get a float charger.

That is if you want your battery to last more than 2 seasons.:-D

 

I've got about a year on my Wally World AGM batt., starts like a champ, and it was cheap.

 

Ya, those are pretty nice for the price and convenient to go pick up at your local store. However, if you want one to replace the T-shaped battery from Wally's then make sure you find your own cross reference numbers before you hit the store because they do not list a replacement for those.

Which means nobody there will be able to help you either.

 

Hi all, new to the board and to motorcycles too (I'm told it's my mid-life crisis). I have a 2009 Honda Shadow Spirit (no pic's yet, have to read old posts on how to do the photo bucket thing first).

Back to topic---

The latest issue of "Motorcycle Cruiser" magazine has a pretty good article on Batteries for those interested. It discusses all three types mentioned here as well as how to compair different brands.

 

Welcome to the forum - we love pics.

You will find posts on including your pics - keep looking.