[Krusty]

Hi Folks
Can someone advise me how often I should replace my battery?............regardless of what I "think" about it's condition, is there a "smart" replacement schedule for one. BTW, I am into my third summer coming up now and the battery has been inside through winter months on a regular monthly slow charge and topped up regularly with distilled water.
Thanks
krusty

 

[rickbb]

Sounds like your doing everything right battery wise, but those stock lead acid types only last 3 to 5 years, max. in my experence.

There are some folks that have gotten more life from them, but not much more.

There really isn't a hard and fast rule on battery life or replacement schedule. You may get 5 years out of this one, and only 2 on the next.

I switched to a sealed maintance free AGM, (absorbed glass matt) type, have been told that and a battery tender to keep the charge topped off and I should never have to replace it.

So far so good, 3rd year and it's just like a new one, but we all know how that goes.

 

[tubes_rock]

I've replaced the battery in my Nighthawk once, and a few of my friends end up replacing theirs every few years. We've never been stranded by a dead battery (as long as the engine is maintained and started well) and when the bike starts to crank slowly, or the lights seem a little dimmer than usual (instrument lights) then it's about time to replace it. 5 years is the most we've ever gotten out of a standard battery. Some auto shops can load test it for you, but you have to take it out of the bike to do that.

--Justin

 

[93 Black Shadow]

Take it to the local battery shop and have it load tested. If bad, replace it. If not bad, ride with it. They will flunk a load test about six months before they go belly up and leave you.

 

[CBOLLING]

I just replaced the original battery in my 01' ACE 750 last week. So I got a good six years out of it. I probably would have gotten more time out of it if I had not left the key in it for about 5 hours the other day.

 

[Raphy]

My 2000 ACE still has the original YUASA battery... it's been on the battery tender and been doing just fine.... THis will be the 7th year ... wish me luck...

 

[droy]

i have a YUASA orig AGM that i just took out of my 2001 Spirit.
it still worked just fine. but, was getting so i didnt trust it any more
so i replaced it last summer.

still have the old one as a spare....... still holds a 100% charge no problem
and its 6 years old.

 

[PainterD]

My original battery lasted 7 years and could've gone longer. I replaced it before we headed down to Colorado just to be safe. I figure they're cheap enough to replace every 5 years or so. Your best bet is to keep it on a float charger when not riding and you'll keep it fresh for a long time.

 

[shroomhead]

I still have the original Yuasa in my 01. Like some other folks, I did replace it at about the 4 year point, thinking it'd be good preventative maintenance. I replaced it with a Koyo from some online vendor. 8 months later the "new" Koyo went bad, so I put the original Yuasa back in, and it's still going strong. When it does need replacing, it will be with another Yuasa. Cheap batteries aren't worth it. (YMMV)