What is a good price for a battery?

I had $30 YTZ12S that lasted 12 years (no accessories) but upgraded to $40 14S last year and engine really starts well. Be sure to check the dimensions since there are several sizes.
Mighty Max YTZ14S Lowes.com

I have gotten a couple from these folks about $40.00 delivered to my front door. The last one lasted 4 years so I am happy with that price.

gdb069 said:

I had $50 YTZ12S that lasted 12 years (no accessories) but upgraded to $60 14S last year and engine really starts well. Be sure to check the dimensions since there are several sizes.

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12 years? Dang, I replace the battery when I buy a bike then every 2-3 years (Does that seem excessive)

The long lived, much abused one in my Shadow 750 ACE is a Yuasa AGM YTX 14-BS is 9 years old, so I think it's a good choice, although at a premium price these days it seems.
The battery has seen a couple of regulator/rectifiers in its life though.
It is ridden 8 months of the year at least a couple of times a week and is kept on a CTEK maintainer/charger in the 4 month off season.

In the past I always figured 2 years was the typical lead acid battery life span, so this has been quite a shock.

Prinzessin said:

12 years? Dang, I replace the battery when I buy a bike then every 2-3 years (Does that seem excessive)

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Do you have a bunch of LED bulbs on your bike? There was an interesting thread recently that pointed out that this may kill batteries, and was explained why

Prinzessin said:

12 years? Dang, I replace the battery when I buy a bike then every 2-3 years (Does that seem excessive)

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My 1995 VT1100C2 came with the infamous "T" Yuasa battery and they lasted 2-3 years. After four $200 batteries from Honda dealership, one year the dealership told me they did not have one so I went to a battery specialty shop and they suggested a Mighty Max that was half the price (but still $100). I had to modify battery holder slightly (by hand). That battery lasted a long time but not sure how many years. In 2010 I bought Mighty Max on-line for $50 and in 2022 it was still OK but I decided to get a newer one so 12 years.
My regimen regarding batteries has changed and not scientific but:
1. I have no accessories on the stock bike.
2. I take the battery out during stoarge (6-7 months) and charge with Ctek smartchager once a month. I used to leave batteries plugged into the charger but somehow that shortened their lives.

I bought the cheapest battery I could find off eBay - it was an AGM battery, under $30 shipped from CA - haven't had a bit of trouble with it over 4 years.

theblooms said:

Do you have a bunch of LED bulbs on your bike? There was an interesting thread recently that pointed out that this may kill batteries, and was explained why

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I dont, but I change the battery out of habit more than necessety (That and Ensures the maintenance doomsday clock is on my schedule)

I bought a $44.00 dollars battery at eBay for my st1300 which has a v4 engine.
I have been there for 2 years and it is in very good shape.
I keep a trickle charge on it every other week.

Yuasa is OEM and this unit is made in the US. I used a 2 amp. charger to do mine. PS: .75 milliamp float charger will not work.


Napa is another good unit. These two brands have been good to me. No loss of either 16 yrs./3 rides. The Napa had developed a leaky post. I sealed it with original non drying Permatex and used another year.

I like the maintance free batteries that you have to add the acid yourself. they have nearly unlimited shelf life. You activate it the day you start using it.
I'm a bit leary of ordering manufacture activated batteries that may have been on the shelf for years.
Are there any self activating batteries that the user doesn't have to mess with the acid? Similar to 2K paint.

I'm a thinkin' any battery shipped to the consumer has to be dry thus adding your own acid.

Well it seems I got hosed when I bought my battery last year! I got one from BatteriesPlus for like $120

ckahleer said:

...I'm a bit leary of ordering manufacture activated batteries that may have been on the shelf for years...

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I wondered about shelf life . The two battery specialty shops here, both told me they prepped the batteries just before pickup so needed a few hours. They don't want the battery to be losing charge and unhappy customers.

h13man said:

I'm a thinkin' any battery shipped to the consumer has to be dry thus adding your own acid.

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My battery was shipped by Amazon Canada and speaking with Mighty Max they prep the battery just prior to shipping. These are AGM and sealed. I did not need to (and could not) add anything.

What do they mean by "prepping the battery"? Does it mean they give it a top-up charge, or does it mean they fill a dry battery with acid?

ckahleer said:

What do they mean by "prepping the battery"?

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Dry AGM battery. Pack of 6 electrolyte containers. 20 minutes for electrolytes to fill battery. Seal strip caps. Let it stand 1 hour. Charge at 12.8+ for 1 hour.

The battery I suggested seems to be a consumer prepped sealed lead acid battery not AGM. Also after further "deep" reading it can be made in Taiwan or Indonesia. This variant has been good to me but I'd say a cheap AGM, you get what you pay for but to everything there are exceptions. We're all market guinea pigs so to speak.

h13man said:

The battery I suggested seems to be a consumer prepped sealed lead acid battery not AGM.

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However the text does state that it is AGM so I would check with Yuasa because sometimes Amazon is not definitive.

• Totally sealed and spill-proof - all acid is absorbed in special plates and absorbed glass mat separators