Motorcycle Batteries

All lead acid batteries Flooded/AGM/GEL, ideally want to be truly fully charged held up at high states of charge, and never overdischarged and not exposed to hot temperatures. A long slow parasitic drain to low states of charge, followed by an incomplete recharge, will quickly degrade any battery, no matter its price point.

If you can find a cheapo AGM battery which fits and has acceptable terminals to easily attach to your bike, get yourself some sort of charging source which can bring it upto 14.5 to 14.9v, until amps taper to very low levels or start rising, then disconnect the parasitic loads if the bike is to sit, recharge monthly, at a minimum, and you can likely get good to excellent service from it.
@wrcsixeight thanks for the advise. My bike sits around too much, as I only ride on weekends and usually short rides. Looks like UPG has the Kinetik branded APTZ14S which is a match to the YTZ14S. Will look into it a bit more.
 
I installed a Duracell AGM from batteries plus in my Superglide back in the fall. I keep it on a maintainer but will see how it holds up. Their 2 year free replacement warranty drew me in but like all battery warranties I’ll probably have to fight them tooth and nail if it fails during the warranty period.
 
My problem with on line battery sellers is they will ship a “suitable replacement“ often...without notice I have received an “add acid” battery, different brand, instead of the sealed AGM offered and ordered.
TWICE!
Be careful and be specific when you order.
 
My problem with on line battery sellers is they will ship a “suitable replacement“ often...without notice I have received an “add acid” battery, different brand, instead of the sealed AGM offered and ordered.
TWICE!
Be careful and be specific when you order.
Bait-n-switch... Agree. "Mighty Max" is now sold online by Home Depot and Lowes (ship-to-store) so I would prefer that. Not such luck with Kinetik, which so far I have only found in eBay/Amazon from the same location at Edison, NJ. Will see.
 
I should have opened the links in post #1.


This is almost the same exact size as the Ub12120, but of course with protected and burlier terminals.


I was not aware of these inexpensive AGM batteries marketed for motorcycle starting, opposed to the UB/UPG batteries designed for scooters and UPS, and quasi deep cycle usage.

My Ub12180 and UB 12220 arrived with 12.81 and 12.82v.

This could be a sign of age upon receipt, due to self discharge, or perhaps these have lower density electrolyte than the motorcycle batteries which seem to arrive at 12.9v or better.

The Mighty Max Battery YTZ12S at 11 amp hours capacity, weighing 7.94 Lbs, and claiming 230CCA
is a far cry from my
Ub12180 battery...............................at 18 amp hours capacity, 11.1 lbs with no CCA claim, but I estimate to be 160 to 180.

I am considering getting a conductance battery tester, just as another data point and to help me observe batteries as they age rather than just watching, recording voltage held under X load for X amount of time, and seeing how much my charging source returns, in amp hours, before amps stop tapering at absorption voltage.

I've used my Ub12180 as a jumpstarter battery, several times, and it has always kicked over the jumpee engine quickly, but this motorcycle battery is smaller and lighter and is likely has higher CCA. Perhaps it is less tolerant of deep cycling, but as a jump starter battery that is quickly recharged to truly full........

Anyway, good to learn something new, thanks for this thread.

Those with older lead acid jumper packs with failed batteries nd the will to open them up and replace, rather than throw them away, are likely best off buying these rather than the UB/UPG equivalents, in terms of CCA/ jumpstarting duty, but perhaps not in terms of portable powerpack deep cycle duty.
 
Looking on Amazon, there are a whole bunch of different 'off brand' batteries. The last battery I bought was a true Yuasa brand, but it's about $150 today. That's more than the new huge battery I just bought for my Tacoma truck.

Anyone try one of these? "Mighty Max" brand. Reviews don't seem too bad, and the price is low.

https://www.amazon.com/YTZ14S-11-2Ah-230...keywords=ytz14s

You know, I was going to write a whole long piece on why you should go for the Yuasa, I use it exclusively on my Road King, but its 300% more powerful in AH and 100% in CCA then the battery type that you need and almost the same price. Geez ..

I looked at the specs of the battery you need and personally, I would go with Mighty Max or any other with the same specs. The Yuasa is out of line with its price, I suspect that is because the Yuasa model you have listed is imported from Japan.
But, no way would I, in your case get a Yuasa with the same rating as a Mighty Max (or any other number of them in that price range)
AS long as the specs match, go for it and in your case they do!
 
I can't speak for every battery they sell, but I've used the " Big Crank" AGM battery and I got 6 years out of it. I always use a battery tender when my bike is in the garage. For $104, I feel I got my money's worth. It has higher amps and CCA's then the stock factory version, which Harley sells for around $170. https://www.batterymart.com/c-big-crank-batteries.html. Shipped free to your house.,,
 
Got the Mighty Max YTZ12S today. Paid $33 plus tax with free shipping. Arrived in 3 days thru USPS. Voltage at arrival was 12.8. Hooked it up to the charger/maintainer and stayed charging for 2-3 hrs. Now charger is in float mode, voltage at 13.1. Looks good so far.
 
Got the Mighty Max YTZ12S today. Paid $33 plus tax with free shipping. Arrived in 3 days thru USPS. Voltage at arrival was 12.8. Hooked it up to the charger/maintainer and stayed charging for 2-3 hrs. Now charger is in float mode, voltage at 13.1. Looks good so far.
Where did you buy it from ?
 
fresher is best + batteries where you get the electrolyte solution to add yourself are always fresh + charge as recommended before use. there are ONLY a few places that MAKE batteries that get various brand names on them! since i got my C-Tek smart charger + keep the bike batteries topped up they last a LONG time. use same charger on car + truck as i am retired + drive less than ever especially in winter time. searching will show who makes what, BUT the internals may vary!!!! many auto parts suppliers store batteries + "activate" as needed BUT you cant buy the electrolyte activation fluid for your car-truck batteries, go figure! Mity Max gets a low rating from EZEVid if you can believe + shows no manufacturing location although their web-marketing- looks impressive. many OE batteries are good BUT $$$ + East Penn mfg near me in reading MAKES many of them + theres a Yuasa plant next door!!
 
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Bought it thru Amazon, but sold and shipped directly from Mighty Max (location shows Edison, NJ).
I bought the Mighty Max from Amazon back in my post #1. It's now getting weak after 4+ years, so might just go ahead and get another Mighty Max.
 
I bought the Mighty Max from Amazon back in my post #1. It's now getting weak after 4+ years, so might just go ahead and get another Mighty Max.
I don't see why not. I barely got 5 seasons from the original Yuasa and 4+ from a Might Max at that price point makes it a great deal.
 
I buy mine from Tristate Battery, their website could definitely be updated though as it always has issues with the browser I'm using. They carry the Motocross brand which is made by Yuasa in the same factory and everything. What I'll do is goto the Yuasa website to get the part number and then on the Tristate website I'll put it into their search.

You do have to add the acid which is included and then charge it up but it's a small price to pay, they also have free shipping on batteries. I just looked up the battery for my Ninja 650 which is the yt12a-bs and currently $65.95
 
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Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
Do they make a lithium battery as a substitute for your size?


Might Max doesn't, but this one is on Amazon for $99. I see it's smaller in size, which means I'd have to fill up the battery compartment with something to keep it from sliding around. A true YTZ14S sized battery fits perfectly.

https://www.amazon.com/Lithium-Motorcycl...lithium+battery
I used styrofoam in my 2 bikes that have a smaller than stock battery. Much lighter to which is nice.
 
I bought this battery on Amazon to replace the same brand 11 year old AGM battery in my Suzuki Boulevard C50 for $32.00 :

Genuine SigmasTek YTX12-BS / STX12-BS Sealed Maintenance Free ATV Quad Motorcycle Scooter Moped Replacement Battery.​

 
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