I found this and thought I'd post it up to answer the endless question about battery life.


A major reason for early failure problems which have been experienced with sealed motorcycle batteries in recent years by some well-known global powersports vehicle companies is the fact that many dealers do not give the "new" battery the correct and absolutely vital very first "activation" charge. Instead (to save time, or because they lack the appropriate special charger), they are often tempted to just fill the battery with the acid pack provided, fix the sealing strip, and install the battery on the vehicle, whose charging system then irreparably damages the insufficiently prepared battery by delivering well over 20 Amps from the on-board charging system.

To avoid the disappointment, expense & hassle of premature battery failure (not to mention creating more lumps of useless toxic lead), it is essential that new batteries of this type are properly charged using a special charger able to charge the battery up to as high as 16.9V for some models before exposing the battery to the vehicle charging system, otherwise the battery life may be reduced to as little as 12 to 18 months. Even if the battery was factory-filled and sealed, it is nevertheless important for the avoidance of early failure that the selling dealer gives the battery a thorough recharge before installing it on the vehicle. This is because it is quite usual for a considerable period of time to have elapsed between the factory filling and the installation of the battery on a vehicle, during all of which time the battery will have self-discharged, especially if exposed to warm temperatures during shipping or warehousing.

Most motorcyclists and even many dealers are unaware of the importance of correct activation charge procedures for MF batteries, and unfortunately battery companies have generally not been active in communicating the importance of this, possibly because to sell batteries into the replacement market does require batteries to fail!

So the important message is this: Once an MF battery has been installed on a vehicle without receiving the correct activation charge beforehand, it will never achieve more than about 80% of it's rated power, therefore will always struggle a bit to do its job, and this results in early failure.

TecMate recommends using the BatteryMate150-9 or the Optimate Pro4-S to commission new batteries. Both of these professional grade battery chargers have a selectable MF battery charging program specifically designed to provide the correct commissioning (activation) charge to MF batteries. For more information and pricing on these chargers check out the TecMate page on the Motion Pro web site (www.MotionPro.com). Motion Pro is the exclusive USA importer of these chargers and they are available from K&L Supply (1-408-727-6767), Professional Tools Direct (1-800-GETPTD1) and through the tool programs of select OEM's in the power sports industry.

Work Cited:

Martin Human, TecMate North America

 

Dead right I couldn't agree more

 

I got a lecture off the guy who sold me a new Yuasa, and then again in writting as part of the warrantee, right down to acceptable rates of charging.

 

wow i did not know that, thanks.

 

+1, awesome

 

So, how do we know that our "new" batteries are getting this without buying this charger? Crapshoot?

 

Even if true- that whole article is to promote ONE companies line of specific CHARGERS.
So it's a little one sided and they're not going to tell the whole story from a marketing standpoint.
They're attempting to sell more of their product.

My big question: Where does the Deltran: Bettery Tender Plus stand in this discussion- since it's arguably the best selling/most widely used motorcycle battery charger out there.
If the article were to be really helpful and informative they would've at least thrown some numbers out for the do-it-yourselfer to test a battery etc etc.

Instead of just saying "buy our product".

 

my bike's battery has lasted over 40K miles and for 5 years now...used to be daily ridden for the first 3 years...
since my son has been born (months) i've ridden her only 6 times...each time the bike fired right up. yes the battery is now slowly discharging...but she's had a great life! i have a heavy duty charger. when i hooked the sucker up, battery was still high in the green zone. never charged, etc...lucky me i guess!

 

Even still with today's technology the average battery life is still only 3 years!! Another easy way to make sure your battery and bike are prepped correctly is to buy a bike and come back the next day to take delivery. All to often an impatient customer will push the sales man and PDI department to have their bike done immediately. We are all human if you rush someone things get missed, let them do their job, if they still screw it up shame on them.

 

That's good info!