I tried starting my motorcycle about a week ago... and it wouldn't start, so i charged up the battery cuz it was dead.. after that it started with no problems.... but then i tired starting it yesterday and it wouldn't start... so my guess is that its not holding the charge anymore. its about a year and a half...so its time to get a new one anyways... so i was wonding whats a good battery to get?

 

I just went to the local honda shop and got one. But it was expensive as **** for me to buy. They probably just jipped me though.

Daniel Thompson

 

Doesn't really matter what brand you buy. Its how you maintain it. Cheap is cheap. If you take proper care of it, your battery can last for several years. The trick is to keep it fully charged. Even when its cold outside. Buy what ever bat you want but if you dont already have one, let me urge you to get a battery charger with the "good ol' trickle charge". Keeping you battery charging slowly all the time is no different from you riding 24/7. The battery will stay in the 95% to 99.9% charge area. If you dont have a charger and the temp outside your house gets down below 55 degrees, your battery will start to lose charge at a higher then normal rate (when your not riding). The "Battery Tender" is a good product. Otherwise make sure you pull your bat out of your bike and keep it up on a shelf in your house when you know you wont be riding for extended periods of time.

 

next time, disconnect the battery if you don't plan on riding...the trick is to keep riding. mine battery is like 3.5 years old...and i ride year round so she's still good.

 

Motorcycle batteries are notorious for loosing their ability to hold a charge much faster than an automobile battery.

As already indicated the best way to maintain your battery's health is to keep it charged. That means you have to ride on a fairly regular schedule enough miles to keep your battery topped off or you have to buy a maintenance charger.

People who keep their batteries charged have batteries that last for years and years. The rest of us learn the hard way and buy a battery tender.

And I agree: Buying a battery from the local honda dealer is an expensive proposition. I was desperate and wanted to get going so I sucked it up and took one for the team but "next time" I'm going to try to anticipate and do a little on-line research.

 

My battery has lasted for 6 years. I keep a Battery Tender on it through the winter and off and on in the summer. A cheaper replacement for the high dollar F4i/929/954 battery is go with a 99-00 F4 battery. It is a little taller, but I just cut the flap off the top of the battery box and it fits like normal. It has lasted alot longer than I thought it would even with the constant trickle charge.

 

* Thread resurrection

Same thing on my battery. I don't know the exact age of my current battery (3rd owner of the bike). Like an idiot, I went out of town for a month for Xmas break and forgot to disconnect my battery. So came back, tried starting it, and of course it wouldn't start. Charged it up free at AutoZone since I don't have a charger, it worked like a champ for a few days.

Now, today I stopped to refuel, tried to start, and it was dead again. All the dash lights come on, but too weak to get ignition. Luckily I was close to home so had a few buddies help push her home. Tried the running start...but I guess we weren't going fast enough?

So does this mean my battery's too weak to hold charge, or did AutoZone just suck at charging my battery? It's the quality YUASA japan battery. Again, I don't know how old the battery itself is.

Should I try charging it again? Get a battery tender? New battery? (I may go to cheap eBay route)
Thoughts???

 

Mine did the same thing this past summer.......my bike is a '01 though and was the original battery. I didn't ride it for like a month and then the battery was dead.

Charged it up and worked great when riding. Let a week or 2 go by though & it was dead again. Replaced it with a new battery & everything was perfect!

Thank god I never got stranded though.

I was in too big of a hurry to wait and order one from online....so I ended up just getting a Interstate (sealed) battery from a local powersports store. I think it was like $100 or something. The dealer wanted $160 or some crap!! Our battery is sort of rare though and not a lot of people stock it....something to think about....so call ahead to local shops first before you head out or buy online.

Just maintain it (battery tender) and it'll last a long time for you!