Carbon_One Posted April 21, 2007 Share #1 Posted April 21, 2007 What's the average battery life on these bikes? My 05 Midnight's battery has already given up the ghost. Only has 16K on the odometer too. Anyone know if the warranty covers them? I've already bought and installed another one due to the fact we're having our first group ride tomorrow, plus the fact that we're having low-mid 70* temps and lots of sunshine both weekend days. No way was I going to be sitting home. I've got a 01 Suzuki Volusia that still has original battery in it with 20 k on the clock. Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derwood Posted April 21, 2007 Share #2 Posted April 21, 2007 Two, maybe three seasons, the mileage is pretty much irrelevent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dray Posted April 21, 2007 Share #3 Posted April 21, 2007 What's the average battery life on these bikes? My 05 Midnight's battery has already given up the ghost. Only has 16K on the odometer too. Anyone know if the warranty covers them? I've already bought and installed another one due to the fact we're having our first group ride tomorrow, plus the fact that we're having low-mid 70* temps and lots of sunshine both weekend days. No way was I going to be sitting home. I've got a 01 Suzuki Volusia that still has original battery in it with 20 k on the clock. Larry Larry i think the battery in yous is the same as mine they only give one year on the battery but it cant hurt to ask i was at the bike shop today talkin with the wrench and he said his went this spring and he went to the batter shop in town its all most half price for the same battery they sell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted April 21, 2007 Share #4 Posted April 21, 2007 Also I might add, low voltage on a battery is the number one cause of starter failure... give your starter a fighting chance for a long life - keep a good battery onboarc! 'Puc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squidley Posted April 21, 2007 Share #5 Posted April 21, 2007 Larry, The batteries in any Venture works very hard as the damn charging systems aren't worth a crap. I think thats the biggest problem with it and we have a lot of other electrical goodies on our bikes. I change mine out about every 2 years and get a quality battery. I believe Don has an Oddessy in his '99 and it's 4 years old, might want to think of getting one in the future. ...BTW have fun on the bike and put on some miles for me, I still have no charging system Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary N. Posted April 21, 2007 Share #6 Posted April 21, 2007 , I still have no charging system Brad, Couldn't we hook a SB Chevy alternator to the drive shaft?? We have the technology...LOL Sorry Larry, I couldn't help it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted April 21, 2007 Share #7 Posted April 21, 2007 Yep the Oddessy is the way to go. I love it and the winter does not effect it. no freezing anymore! Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SofaPilot Posted April 21, 2007 Share #8 Posted April 21, 2007 BTW have fun on the bike and put on some miles for me, I still have no charging system Cmon Brad go with the guys.... you can drive your cage. we won't call you Russell Jr. I promise:whistling: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROG MAN Posted April 21, 2007 Share #9 Posted April 21, 2007 3 years avg and 5 if your lucky. Changing every 2-3 years with a new one is probably the best idea. I got 3 scoots. The 84 got a new one in 05,86 Vmax in 06,and the 89 in 07. I buy one a year for a scoot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bisquit Posted April 23, 2007 Share #10 Posted April 23, 2007 If the charging system is that bad you may wanna consider hooking up a trickle charger/battery tender to keep the battery charged between rides. Especially if you dont get to ride real often. If you only get to go a few miles at a time then the charging system wont have time to recharge the battery fully. Just something to think about.......Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tartan Terror Posted April 23, 2007 Share #11 Posted April 23, 2007 I agree with using the Odyessy battery. I researched and bought one myself. It is a deep cycle battery also so if it runs down it is much better set up to recover with a charge. A few here use them and I do think Don has about 4 years on his so far. Unless its under warranty and you will get a free one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest eric the red Posted April 23, 2007 Share #12 Posted April 23, 2007 exactly on the trickle charge. I have a battery tender... simple to use. the cables stay on the battery terminals all the time and the cable comes out the left side of bike below the side cover. you have a quick disconnect cable that plugs in directly. I have the origional battery in since 99. You can pick up a battery tender for as little as 20 bucks i believe and it also comes with another clamp on style cable for charging a different battery besides the one you have hard wired. A great investment paticularly for us northern guys.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailor Posted April 23, 2007 Share #13 Posted April 23, 2007 Come winter I take the battery out and store it in the house so the cold doesn't get to it. Usualy I get 3 years out of a battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Ice Posted April 24, 2007 Share #14 Posted April 24, 2007 Lots of folks think that you have to take batteries in during the winter time but that is one of those myths. The important thing is to have the battery well charged up and of course the battery has to be healthy to begin with. But the cold won't shorten the life. When I lived near North Bay, Ont we always kept our boat and trailer batteries in the cold. So did the local marina. It could be minus 40 and they didn't freeze if they were properly charged up to begin with. I used to believe the same thing. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTirelli Posted April 24, 2007 Share #15 Posted April 24, 2007 I replaced mine after 2 seasons too Larry, now I have a Battery Tender,we'll see if it lasts any longer. If this one goes, I'll definitely look into the Odyssey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carbon_One Posted April 24, 2007 Author Share #16 Posted April 24, 2007 Well it certainly does look like these batteries have a varied life. Sorta like us I guess. LOL One thing that really threw me for a loop was how fast this one died. It made it all the way thru our winter here and even worked well right up until last Friday when it gave out. I put a battery tender on it off and on thru out the winter months here plus my garage gets heated most days so it never really ever got too cold. My first thoughts were that I was getting a battery drain somewhere but everything checked out good when doing some voltage drop tests. Once I got the battery full charged and did a load test on it it really showed then how bad it was. No capacity at all. Well since I already bought a replacement I'll stick with this until it acts up. Then I'll probably get an Oddessy as I've heard nothing but good about them. At least now I know I'm not the only one who's had to replace it after only a short time. Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Condor Posted April 24, 2007 Share #17 Posted April 24, 2007 The biggest cause of a battery going dead before it's time is letting it discharge over a long period of time. A battery life is rated for just so many charge cycles... Most wet cell batts usually are built to discharge 50% at somewhere around 200-300 cycles. Anything greater than 50% discharge, and the battery will die even quicker. In other words if you only discharge a battery 5%, and then bring it back to full charge, you will get 2000-3000 cycles before it gets worn out. If you discharge a battery 50% before recharging you'll only get 200-300 cycles before needing to replace it. Even when a battery sits for a long period of time it will loose charge. If I remember correctly it's around 10% a month. 5 months and it's down to the 50% discharge, and you've lost 1 full cycle rating. Let it drop more than 50% and the useable cycles drop like a rock. The best thing you can ever do to keep a battery happy is keep it fully charged when not in use. Use a smart charger and trickle charge it when it sits...even for a month. That said the Odyssey with it's dry cell technology takes ratings to a new level..... my 2¢ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skid Posted April 24, 2007 Share #18 Posted April 24, 2007 I've used Interstate Batteries for several years in all my vehicles, and in the scoot. I got about 5 or 6 years on my last one and have about 2 years on this one without any problems. Interstate Battery also has a exact replacement with new probe that will plug up to the existing wiring.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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