Battery - Too good to be true?

[Boneman]

Ok, I've heard a lot of different stories about battery life cycles. Some last 6 months, others have to replace them once every spring, some trickle charge when in storage to make them last longer and others have ones that die after a few weeks. There seems to be no rhyme or reason for MC battery life from what I can see.

So I just wanted to share my strange observations with the continuing life of my FZ6 battery.

I purchased my 05 FZ6 new in November of 2004. It sat for 4 months before I was able to ride and insure it. Started and ran just fine. Since then I've had it on the road for the past 3 years with no problems starting or running. When it got really cold out it did struggle a bit when starting, but never failed. For the first time since buying it, I've had it off the road for a few months this winter (I usually ride all year). I didn't trickle charge the battery nor stablize the fuel left in the tank. I thought for sure that the battery would be dead. Nope. It fired right up and has been running just fine this past month.

So I'm still on my original, factory battery and it's still going strong after 3.5 years!?!?! Yet my friends and others on here have been through several batteries, some going through one a year?

I don't get it????

 

[trampld]

I think that a lot of it boils down to luck of the draw when it comes to batteries. I still have the factory battery in my 05 with 7000+ miles. Living in Michigan it does spend a fair amount of time in the garage in the winter...(it has only been out once or twice since early December *sniff, sniff*)...and when it is put away for extended periods I leave it hooked up to a small solar panel trickle charger that I got a few years ago with a VW that I owned (they use them when they ship them over seas). I hard wired a connector in that runs to - at the battery and + at a fuse that is powered at all times. The connector pig tail comes out near the ignition switch for easy access. Before using the solar panel - I left it sit for about 3-4 weeks and it did not want to start (very slow crank condition).

 

[reiobard]

i had the original battery in my old bike when i traded it in, it was an 04 with 32000 miles on it and I never had a charger on the battery, and it never failed...

 

[dako81]

I bought my '07 new a year ago. Rode about 4k miles over the summer, sat since about the beginning of October. Started it once over the winter. Started it last week, started exactly as it did when it was brand new. Well, I lied, it's louder now since I have the scorpions on . Hope I don't have any issues.

 

[Whitey Dodge]

04 FZ6 bough in March of 04. Still have the OEM battery that has never been on a charger. It sits for a couple of months at a time as I ride the other bike. It always cranks, without any hesitation.

 

[madmanmaigret]

Boneman, it is the FZ6 god's way of thanking you for all of you contributions to our "cult"

 

[HavBlue]

04 FZ6 bough in March of 04. Still have the OEM battery that has never been on a charger. It sits for a couple of months at a time as I ride the other bike. It always cranks, without any hesitation.

Picked mine up in July of 2004 and it has never even winked at not starting or starting slow. The Harley, which I purchased 26 days before the FZ6 had it's original battery replaced in January of 2008. In either case 3 years or more on a bike battery is awesome.

 

[driver145]

At my 600 mile service they "tested" the battery and wrote it was 75%, but I have no idea what that means or how they tested it. Anyone care to enlighten me?

 

[HavBlue]

At my 600 mile service they "tested" the battery and wrote it was 75%, but I have no idea what that means or how they tested it. Anyone care to enlighten me?

They may have done a timed load test which involved inputting a predetermined load to determine how far down the voltage scale they battery went over that time. This data can be scaled in the form of a percentage relative to normal or in this case 100%.

 

[jamesfz6]

I had a bad experience with the battery out of my bike. I got 23 miles from the dealer and i stopped to get a bottled water at a gas station. When i went to start it all i heard was a click. The computer and the blinkers worked but not the starter, which kind of made me worried.

After 15 minutes of talking with the dealer they went a truck and trailer out to get me. We got back to the dealer just to find out i had a bad battery. The technician said 1 out of 200 batteries they get seem to just fail after a day or two. Lucky for me it happened when i was close enough for them to come and get me. Since the dealer i bought from is 2 hours from my house.

 

[DanG]

I'm convinced that ambient temperature has something to do with it. If you keep your bike in a warm garage, the battery lasts a long-time. That and anti-theft devices...

 

[wolfc70]

I have had batteries last up to 7 years, that was an Interstate on my CX500. The norm seems to be 3-5 years. Here in WI, moving the batteries to the basement seems to keep them alive longer. You get what you pay for. The $30 Fleet Farm battery lasted only 3 years, vs 7 for the $70 Interstate.

I also have a Optimate III charger/tender, and love it. The desufating cycle seems to bring them back from the dead, provided the battery is not as flat as a board. If it is a peice of non conductive wood, there is little hope.

 

[pedwards89]

My neighbour recently had an electrical problem with his 1997 ZZR600 (turned out to be a faulty clutch micro-switch). But, while trouble-shooting we checked the battery; It was the original factory fitted battery 11 years old still working fine.