Posted on 12/01/2023 6:40:31 PM PST by martin_fierro
A great motorcycle battery provides your engine with the power needed to start your bike regardless of the weather conditions. It's the backbone of your bike’s performance. However, not all batteries are the same. You need the right battery that's built for your bike and provides the best performance. Our buying guide offers a rundown of some of the best motorcycle batteries on the market today.
Summary List
Best Overall: Yuasa High-Performance AGM Best Value: Mighty Max Best Premium: Shorai LFX Best Lead-Acid: Yuasa Yumicron
Our Methodology
The first thing to figure out before you order a new battery is why your old battery died. Inadequate maintenance, deep discharge, a malfunctioning charging system, the passage of time, wiring shorts, bad grounds, and nine times out of ten - loose or corroded battery terminals can kill a battery before its time. Start with the simple fixes and test the charging system before ordering a new battery.
8X SNIP X8
(Excerpt) Read more at thedrive.com ...
Other times, it could be a challenge.
Kickstart ironhead Sportsters can detect fear. Mine has both so if it cops an attitude the electric leg comes into play.
Neither did my ‘65 XLCH, those were “man’s motorcycles”.
Yes, yes he was!
The charger is a $10 Harbor Freight one.
The battery is a U1 Everstart from Wal-Mart, which I think cost $30 back in 2017.
I’ve been keeping my riding mower battery on a trickle charger. One of those $10 Harbor Freight ones.
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I keep the leads permanently connected to my battery.... and the charger is plugged into a nearby receptacle. Roll into the garage and just plug in... takes all of about 3 seconds. I think I’m on about the 15th year of my battery.
Four trickle chargers over the Winter keeps them juiced up in the stable and ready to go. Had to replace the batteries on R1100S and Sportster just because they got old.
Good Advice! Thank You. :-)
“ Neither did my ‘65 XLCH, those were “man’s motorcycles”.”
Yes they were, not girly men either.
“I keep the leads permanently connected to my battery”
ditto ... hanging out of the hood ...
I got a Shorai lithium battery several years ago. It died within the warranty period. I called and emailed several times for a replacement. Shorai never answered. I will never again buy one of their products.
Ha! Try a 1954 BSA 500 single with a 13:1 racing piston. Cheezus.
That would be a serious challenge. The BSA 500 could kick back. Mine was only 12.1:1. It was an MX model. I would have another if they were offered for sale today.
Thanks for posting. The Sportster won’t hold a charge anymore even on a battery tender, so it’s time to go buy a battery. I think the summer heat in southern Arizona doesn’t do batteries any good.
“ Ha! Try a 1954 BSA 500 single with a 13:1 racing piston. Cheezus.”
One of my classmates had one of those that was made in the early sixties. It was a scrambler model. We went out to an area outside of Tucson where everyone played hill climb with their bikes. The kids with their new Jap bikes had to make a running start. Ron lined up with the base of the hill with his old BSA and just let out the clutch and climbed right up the hill.
Only thing is my riding mower has one of those batteries you can’t (easily) open to add water to, so at some point it’s going to fail due to water loss, unless I want to try prying the vent caps off (they’re flush with the top of the battery, not designed to be removed).
I just had to replace the battery on my pickup truck because it failed, opened up the vent caps and it was less than half full. No wonder it failed. The bad alternator didn’t help, I suspected for a while that something was wrong with it, it started making noise like has a bad bearing, put a new one in and the voltage is more stable and doesn’t drop as much when I turn the blower fan on high. Think one of the diodes on the old one is bad, going to take to to an alternator shop and have them test/rebuild it for a spare.
I once watched a welterweight, leather clad biker trying to kickstart his 60’s Harley get tossed clean over his handlebars when the engine kickstart peddle kicked back. It was a hoot. The funniest part was he had to kick that damn beast about 12 times to finally get it running. Made me glad to be a Bonneville owner.
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