Battery upgrade

[Paul2bikes]

My battery being OEM, March '14, is at least 9yrs 3months old + how long on Triumphs shelf. Got concerned it might suddenly drop a cell one cold morning in a rally field a long way from home. It holds 12.8v for at least 2 weeks after being ridden & without charge, ignition on drop to 11.7v & 9.8v under starting load. All figures afaik are good.

I also have a T800, which flies on starter with YTX16 oem battery (now 7 years old), making the TS sound a bit sluggish turning over. So, deciding it surely can't last much longer, I ordered a new Yuasa YTX14H h/d model from Tayna £84.24 delivered, I fitted it night before heading off to B&W's Thunderbird rally.

Tested as delivered 12.67v, on my old Accumate 0.5A charger, after 6 hrs yellow went to green. Next morning it showed 13.1v, ignition on 12.4 dropping to 12.0v, under starting load 10.8v and spun over a goodly bit quicker thanks to its 240cca. Same when I left the rally on Sunday morning.

IMO well worth the upgrade. I could have carried on with the original until it wouldn't hold the 12.8v 100% charge but I'm sure this one should last out me and/or the bike if it's as good as the original, I'm happier with it spinning over faster, better for the sprag.

One thing I've noticed is, up until a couple of years ago, running always showed 14.2v, this had dropped to 14.1v, now back up to 14.2v. Stopped me worrying about stator. Doubt it matters but good to see it back where it was.

[Rhead]

that's unbelievable battery life. I never get more than 5 yrs or so out of mine, but only put it on the tender if I haven't ridden in a few weeks or so...

[ZuluTiger]

Same for me. Paul is doing something right....

[gvy]

9 years and 3 months is a really long battery live.
I understand and fully agree, you changed it for a new one and look ahead at some troublesome years again.
On the other hand, I wonder how long the original one would have lasted. Now we will never know

[Paul2bikes]

Originally Posted by gvy

9 years and 3 months is a really long battery live.
I understand and fully agree, you changed it for a new one and look ahead at some troublesome years again.
On the other hand, I wonder how long the original one would have lasted. Now we will never know

Boy on T800 forum got 11 years from oem batt. I never used to get more than 5 years until more recently, my '08 ST1050 was 6 yr old on oem batt when I chopped it in for a TS, my Tiger 800 is 7 yr old on oem batt, the wee Serow batt is also 7 yr old, I replaced that. Maybe the standard has been upped. Or maybe since I retired in 2010, I've time to take better care of my bikes. I check battery with MM every couple of weeks to ensure they are 12.8v'ish, then pop them on my accumate for few hours top up. My TS chain is at 30k miles & still good, no sign of needing renewal, cleaned & lubed every few rides, Scottoiler lubing it on road. Never matched Rheads 40k miles, but trying.

Remember back in the 60's when we were lucky to get 12 months out of a battery, vibration killed them, or 5k miles from a chain before the advent of sealed pins.

[Rhead]

all true  but I also used to get 25k miles out of tires, not like 5k today...

[gvy]

Originally Posted by Rhead

all true  but I also used to get 25k miles out of tires, not like 5k today...

Yes, but I wouldn't have dared riding my pegs to the ground with the tires of those days.
( I still get +10000km out of my Michelin pilot powers and +13000km out of my Michelin pilot road 5 , I prefer the sportier pilot power )

[Paul2bikes]

Originally Posted by gvy

Yes, but I wouldn't have dared riding my pegs to the ground with the tires of those days.
( I still get +10000km out of my Michelin pilot powers and +13000km out of my Michelin pilot road 5 , I prefer the sportier pilot power )

Malcolm Uphill didn't have a problem with those 1960's Dunlops, lapped the TT at over 100mph on those skinny old K81's in the production race. Dunlop renamed them TT100's to celebrate that ride on a a '69 Bonnie. So impressed I fitted some to my Ariel FH back then. Most road riders would struggle to average over 50mph on that course, even on today's bikes with their super sticky wide tyres. Ha.

https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/9181577.pub-honours-fearless-tt-rider/

[Paul2bikes]

My old battery sat on my bench untouched for 10 weeks, checked it with MM, 12.71v. Given it a wee boost, it can be my test rig. Unbelievable, eh, 9.5 year old & still holding good charge.

Much happier with the YTX14H, spins the TS over much quicker with its 240cca, I think the old one, although holding good volts was maybe not holding good cca. I might be kidded by the speed the YTX16 whizzes the 800 over, the TS sounds a tad sluggish in comparison.

[Paullie]

Interesting that the recommended battery for my new T.900 is a YTZ14S. I'd have thought it would be exactly the same as the T.800, but it seems not.

BTW, I'd still recommend this Motobatt MHTX16 hybrid AGM/Lithium battery for the TS, although it seems only available from Beemer parts dealer Motorworks.
https://www.motorworks.co.uk/battery-ela05650h-1.html

I've sold the Sport now, but it was still the best battery I ever had.