New Battery

[Chad in Michigan]

For FYI: I wanted(actually needed) a new battery this year. For the past 2 years i've had my bike, i've never brought the battery inside to charge. it was dead this year, would only start when jumped to a car. so i wanted a higher output battery incase i added lights/misc to this. i had trouble finding one that fit what i wanted, but ultimately i found one that fits. it's just a tad taller (5/8") and i tried the fitment with my seat (mustang) and it clears it. the top of the batterty and connections is just below the round frame/bar behind the battery.  the link will be down below. for all you valk owners, it will fit yours as well. it has 260 CCA and 14AH compared to the stock 10Ah battery. the battery i had in there was a deka battery, 12v. 12 ah, 140ah ( i think the 140ah is correct, i'll look later) anyways, the new one came fully charged and the bike fired up faster that it ever has before. it will have more cranking power in the cold and hot weather thanks to the extra capicity.

here is the one i ordered from them (batterystuff.com) they even offer free shipping. I ordered sunday night, and received it today via USPS.
http://www.batterystuff.com/batteries/motorcycle/YTX14H-BS.html   (it's also made in the US, it's labeled under 'motorcross' but is made at the same place the yuasa batteries are made.

here is the one that fits our bikes, 12ah, 160CCA but made in china.

http://www.batterystuff.com/batteries/motorcycle/sYTX12-BS.html

[hootmon]

Very Nice.. I'll be sure to search the threads next time I need one!!!

[L J VFR]

Good heads up, thanks chad!!!

[John Luttrell]

My original stock battery lasted 7 years, so I replaced it with another stock battery.

[Curtis_Valk]

so i wanted a higher output battery incase i added lights/misc to this.

There is nothing wrong with wanting a battery with more reserve, but just remember that is exactly what it is (reserve).  You will still need to be careful not to exceed the bike's charging system capacity when you add those accessories.  Basically if you stay within that, a larger battery is not necessary and if you don't ...........a larger battery will just run down a bit slower than a smaller one.  The only exception is if you do a lot of riding in stop and go traffic, the extra reserve of a larger battery could help.

Curtis

[Chad in Michigan]

you could also get a new alternator with more output. electrosport has one with 20% more output than stock. the stock one is 374W at 5k RPM
theirs would be about 448W then. even if you don't add the accessories or alternator, the bike will have more cranking power in the hot and cold enviornments. i think it will be good for me also since i've upgraded the ignition system. it definately draws more than the stock one. when i had the old battery in there, while idling, the battey voltage was about 12.2V (the battery was very low on charge) and when i revved it up, the voltage dropped to about 9.8V and it would start to miss on a cylendar or two. strange since the alternator is supposed to put out more current when the rmp's are up. checked with the new battery yesterday and the voltage was about 13.2 V at idle and went up to about 14.4 when the rpm's increased. last year i can remember in the summer i had a few times where i didn't have enough 'umph' left in the battery. i'd stop to get gas after a long ride and try to start 'er back up and it cranked real slow, but eventually started. i hope this new higher capacity battery will  not do that.

[hootmon]

you could also get a new alternator with more output. electrosport has one with 20% more output than stock. the stock one is 374W at 5k RPM
theirs would be about 448W then.

Chad, the higher output Stator feeds the regulator. It seems that more input into the regulator may not achieve the desired results..
If you go with the higher output Stator, you may also want to go with a higher output regulator.. The one I purchased was supposed to produce 5% more..

[Sledge Hammer]

Hootmon's got a good point. More output from the stator means more input into the regulator, and whatever power you are not using has to be dissipated somewhere as heat. Unless you are in a really cold climate, you may find yourself with a cooked regulator.

[Justin]

You also don't need to necessarily replace the alternator with a high output one, I typically just go to my local small motor shop and get the alternator re-wound at a higher tension than stock which equals more wraps of copper which equals more output power. Cheaper in the long run i find too, the high output alternators burn out faster since they're more prone to carbon build up from the extra heat produced by increasing the current output. The stock alternator has the same problem after being re-wound, but cheaper to re-wind the stock one multiple times then to buy a new high output alternator and have too get it redone in a year or two anyways.

I used to have get the alternators and starters on my hot rod re done 2-3 times a year from thermal damage from the engine heat.

I also had an idea about the regulators, the fins face perpendicular to the direction of air flow under the bike, I believe they would cool much more if we could just rotate the heat sink for the regulator by 90 degrees. A more ambitious project would be to actually increase the surface area of the fins.

Since we're talking about new batteries, has anyone ever found "Spiral Cell" batteries for power sports, like the "Optima" batteries?? These are what I've ran in all my Hot Rod's and what I've always installed in vehicles when I install the stereo system, it's the only battery I've never had boil over/explode on me.

http://www.optimabatteries.com/home.php

[John Luttrell]

I run optima batteries in all my 4x4's, due to the draw the winches can put on the system.  They are great batteries and hold up to the abuse.

[Sledge Hammer]

<snip>

I also had an idea about the regulators, the fins face perpendicular to the direction of air flow under the bike, I believe they would cool much more if we could just rotate the heat sink for the regulator by 90 degrees. A more ambitious project would be to actually increase the surface area of the fins.

Since we're talking about new batteries, has anyone ever found "Spiral Cell" batteries for power sports, like the "Optima" batteries?? These are what I've ran in all my Hot Rod's and what I've always installed in vehicles when I install the stereo system, it's the only battery I've never had boil over/explode on me.

http://www.optimabatteries.com/home.php

I think the problem is that with all the different surface and edges around and under the bike, it's anybody's guess how the air really flows unless you put in a wind tunnel with smoke jets. That subject gets a whole subcategory of engineering to itself called fluid flow dynamics, and the Jack-and-Jill bit of exposure I've had to it was just enough to convince me that there is nothing easy about it.

Of course, you can do like Lawrence did and take the bull by the horns and, uh, steer the air to go over the regulator with a fan, which I think I'm going to try on my bike. Like Lawrence said, they are fairly sensitive to moisture, but if you put an appropriate fuse in line with the fan in case the bearings seize and lock the rotor, you don't have to worry about shorting out your battery.

I had never heard of spiral cell batteries. I'm going to have to more about them. I didn't see m/c batterie son Optima's site. Do they offer them?

[hootmon]

I think the problem is that with all the different surface and edges around and under the bike, it's anybody's guess how the air really flows unless you put in a wind tunnel with smoke jets. That subject gets a whole subcategory of engineering to itself called fluid flow dynamics, and the Jack-and-Jill bit of exposure I've had to it was just enough to convince me that there is nothing easy about it.

Or... you can just move the regulator to where the fins are aligned with the air, and a little closer to the airflow...

[lragan]

Hoot, I saved your pics from the uber-thread on this topic.  I am looking at the pictures, but I am not getting the picture, if you understand my drift.

It appears that you have fashioned a bracket that uses your pipe's mounting bracket.  I have Cobra pipes, and the triangular shaped piece I see in your pics does not exist on my bike.  I could not figure out a mount with more than one point, and don't think a single mount point is wise, as the torque would be much too high. 

Looks like I am back to mounting up a muffin fan, unless you have additional hints (hint, hint)...

[Sledge Hammer]

I think the problem is that with all the different surface and edges around and under the bike, it's anybody's guess how the air really flows unless you put in a wind tunnel with smoke jets. That subject gets a whole subcategory of engineering to itself called fluid flow dynamics, and the Jack-and-Jill bit of exposure I've had to it was just enough to convince me that there is nothing easy about it.

Or... you can just move the regulator to where the fins are aligned with the air, and a little closer to the airflow...

And it's a proven concept! 

[hootmon]

I looked Lawrence.. Without the triangle piece, it is a bigger challenge for sure..
Connor moved his to his back rack, but never sent us pictures..

Hoot, I saved your pics from the uber-thread on this topic.  I am looking at the pictures, but I am not getting the picture, if you understand my drift.

It appears that you have fashioned a bracket that uses your pipe's mounting bracket.  I have Cobra pipes, and the triangular shaped piece I see in your pics does not exist on my bike.  I could not figure out a mount with more than one point, and don't think a single mount point is wise, as the torque would be much too high. 

Looks like I am back to mounting up a muffin fan, unless you have additional hints (hint, hint)...