What is my battery type?

[ABSOLUTNATI]

I think my battery is about dead. I'm looking for a new one, bu t it seems they are called different things. I have a 2004 GS500F. Anyone have any tips or recommendations. I am not a handyman, so filling and charging myself is out of the question. I might be able to install it though of it's charged and ready to go.

[ABSOLUTNATI]

I forgot to mention, I do all city driving, stop and go, usually not for more than a couple of hours at a time. Longer on Sundays. Do I possibly just need a charger of some sort?

[GI_JO_NATHAN]

I had this problem not to long ago. Charged the battery and it made it worse about a day later. The stock battery is a "CB10L-B2." It's discontinued, the next closest thing is the "CB10L-A2." It's identical in every way except the vent is on the opposite side. Easily fixed by pulling some slack in your vent tube and moving it to the other side when you install the battery. The only other option I could see was going to a dry cell battery, which doesn't need a vent, and usually has a longer warranty,  but cost about twice as much, and is hard to find the correct size with the pos and neg post on the correct sides.

Good Luck, JoNathan

[sledge]

Who told you that this battery type was now discontinued?

[GI_JO_NATHAN]

A few places on-line, and the two battery stores I went to.
Keep in mind it may only be discontinued in the US.

JoNathan

[Kasumi]

I must also say if your doing stop and go city riding a trickle charger is ESSENTIAL. It takes alot of drain on the battery to start the bike, if your constantly stop and go you won't ever recharge your battery. If you get a trickle charger this might just fix your battery problem. They recondition the battery and usually come with a permanant wire with a plug on the end you simply wire it to the battery terminals then cable tie it so its reachable outside the bike then when you pull in the garage at night plug the bike bike in and turn on the trickle charger. this isnt like a normal charger and won't ruin the battery, they keep them charged by running them flat and charging them up "exercising" the battery as its known. This might fix your problem before you go out and buy a new battery.

[ABSOLUTNATI]

Too late. Just bought a Yuasa over the phone from Cycle Specialties. Any thoughts on this battery or tips for maintaining?

[Kasumi]

Still get a trickle charger as i said otherwise this battery will be shot in no time. Motorcycle batteries need recharging its just the way it is. Unless your going to ride on the highway everyday for miles without stopping you'll struggle to charge the battery.

[ABSOLUTNATI]

The suzuki dealership told me that motorcycle batteries are not that similar to car batteries, in the sense that the alternator will not keep it charged. They told me that I most likely needed a new battery. In harsh conditions I might want to try a charger to bring it back to life. Conditions were no that harsh. it went down to probably 50 degrees. It was parked outside that night, and a lot of wind. I figure that it was probably the original battery.
Since I bought a new one, I can keep tabs on it's condition and how long I've had it. I'll probably invest in a charger as well. What type shouold I buy from Walmart? Should I bring the battery inside over the winter even though it will be garaged with no heat?

[Kasumi]

Don't listen to some of the stuff they tell you, ive ridden my bike all through the winter left it in the snow it doesn't seem to harm in my experience. Invest in a good trickle charger.

You want something like this http://www.accumate.co.uk/it010003.html

Opti-mate is a good make but there are others. You want a trickle charger. Its not a standard battery charger they work in different ways. Best place to look would be a motoparts store or motorcycle shop. They will know what your talking about if you ask for a trickle charger.

A trickle charger is NOT a normal battery charger. If you use a normal battery charger you can damage batteries because batteries need exercising "running down flat then charging up" a battery charger just keeps batteries fully charged regardless of how they have been used. A trickle charger will run the battery down a little bit and then charge it up etc... etc... until the battery is fully charged and even when fully charged it will keep exercising the battery. This is the best way to work on motorcycle batteries because Suzuki were right to tell you motorcycle altanators don't charge bike batteries as good as cars do. So buy yourself a trickle charger, alot come with an extension wire which you wire up to the battery terminals, it has a plug on the end which you can leave dangling through the plastics somewhere so you don't have to take the seat off everytime you want to get to the battery. Then when you get home at night just plug it in and switch the charger on and forget about it. When you come to go just unplug it. If your using a trickle charger you will prolong your life battery and you wont ever need to worry about it going flat.

[dgyver]

The battery will only receive full charge while rpms are above 5000. There is some charging below 5k but not enough to be considered beneficial.

[ABSOLUTNATI]

Well, got the new battery from the store (charged). Installed it with some battery terminal protector. Turned the key to on, pushed start........one click .....dead. Nothing. I had had to disconnect it, and reconnect in order to get the lights on again. Tried uit again, one click and dead. Tried once more, same thing. Didn't even try to turn over. I put the old battery in, and the lights worked and it tried to turn over but was too weak. Do I have a defective battery or what. It's a Yuasa. The old battery was a Yuasa also, so it probably wasn't stock. I guess I'll take it back to the store and have them give me another one, or just attempt a trickle charger on the old battery since I know it wasn't the factory battery.

[sledge]

Are you sure its filled with acid and fully charged?

[Kerry]

Well, got the new battery from the store (charged).

Hmmm.  Like sledge, I beg to differ.    Something's not right here.

I don't know about the 2004 models, but my '99 came with this battery:




Here's the (box for) the $24 "Economy" battery that I bought from Chaparral and installed in March of 2003.  It's still going strong!




Of course, the battery was shipped to me without electrolyte.  When I asked about electrolyte at my local Checker store, they pulled their last unit from the shelf, blew the dust off, and sold it to me for something like $3:




I put the electrolyte in the battery, hooked up my Battery Tender, and the thing was fully charged after 24 to 36 hours.

Do I have a defective battery or what. It's a Yuasa. The old battery was a Yuasa also, so it probably wasn't stock.

Whether or not the Yuasa was the stock battery, it's pretty much THE brand out there and should be of good quality.  In the latest printed Chaparral catalog that I have (2006 Street #73) Yuasa is the ONLY brand they list by name.  But when I went to the Chaparral website and searched for the part number on the side of the Economy battery box above, I was taken to an Import Yumicron Equivalent Batteries page.  The drop-down list on that page doesn't have a CB10L-B2 model, but it does have a BB/YB10L-B2 model ... and it still sells for $23.99!

If you're really hooked on the Yuasa brand name, you'll find the same model number on THIS PAGE ... only don't say I didn't warn you about the (gulp!) $69.99 price tag....

It probably wouldn't make sense for you to switch to mail order at this point, but maybe someone out there will be interested....

[sledge]

When the need arises I will always choose a Varta battery, (6 years in my GS now) not  the cheapest but I have found them to be far superiour and longer lasting than the cheaper "yang-bang" brands.

On the Varta uk website they list a dry charged YB10L-B2 at £23.99. Dry charged means you have to add tha acid yourself upon reciept.

Bike batteries are made to DIN and JIS standards which allows for interchangability between makes and I have always believed that the first letter in the designation relates to the maker of the battery only and that all FB/CB/YB/VB10L-B2 versions regardless of make have identical electrical characteristics, terminal layouts and physical sizes.

[ABSOLUTNATI]

Before I connected the battery to the posotive and negative, I sprayed the battery posts and the wire ends with battery terminal protectant (red spray). Was I not supposed to spray the battery at all? Just the wire ends? Could that have shorted out the battery? I'm going to clean off the battery and take it back today.

[Kerry]

Hmmm.  I'm familiar with battery terminal cleaner sprays, but not protectant ones.  But I'll assume that it's less like enamel paint and more like a light greasy substance ... intended to improve the electrical connection while keeping moisture out.  Am I close?  Do you have  photo or a URL with more info?

The worst that a coating could have done is prevented a good connection (rather than causing a short).

Either way ... since you're going to clean the battery off anyway, it may be worth one last try in the bike before you take it back.  If that doesn't help, maybe the store would willing to "prove" to you that the battery they sold you is ready-to-go, by hooking it up to a tester?  It just sounds to me like it's not fully charged....

[ABSOLUTNATI]

Took it back, battery was bad! Gave me a generic and a charger plus got $32 back. Looking good fellas. Plus I think my old battery will be good with a charge. I'll hook it up tonight and let ya know.

[GeeP]

Battery terminal protectant is non-conductive varnish.  You're supposed to spray it on after you connect the cables to the terminals.  The varnish prevents electrons from exchanging though the air, causing oxidation.   

Sounds like you have it fixed though. 

For future reference, Wal-Mart also sells a battery which is exactly the same as stock, but the vent is on the opposite side.  Easy fix, move the vent hose to the left side of the bike.  I believe the number is B10L-A2.  A search will find the thread if necessary.

[sledge]

Vaseline works for me