Is this any way to install a battery??

[SmoothDave]

I'm starting to wonder about whoever was working on my bike before I got it.  First it was that clutch switch that Kerry helped me fix.  That could have killed me.  Then I noticed that piece of plastic around my seat was loose today, and that was because someone didn't bother to stick one of those little rubber round things in correctly, and then while I was in there, I looked at my battery, and maybe I've just got some more stuff to learn, but this doesn't look right.  If you look at the photo below, there are two hoses on the right.  The clear one comes out of the battery on the left side of the picture, and goes down and around.  It was then duct taped to the black hose.  It just seems to me that this is backwards.  Shouldn't the battery empty directly into the black hose?  And is duct tape really going to seal those two hoses together?  I also note that it looks like a prior battery pretty much just blew itself all over the place inside there at some point.

Any thoughts?  Thank you very much.

Smooth Dave

[cummuterguy]

i just went out and looked at mine to see what the set up should be... I noticed two things... first... mine has an interstate battery, and the vent for the battery is on the right, not the left. the black tube goes straight down no clear tubes involved.... the other thing i noticed is that the installer of that battery (i just bought the bike last week) kinked the hose, and it was not allowing ventilation i unkinked it and a little pfffft noise happened kinda like a soda bottle opening....hmmmm.....lol so thanks for writing your post, you probably saved me a nasty mess in the future, albiet by chance

[MarlboroMan]

The black hose is the stock OEM vent hose - the plastic clear one came with the new battery.  You need to find someway to connect the vent on the left with a vent hose that will allow the battery's gas to escape the seat compartment.

[Jared]

No you want the vent tube to go down as low as it can ( hanging just under the frame rail is where it's supposed to be....
The battery boiling off can condense on the frame and other parts...(ie acid forms...eats paint and other nice things...)...

[scratch]

I think this type of battery is more readily available (in stock) and is less expensive. There's a thread about the drain spigot on the left vs. right.

The black hose is the original stock hose, the clear hose comes with every new battery (which I usually use to put over the bleed valves when I bleed my brakes, after I cut off the ends to eliminate the little slit in the hose leakin' brake fluid all over).

Looks like a good time to order and replace the left screw on the rear brake resivior.

[Kerry]

Some folks have re-routed the stock vent hose so that it comes up on the left side.  You may have a problem with the length of the hose, though.  Maybe they moved the hose all the way to the left side of the bike?

If you can't make the stock hose stretch, you can try a Battery Acid Catch Tank from Chaparral.



Maybe the previous owner had something like this in there, and it's been lost?

I think maybe this is the thread scratch was talking about:  newbie...need battery help from gstwin gods

EDIT: Changed link from sisna.com to bbburma.net

[JLKasper]

The battery I bought for my GS last December also has the vent tube on the left side.  I knew the stock battery vents on the right, so when the bike falls off the sidestand that the juice doesn't all drain out.  But, the left venting battery is far more common and about 1/3 to half the price.

When I installed mine, I did three things:  
--I bought an extra length hose so I could still route it to exit the right side.  That way, when the bike falls over on the left, the only fluid that drains from the battery is the amount that fills the hose, since the right side will be above the battery.  
--Prior to installation, I wrapped a generous amount of electrical tape around the frame rail so if any vapor escapes between the vent pipe and hose, the frame won't corrode.  
--Lastly, I wedged a fat piece of rubber between the battery and the left side of the box so the vent pipe doesn't rest so close to the frame.

I'd rip that jury-rigged hose job out of there pronto, if for no other reason to prevent  that somebody who sees it will think you're the culprit, instead of the cheap bastid PO.

[The Buddha]

Left venting = walmart = $30.
Right venting = Yuasa or yumicron = $60-$80.
The falling part is not the general idea... if it falls right the right venter will drain all the acid, and if left the left venter will lose the acid... However I believe I fell 4 times to the right before finally falling left, and hereby squeezed 6 years out of a $30 battery. Anyway The real issue is the side stand... Suzuki wants the battery to not spill acid when on the side stand... and hence the right vent. However kawasaki believes in the opposite... and fit their bikes with batteries that vent on the left as they are on the bike. I now dont want to make any sorta desicion on their philosophy... so I put in sealed in all the bikes. Simple enough.
Cool.
Srinath.

[jgary]

I got the Yuasa from my local dealer for $32 and change.

J.

[The Buddha]

OK does it have the vent on the left as its in the bike or is it on the right.
Cool.
Srinath.

[goat]

What brands of batteries are sealed?
Other than where it vents, is there any advantage to getting a Yuasa or another more expensive battery instead of the cheaper ones?

[jgary]

Yuasa has the vent on the left, so I just plugged the existing vent hose in & I was off like a prom dress.

John.

[Flash]

Wow    Check out the buildup on the (-) terminal

You might want to take a wire brush to that IMO

[newbieone]

I ran into this problem the other day at work with a 89 GS we had in for service.  My tech spent an hour trying to figure out way the Yusa battery doesn't work correctly.  Well, he knew the problem but he spent the time wiring in a longer piece of wire for the connector thing.  Maybe I should call Yusa about it.  If these were only my troubles instead of my bike problems.