seoulman Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 How many seasons are you getting out of your batteries? I am replacing mine yearly. Charging system checks out fine. Battery will not take a charge. It is a Yuasa model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom M Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 I replaced the stock battery in my '02 in Spring '07. Yuasa typically makes a good battery so something has to be wrong with your situation. Are you using the correct battery? How is it stored through the winter? You say your charging system is fine so I guess we can rule out overcharging? The replacement that's been popular on this site for years is the Hawker Odyssey PC545 available here. Mine is only a little over a year old so I can't testify to it's longevity, but others here probably can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badmotogoozer Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 Is it every spring you need one - ie after being in storage? If so you may have a circuit that is drawing a small amount of power even when off. If this were to drain the battery down it would get to a point where the battery sulfates and never works again. When storing, try removing the battery completely or at least disconnecting it. You can test this by measuring if there is any current draw from the battery when everything is off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan M Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 How many seasons are you getting out of your batteries? I am replacing mine yearly. Charging system checks out fine. Battery will not take a charge. It is a Yuasa model. I'm on my 3rd season with a Hawker. I always use a battery tender when the bike will be sitting for more than a week or two. I've never checked for a parasitic draw on this bike but I've heard that they do pull a very small amount of amperage while parked. With the use of a battery tender you should get at least 4 years out of one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve G. Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 I'm on my 3rd season with a Hawker. I always use a battery tender when the bike will be sitting for more than a week or two. I've never checked for a parasitic draw on this bike but I've heard that they do pull a very small amount of amperage while parked.With the use of a battery tender you should get at least 4 years out of one. You should carefully read the instructions on Odyssey batteries. They specify NOT to put on a unit like a battery tender or a trickle charger. I'm on my 4th year with an Odyssey. I've got 2 Battery Tenders, and the only one that doesn't get attached to it is the Guzzi battery. No problems so far. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seoulman Posted May 29, 2008 Author Share Posted May 29, 2008 Battery was new last spring and performed fine all season. It was okay for the first couple rides of the year after winter hibernation then got weak and now will not take a charge. If i put a battery tender on the red charging light comes on and then switches to the green charged light in less than 5 minutes. It may be a case of lack of riding and no regular trickle charging. I will buy a new battery and keep the bike on a tender when not in use and remove for the winter next year and see what happens. Thanks for the tips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slavomir Musilek (R.I.P.) Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 My Yuasa is in bike since it run off Mandello factory. Now it is 7 yrs It is still working perfectly. Don't let it stay for long time in winter, charge on regular basis and do a looooooonnnngggggg rides so the battery will have a chance to get fully charged. If your bat dies every year, better check voltage regulator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan M Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 You should carefully read the instructions on Odyssey batteries. They specify NOT to put on a unit like a battery tender or a trickle charger. I'm on my 4th year with an Odyssey. I've got 2 Battery Tenders, and the only one that doesn't get attached to it is the Guzzi battery. No problems so far. Steve The newer Battery Tender Plus is designed for AGM batteries. I've had no trouble with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V11crazed Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 I bought the bike back in December...I'm the 3rd owner and it's the original battery from the factory!......Runs fine!.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dimitris Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 5 years also with the same battery, the factory one. Till now no problems at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve G. Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 My original battery, a "Sparko"!!, lastest about 2 months past warranty. The 545 Odyssey is great. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badmotogoozer Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 Battery was new last spring and performed fine all season. It was okay for the first couple rides of the year after winter hibernation then got weak and now will not take a charge. If i put a battery tender on the red charging light comes on and then switches to the green charged light in less than 5 minutes. Yup - it sulfated. Steve - my Sparko lasted until this spring when I bought a Hawker. The Sparko was still going strong, but I figured I was pushing my luck with it last summer. About the only thing that's never been a problem on my bike! cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motoguzznix Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 How many seasons are you getting out of your batteries? I am replacing mine yearly. Charging system checks out fine. Battery will not take a charge. It is a Yuasa model. Some years ago there was a thread about battery current sucked up by the ECU. Some WM1.5 ECUS do this, others don't. If your bike falls into this range, pulling fuse #1 prevents this. I always pull this fuse when the bike sits for longer than a week. After 4-6 weeks, my battery is empty and fails to start the bike. I'm sure this effect can distroy the battery if it occurs during the complete winter season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macguzzi Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 Took advice from these pages and bought a hawker two years on it's #@$&@#@ but the original (02) spark battery is still going strong, explain that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryland3210 Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 I have been using nothing but Yuasa batteries for decades. Self discharge is a fact of life, but I have observed that the battery discharge is much faster on my Guzzi than my Yamaha. I monitor the battery voltage at least once a week during the winter or any other time the bike is not being run for a couple of weeks. I find it simple to monitor, since I have a heated clothing receptacle to connect to. My experience is that the Guzzi requires recharging with a battery tender about every two weeks on the Guzzi. It is important to recharge it before it drops below 50% charge. In rough numbers (they vary with temperature), 100% charge is 12.65 volts, 0% charge is 11.65 volts. The voltage must be measured several hours after the engine is shut off to eliminate the "surface charge", which causes the battery to read higher voltage than what represents the actual state of charge. I usually wait overnight, or run the headlights for a few minutes after stopping the engine to accelerate the discharge of the "surface charge", if I want to know right away. Measure the voltage with the ignition and lights off, however. My practice is to recharge anytime the voltage drops below 12.4. If there is only a conventional charger available, one can calculate how many amp-hours are needed to recharge the battery and do it by time. The charging current should not exceed 10% of the amp hour rating of the battery. For example, my Yuasa is a 15 amp hour unit, so I keep the charge current under 1.5 amps. Hope this helps. My Yuasa's have typically lasted several years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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