SV650.org - SV650 & Gladius 650 Forum - View Single Post

Craig380 · 28-12-17, 09:23 AM

When I got my 06 plate K6 in summer 2015, it still had the factory-fit Yuasa. The dealer I bought the bike from also gave me a new Chinese-brand battery, telling me that they like to fit a new battery to the bikes they sell but they didn't have one in stock when they were servicing the bike pre-sale.

No worries, I fitted the new battery in winter 2015 when the Yuasa was obviously getting a bit tired and unable to spin the starter quickly (even though the bike had never failed to start).

Fast forward two years to yesterday. I'd noticed the Chinese-brand battery had been struggling a bit in the colder weather recently, but yesterday it could only turn the starter once before dying. This was despite it being on the optimiser overnight, and regularly hooked up to it. Removed the seat, connected my bigger 'fast' bike charger, brought the battery back up to 14V, tried again. No dice - the starter ground over once, then the battery cried enough.

So I thought I'd try the 11-year-old Yuasa, which had been in a box in the cold garage for two years. I'd hooked it to the Optimiser for a couple of hours maybe three times in those two years, just to keep it alive as a spare. Checked the voltage across the terminals: 12.5V, not bad. Put it on the rapid charger for a couple of mins - voltage went up to 14+.

Put it on the bike, hit the button and it only went and fired the bike up. Sure, the starter didn't spin fast, but the battery kept it churning until the motor lit up. That's a new Yuasa on order, then.

(The YTX12-BS is currently £42 from Amazon with free delivery, compared to £57 from Halfords)

28-12-17, 09:23 AM	#1
Craig380 Member Mega Poster Join Date: May 2015 Posts: 1,238	In praise of Yuasa batteries When I got my 06 plate K6 in summer 2015, it still had the factory-fit Yuasa. The dealer I bought the bike from also gave me a new Chinese-brand battery, telling me that they like to fit a new battery to the bikes they sell but they didn't have one in stock when they were servicing the bike pre-sale. No worries, I fitted the new battery in winter 2015 when the Yuasa was obviously getting a bit tired and unable to spin the starter quickly (even though the bike had never failed to start). Fast forward two years to yesterday. I'd noticed the Chinese-brand battery had been struggling a bit in the colder weather recently, but yesterday it could only turn the starter once before dying. This was despite it being on the optimiser overnight, and regularly hooked up to it. Removed the seat, connected my bigger 'fast' bike charger, brought the battery back up to 14V, tried again. No dice - the starter ground over once, then the battery cried enough. So I thought I'd try the 11-year-old Yuasa, which had been in a box in the cold garage for two years. I'd hooked it to the Optimiser for a couple of hours maybe three times in those two years, just to keep it alive as a spare. Checked the voltage across the terminals: 12.5V, not bad. Put it on the rapid charger for a couple of mins - voltage went up to 14+. Put it on the bike, hit the button and it only went and fired the bike up. Sure, the starter didn't spin fast, but the battery kept it churning until the motor lit up. That's a new Yuasa on order, then. (The YTX12-BS is currently £42 from Amazon with free delivery, compared to £57 from Halfords)