Battery Safe

My 15 year old battery is as dead as can be, no amount of charging will give it any oomph, the only thing I'm getting out of it is practice in kickstarting technique. Have decided to get a motobatt replacement but when I rang the shop they said it waas the most expensive battery they had in stock. Before I get the motobatt I want to explore the idea of using the carcass from the old battery as a holder for a smaller new battery. The excess space within the carcass could be used for storage. I know it presents the problem of an extra electrical connection point that can fail and any troubleshooting would have to be done with that in mind but that little space could be used as a document safe etc. Has anyone here tried that?

Other question is wether the smaller new design batteries will receive the proper charge from the airheads charging system or do they require a more sophisticated can bus etc type system?

Edit- Feck it, I can't be arsed fooling around with this project while having a dead battery, so I'll get the motobatt and work on the carcass idea later but any suggestions are wellcome.

You seem to be going to a lot of trouble to store a few documents? I have used one of these for 7 years now with no problems and holds a charge for months during winter/storage with no maintenance . You gain 10mm in size over the motobatt so, if you want, could fit in some sort of doc case, less than half the price too! It just needs a slight +ve terminal cable extension when positioned in the gs batt box and abouut 20mm packing or document case.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Power-Son...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

15 year old

Its really bad to have a bad battery in your charging circuit it places sooooo much more load on the alternator

and at 15 year old Its very likely past its best

I would refit an Odyssey PC680 OR if you have a valeo starter fitted, a PC535 is about 2 inches less in height but plenty of ooomph for the Valeo starters

Also worth thinking about giving the starter an overhaul and when you have a new battery in, do an output check on the alternator

(edit the PC 680 / PC535 are only 60 or 70 mm wide so there is a decent space saving against the original 28 amp one )

DrFarkoff said:

15 year old

Its really bad to have a bad battery in your charging circuit it places sooooo much more load on the alternator

and at 15 year old Its very likely past its best

I would refit an Odyssey PC680 OR if you have a valeo starter fitted, a PC535 is about 2 inches less in height but plenty of ooomph for the Valeo starters

Also worth thinking about giving the starter an overhaul and when you have a new battery in, do an output check on the alternator

(edit the PC 680 / PC535 are only 60 or 70 mm wide so there is a decent space saving against the original 28 amp one )

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I know, I found it incredible that it still worked, previous owner had fitted it new and just parked the bike up presumably with a trickle charge now and then. Dealer probably gave it a blast too so it seemd Ok when I got the bike although when I fitted the voltmeter I noticed that I was seeing 14.5 to 15 volts when bike running which was not in line with what I used to see on my previous bike. So the charging system was doing its best to charge it but no joy, same story with a mains charger. I've bought the motobatt MBTX30UHD this morning, haven't fitted it but can take it back if I opt for the odyssey,( but just found they don't do odyssey so maybe thats it-I did get a good discount though) So will now look at motobatt equivalent of PC680/535 (I've got a valeo) and report back.

Well after reading this http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showthread.php?42635-Odyssey-PC680-or-Motobatt-MBTX24U/page2 I think I'll just slot in the big motobatt and know that should my alternator pack up en route somewhere in France (etc) that the reserve juice will keep me going for a good while vs the lower AH of the smaller batteries. I'm sure this often happens to folks, you think of a seemingly good idea but perhaps of weariness or/and laziness leads to just leaving things as they are. Thanks for all the contributions guys, I'll still gut the old battery and see what I can do with carcass.

So much for my 'battery safe' thread , should have named it 'Battery-same ole'

B Murr said:

Well after reading this http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showthread.php?42635-Odyssey-PC680-or-Motobatt-MBTX24U/page2 I think I'll just slot in the big motobatt and know that should my alternator pack up en route somewhere in France (etc) that the reserve juice will keep me going for a good while vs the lower AH of the smaller batteries. I'm sure this often happens to folks, you think of a seemingly good idea but perhaps of weariness or/and laziness leads to just leaving things as they are. Thanks for all the contributions guys, I'll still gut the old battery and see what I can do with carcass.

So much for my 'battery safe' thread , should have named it 'Battery-same ole'

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Yep, totally agree. So much talk about a device that just starts your engine, maybe the kick start is the way to go

I run both my airheads on the smaller Motobatt intended for the R80G/S. My 80 has a Valeo starter and the 100 has a Bosch. The Motobatts provide sufficient umph and still start the bikes after 4 months laid up. I've managed to slot a couple of plastic boxes with small parts in the space beside the battery.

Having said that, when the alternator rotor failed on my old Guzzi Spada in Bonn I managed to get home (440miles) on battery power alone - possibly due to the car sized battery fitted to the bike, and it would still start the bike the following morning.

I wouldn't go carving up old batteries.
Some nasty stuff in there !
Just pack it with a piece of foam, plywood, cardboard......

15 years is too long. They're consumable items.

My G/S has a hi comp1000 cc motor and the Motobatt spins it over easily, even after 7 years, so the G/S size should do most.
I have a similar motor in my R75/7 and the stock 20 AH Motobatt starts that just as easy , and it is usually a little cheaper than the BMW specific ones.
I dont think anyone else sells a big 30 AH AGM , so the statement that it is the most expensive doesnt mean much when compared to a wet lead acid, and if I want one of them my lawn mower man has them for under 30 quid and the last one I bought lasted 5 years.
But when you add on the cost of sandblasting and powder coating the battery carrier, painting the sub frame, new battery leads and battery terminal cleaner and anti corrision spray there probably isnt much saving over a corrosion free AGM, which never need touching.

Pc680's- in my airheads and oilheads - never a days bother, first time every time

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