Buying Batteries

bsly

bsly

Well-Known Member
Visit site
Have you replaced your FZ1 battery yet? Did you have to go to a dealer or did your local auto parts stores carry it?

Hello all! I've been MIA for quite awhile learning to be a dad and loving it. My son will be 2 years old in August and we're expecting a new addition in July, a little girl! Another life changing experience!!!

Any way, the FZ1 (08) has not seen a whole lot of service these past two years and the battery is toast. The charger couldn't fix it this time, turns over once then nothing but rapid fire clicks. My wife also needed a new battery (Ninja 650R). So she got on the phone to call around to the four auto parts stores we have in town (Napa, Autozone, Advance Auto and Oriley). Every store had her battery in stock, but none of them had an FZ1 battery. The only one that even had a listing for the FZ1 said it was a special order only and it would cost over $200. I can't believe its that difficult to find a plane jane run of the mill bike battery for an FZ1.

This lead me to doing a little research online and I decided rather than getting a stock replacement ($166) I'm going to try an Earth X Lithium battery ($220). Its pricey but seems to me the extended service life, stronger starting, lighter weight (about 6 lbs lighter) and built in circuit that allows use of a standard battery charger make it worth the price tag.

Anyone else switched over to Lithium and if so how do you like it?

PS, If you're wondering why my pregnant wife is buying a new bike battery when she is about to pop, LOL!... we will be doing a new born photo session when our little girl is born and one of the pictures will be of the baby with my wife's bike!
 
Congratulations on the new baby and family. I bought a battery this spring off EBay. They were a US shipped and the battery was around $50 with shipping. You can use the money you save on diapers! :D
 
I have the Yuasa YTZ14S. I picked it up at the dealer for $200. Its the priciest one, but it has higher cold cranking amps than any other battery. Knowing it's the best one gives me peace of mind knowing that my bike will start every time. I also always keep my bike on the battery tender, even though I ride almost every day, so it should easily last 5 years with no problems.
 
Back in February, the battery on my 919 died. I was considering a lithium battery just for the sake of trying it. I went to the local shop and it turned out the Shorai version of my battery was only $10 more so I gave it a go.

I had read some of the concerns about cranking power in cold temperatures and what not and I decided to give it a go anyway. I park my bike outside at work and during the winter it can get as low as -10C/14F in the evenings. Although the Shorai battery did feel a little weak (same as any battery in that temperature), my bike always cranked to life. Since then, the bike has seen all conceivable conditions and just under 20,000km/13,000 miles of use and have had absolutely no concerns yet.

I don't use a tender for this bike as it's a daily driver and it's just not necessary on a lithium from what I understand. Hope that helps
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top