[ArizonaJim]

I can't say which companies batteries are better but I can give a few thoughts about batteries.

Look for a sealed, maintenance free battery rather than the old fashioned type with the filler caps.

As you may know, the batteries with filler caps lose water as they charge or discharge. If the electrolyte level drops below the low level mark the battery will rapidly fail.
One of the primary reasons for the unsealed batteries failures is the owner does not keep an eye on the fluid level and refill the battery to the proper level with DISTILLED water. (The minerals in regular water will rapidly destroy the lead plates).

These unsealed batteries also can spill the acid they contain if they are not kept upright so in the case of a fallen motorcycle, the acid can cause great damage to anything it gets on.


The sealed or maintenance free batteries are designed so there is no fluid loss during their life. Also, being sealed, they won't spill acid if they fall on their sides or even upside down. Definitely a safety feature that can protect both you and your motorcycle.

The sealed batteries also use the latest technology such as Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) or gel rather than water/acid electrolytes.
The plates in these new style batteries which basically store the electrical power are made using the latest material technology and for this reason, they often have longer warranties than the 100+ year old unsealed lead/acid designs.

Yes, the sealed batteries do cost more but their superior design, longer warranties and safety, in my mind, offset this problem.

While mentioning long life, even the best of the modern batteries will fail if they are allowed to remain in a "run down" (partially charged) condition.

Short rides at low speeds will not keep a battery fully charged. Likewise, letting a battery sit unused for long periods of time will discharge them unless a special low power "battery tender", "trickle charger" or "battery float charger" is connected and plugged in.
(If the battery needs recharging without riding the motorcycle remember: Never use a higher charging rate of over 2 amperes. Motorcycle batteries cannot take high amounts of charging current without being severely damaged.)

I urge people who need to make only short trips to let their engine run at fairly high speeds by using lower gears while riding.
Only when the engine is running fast does it produce the electrical power to recharge the battery.

[avsi]

Enfield ES is nothing more than a gimmick
And the 14ah exide is not worth the price
What happens if one puts 5ah battery on Enfield Classic and does not use the electric start

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by avsi

What happens if one puts 5ah battery on Enfield Classic and does not use the electric start

Tried and tested on my friend's Electra (after disconnecting the started motor wiring) and holds good. No issues for over 2 years until he sold his bike.

[Nilesh5417]

Originally Posted by avsi

Enfield ES is nothing more than a gimmick
And the 14ah exide is not worth the price
What happens if one puts 5ah battery on Enfield Classic and does not use the electric start

I have been riding my Electra 5S with the sprag clutch removed and ES disconnected since 2006! It was such a collosal failure back then and unnecessary weight to lug around. Dont spend on that expensive exide battery cause mysteriously they stop working exactly after the warranty runs out.

[farhadtarapore]

So which is the AGM or maintenance-free sealed battery available in India that we can use? I have a 2015 Thunderbird 500 and would love to have a maintenance free battery.
Every single battery shop I've asked refuses vehemently that there is no MF/sealed battery which has 12V/14A. Would a lesser capacity MF battery work if plonked in without any other modifications?

[Randhawa]

What actually matters is the CCA not really the 14Amp requirement. Triumph bonnveille runs 12v 6A battery for a twin engine and so does the street triple. The CCA for these batteries is I think 135 which the Exide 14A battery does not. So you could go for less then 14A but check out the CCA of the battery if the manufacturer provides the info.

[Randhawa]

Just correcting my statement. Bonnveille battery is 12V 10A.

[avsi]

Originally Posted by farhadtarapore

So which is the AGM or maintenance-free sealed battery available in India that we can use? I have a 2015 Thunderbird 500 and would love to have a maintenance free battery.
Every single battery shop I've asked refuses vehemently that there is no MF/sealed battery which has 12V/14A. Would a lesser capacity MF battery work if plonked in without any other modifications?

So any suggestions anyone
1. Any mod required to move to lower amp or just disconnect ES wire
2. Which battery then - some earlier quotes on this thread say even the amron pro biker is not good on enfields and exide is downright bad
3. 5amp is enough or 7 / 9

Specific inouts would help immensely since this is such gray area

[avsi]

Originally Posted by Randhawa

What actually matters is the CCA not really the 14Amp requirement..

My understanding of batteries is non existent but a potential upside of a lower amp battery might come in terms of higher charging ... So merits going for 5 amp if kick start can take it instead of 9 / 10 amp

[Randhawa]

Originally Posted by avsi

My understanding of batteries is non existent but a potential upside of a lower amp battery might come in terms of higher charging ... So merits going for 5 amp if kick start can take it instead of 9 / 10 amp

Not sure exactly what you meant but if the bike is carb fitted then no issues. Efi pump requirements could be different. I am sure if Bonnveille 10A can start a twin then why a 5A can't. But again check the CCA out and try to find the CCA of Exide 12v 14A. CCA(cold cranking amps) more the better. A battery with good cca should be good for first 30seconds of cold cranking while holding the min current at 7.2. I used to have the Exide 12v 14a and always lasted just over a year.

[avsi]

Originally Posted by Randhawa

Not sure exactly what you meant but if the bike is carb fitted then no issues. Efi pump requirements could be different. I am sure if Bonnveille 10A can start a twin then why a 5A can't. But again check the CCA out and try to find the CCA of Exide 12v 14A. CCA(cold cranking amps) more the better. A battery with good cca should be good for first 30seconds of cold cranking while holding the min current at 7.2. I used to have the Exide 12v 14a and always lasted just over a year.

So the idea is to get rid of the 14ah exide ... Seems worthless
Now amaron doesnt have a 14ah so need to move to 5 to 9 ah therefore am trying to breakdown why a bike needs higher ah battery
Clearly one reason is electric start - Thankfully one can sacrifice that in a classic as kick start is already there
There other is fuel injection - am now trying to find out how much battery does that need cos sadly it is a buyer beware purchase cant get the battery and figure it was a mistake

Exide 14ah is 140cca whereas exide 5ah has a cca of 50 So clearly something in a classic needs three times the battery power - is it the electric start or is it alao the efi pump

Your comparison with Bonneville may not hold due to (suspected) inefficiencies of enfield parts

[ArizonaJim]

The 14 ah battery is required mainly for the electric starter on a very cold day with the headlight turned on.
When the engine is very cold, the oil on the cylinder walls and piston is thick so the added power is needed.

The electric fuel pump, fuel injector and ECU do not require a lot of power but of course some power is needed while the battery is cranking the engine.

While I can understand the desire to replace the battery with a less expensive, lighter one, please do not forget that on occasion, having a fully functional electric starter motor is not only nice but it can save your hide.

For instance, there you are, sitting at a stop, surrounded by cars, trucks, buses and such and your engine dies just before the light changes.
Using the electric starter to rapidly refire the engine and get on your way is indeed a nice thing to have at your finger tips.

Also, don't forget, that smaller battery can rapidly run down unless you keep the engine running at a moderate to high speed.
The charging system on the Royal Enfields (and others) is incapable of keeping the battery charged if the engine is idling while the headlight is on.

While most of the RE's being ridden now have the option of turning the headlight off, that is not going to be available on any of the newly produced motorcycles so, I foresee a lot of you people who use a undersized battery stranded along the roadways.

As for me, I'll take the larger 14 ah battery over the smaller ones, any-day.

[avsi]

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

As for me, I'll take the larger 14 ah battery over the smaller ones, any-day.

No you wont
If you like me were to ride 1000km in 4 years and change the battery practically every time you started the bike you too would probably look for an alternative

The exide battery for all its cca doesnot hold for too long Guess no battery does But then its a problem Lower amp will not help this cause either but Amaron batteries may be better quality wise thus the quest
Electric start is out of question anyway

Incidentally my riding is so low is (apart from the battery problem) due to a bit of an unstable rear wheel (cant call it wobbly but its just not planted - more like a drag on the rear wheel)
Got the tyre changed to a pirelli but just doesnt feel sure at the rear The idea of struggling with pompous grease monkeys at the workshop is dissuading enough to try any further solutions

So... a battery change everytime I cant control the urge to go for a little spin (till I upgrade to a better bike) calls for a lower amp cheaper battery option

After fifteen years of riding previous gen bullet none of this ridiculous situation is a surprise though

[vinit.merchant]

I own a 2009 CI Electra, and its stock Exide battery lasted me almost 6 years, until one time it stood idle for like 2-3 months and battery gave way.
Now using the 9 amp battery and haven't used the ES since a long time. The 9 amp has already lasted 2 years.
I think the ES on my bike has stopped working now, due to non-usage, but even a 9 amp battery can crank the bullet, just that it is advisable to kick start the bull in the morning and not use the ES (the CI one's), even though you may have a 14 amp battery.

[Randhawa]

Originally Posted by avsi

So the idea is to get rid of the 14ah exide ... Seems worthless
Now amaron doesnt have a 14ah so need to move to 5 to 9 ah therefore am trying to breakdown why a bike needs higher ah battery
Clearly one reason is electric start - Thankfully one can sacrifice that in a classic as kick start is already there
There other is fuel injection - am now trying to find out how much battery does that need cos sadly it is a buyer beware purchase cant get the battery and figure it was a mistake

Exide 14ah is 140cca whereas exide 5ah has a cca of 50 So clearly something in a classic needs three times the battery power - is it the electric start or is it alao the efi pump

Your comparison with Bonneville may not hold due to (suspected) inefficiencies of enfield parts

A battery will always have a chemical reaction going on while idling or running. One thing you can do is to get a battery tender, hook it up to the electricity supply at all times. It won't take much of your electricity bill. My experience with Exide was that it will last just over a year. I replaced it once in two years. In 2010 I got it for Rs 800 with exchange, recently heard the price is Rs 2300 with exchange in 2017. I don't remember much of classic now but the alternater was quite a powerful on supplying 200+ watts. You could run 2 more 55watts AUX lights and it won't be a big deal with it. You could start with adding up the individual amp load of everything which runs on battery. If I remember the headlight runs on alternator and rest on the battery which isn't much. There was another thing on classic that some bikes had earthing issues. They will loose charge even with a new battery overnight, on my friends bike it was his ignition switch which was draining it. Check all the wiring connectors because the get carbon deposit and use an electrical spray to clean it to even wd40 works wonder. The Classic Thread has lot of info but unfortunately I don't remember most of it now in detail. Either dig it from there or just try to find the amp required for the ES motor. Or try a battery from a 200cc + bike, see if its crank your beast. In my experience Exide batteries never last more then a year and did needed constant charge once a week. Even doing that it won't last over 1.5 yrs. On other hand, my Exide battery on my car last normally three yrs and that is a diesel car, petrol cars can have even longer life with same battery.