What Would You Do???

[MichiganBob]

My dealer might be willing to prorate a new BMW battery. It would be half of $180 (Bust My Wallet) so $90 or I can get a PC680 on prime for $135 (with tax). Is the PC680 45 bucks better. IYHO?

 

Thanks.

 

MB

[Rinkydink]

Is this is for your ‘18 RT? I don’t think a PC680 will fit. I may be wrong but I’d double check. 

[MichiganBob]

Thanks Rinkydink. I'll check again as well. Yes 2018 RT.

[MichiganBob]

Tried Odyssey page and this is what I got .... "Listing is not offered at this time. Please check actual vehicle battery and contact Odyssey."

[Rougarou]

When this PC680 dies, I ain'ta gonna get another one.  Too sensitive if'n you want to put it on a tender, must have the "recommended" tender, lest you ruin the battry.  I'd go back with the BMW exide or a Deka.

[Rinkydink]

4 minutes ago, MichiganBob said:

Tried Odyssey page and this is what I got .... "Listing is not offered at this time. Please check actual vehicle battery and contact Odyssey."

I’m pretty darn sure it won’t work. Yuasa is a good alternative. 
 

 

[MichiganBob]

Tried five large companies: Amazon, Dennis Kirk, Revzilla, J&P, and Cycle Gear. None had Odyssey listed for my 2018. There is Yuasa, Duraboost, Fire Power, and Anti-Gravity Lithium. I think you're correct Rinky Dink. 

[MichiganBob]

The price point on the Yuasa is $139 from RevZilla. It's a AGM YTX20CH-BS

[szurszewski]

No one has really answered your original question - in my opinion, if you can get a new OEM battery from the dealer, and thus presumably with the warranty, for $90, that seems like the obvious choice. I like the PC680 where it will fit, but I'd not turn down an OEM at that price - they certainly aren't bad batteries. 

[MichiganBob]

That's what I'm thinking szurszewski. Thanks.

 

 

[Skywagon]

ive been happy with my battery replacement.  See my post above....but if dealer will do it for 90 and new warranty I would probably do that if they will also change it out.  If no warranty I would use the battery I did.  It's about $90.  So money is same...but what will BMW warrant.  680 will not fit.

[Hosstage]

I would agree with just getting the oem battery, it's a good price, it fits, and it's available.

[dirtrider]

11 hours ago, MichiganBob said:

My dealer might be willing to prorate a new BMW battery. It would be half of $180 (Bust My Wallet) so $90 or I can get a PC680 on prime for $135 (with tax). Is the PC680 45 bucks better. IYHO?

 

Thanks.

 

MB

Morning Bob

 

Tough decision. 1/2 price on an OEM is a decent deal but look at how long it didn't last for you. Figure out how much it cost you per month to use it based on $90.00 as the cost basis. 

 

If you are about done riding for the year in Michigan then you might see if your dealer will work with you & hold off on replacing that battery at 1/2 cost until spring rather than now as that will hopefully give you a 5-6 months newer battery. 

 

Unless you are still riding regularly then you have all winter to find a decent battery price. No sense in buying a new battery now then letting it sit in storage all winter. 

 

Here is a sort-of on battery sizes __

 

 

BMW OEM               = 150mm long x 87mm wide x 170mm high   (BMW- 61218531121- AGM) 
     

Yuasa ytx20ch-bs   = 150mm long x 87mm wide x 170mm high

 

Yuasa ytx16bs        = 150mm long x 87mm wide x 170mm high

 

Odyssey PC-680     = 184mm long x 79mm wide x 168mm high    (won't fit wethead RT)

 

 

 

 

[realshelby]

My Wethead would have had a PC680 were there a way to fit it. Had one in the '04 RT ( I don't think they technically "fit" by the book in those either ). Never used a tender or a charger on it the whole time. Traded it for the '14 RT, so it was probably 7-8 years old. Even when the bike sat for a while...it always cranked right up. I understand even the Oilhead charging system wasn't "correct" for the Oddysey....but I am a believer in them as the best battery I have ever bought. 

[PatM]

Isn't the OEM battery 16 Ah? If it was me I would replace with the Yuasa ytx20ch-bs which is 20 Ah.

[dirtrider]

5 hours ago, PatM said:

Isn't the OEM battery 16 Ah? If it was me I would replace with the Yuasa ytx20ch-bs which is 20 Ah.

Morning  PatM

 

I believe the stock BMW battery is 14 ah but that doesn't tell you much up front.

 

The Amp Hour rating is based on a lower discharge rate & how long it takes to (slowly) pull it down to a certain level of charge. Important if you are using it as a power supply battery, or intend on leaving your lights on long term while motorcycle is parked,  but really doesn't tell you much about it's cold engine cranking ability.

 

What you need to be interested in is the CCA or Cold Cranking Amps as that tells the story on how much power it has to start the engine on a cold morning. 

[PatM]

3 hours ago, dirtrider said:

Morning  PatM

 

I believe the stock BMW battery is 14 ah but that doesn't tell you much up front.

 

The Amp Hour rating is based on a lower discharge rate & how long it takes to (slowly) pull it down to a certain level of charge. Important if you are using it as a power supply battery, or intend on leaving your lights on long term while motorcycle is parked,  but really doesn't tell you much about it's cold engine cranking ability.

 

What you need to be interested in is the CCA or Cold Crank Amps as that tells the story on how much power it has to start the engine on a cold morning. 

Ah, OK. I stand corrected. The YTX20CH-BS has 270 CCA while the OEM Exide has 230 CCA. 

[David13]

I'd take the $90 deal.

 

I never had a motorcycle battery last more than 3 years.  And I never wanted one to.  I accepted they don't last as long as Honda car batteries, and get a new one.

 

I was just getting oem.  But then I saw the BeemerBoneyard $85 Westco special so I tried it.  So far so good.

dc

[RTinNC]

+1 on the $90 deal.   There is no uniform battery life as I have always run BMW OEM Batteries and have had them last anywhere from 6+ years to 3 years.   You just never know.   And the OEM Battery has a 2 year replacement warranty.  Go for it! 

[MichiganBob]

Good Evening,

 

I brought the battery in today and they tested it and were able to fully charge it. They ran load tests and such as could not find anything wrong. So I will pick it up and try it. Although I was over the warranty by five months, they were graciously willing to replace the battery at no cost if my current one was or is faulty. So that's it for now. Thanks for your helpful feedback folks.

 

Michiganbob

[Oldrider51]

Great to hear! A good customer service dealer also!

 

[dirtrider]

11 hours ago, MichiganBob said:

Good Evening,

 

I brought the battery in today and they tested it and were able to fully charge it. They ran load tests and such as could not find anything wrong. So I will pick it up and try it. Although I was over the warranty by five months, they were graciously willing to replace the battery at no cost if my current one was or is faulty. So that's it for now. Thanks for your helpful feedback folks.

 

Michiganbob

Morning Bob 

 

So now you are back to WHY you originally  thought "your battery took a dump". You should try to understand & address this while your dealer is still in the replacement mood. 

 

Those dealer battery testers are not 100% reliable on marginal batteries,  they do work pretty good at finding totally failed battery's but don't always work good on finding marginal battery's.

 

 

[realshelby]

What DR says is true. I have had batteries load tested and shown to pass. Yet they were not able to hold a charge over a few days.....

 

Then there is my belief that once a battery goes fully dead it is a liability as far as how long they will last after that. Especially if that battery sits a few days fully discharged. 

[Hosstage]

18 minutes ago, realshelby said:

What DR says is true. I have had batteries load tested and shown to pass. Yet they were not able to hold a charge over a few days.....

 

Then there is my belief that once a battery goes fully dead it is a liability as far as how long they will last after that. Especially if that battery sits a few days fully discharged. 

 

I have to agree, I do not trust a battery once it has been completely discharged, or at least severely discharged. I have not had good luck with any battery once this has happened, other than deep cell marine batteries.

[David13]

I have a new Honda ATV that came with a bad battery.  I took the battery back and they tested it.  It showed good.  But they said they could hear it sizzle when they put it on the charger and so they gave me a new one, but had to turn in some special form to get Honda to pay for it.  Honda wanted their print out showing it as bad.  They knew it had a bad cell (which was why it wouldn't hold a charge) but it still showed good on the tester.

dc

[Hosstage]

I also like to top off new batteries with a full charge (from a proper tender) before installing. I don't even let the shop do a load test on a new battery before I take it, I want that full charge first. They can test voltage, but no load.

Old school thinking based on old cordless drill batteries, and I'm sure has no bearing on modern batteries, but sometimes us old guys get a little stuck in our ways...

[dirtrider]

2 hours ago, David13 said:

I have a new Honda ATV that came with a bad battery.  I took the battery back and they tested it.  It showed good.  But they said they could hear it sizzle when they put it on the charger and so they gave me a new one, but had to turn in some special form to get Honda to pay for it.  Honda wanted their print out showing it as bad.  They knew it had a bad cell (which was why it wouldn't hold a charge) but it still showed good on the tester.

dc

Afternoon David13

 

That is why a good "customer friendly" shop keeps an old (known/shown) bad battery on the shelf so they can warranty iffy batteries with data to back it up. 

 

In the old days we would just put some baking soda in one cell but with the new sealed battery's no-can-do anymore.

[David13]

22 hours ago, dirtrider said:

Afternoon David13

 

That is why a good "customer friendly" shop keeps an old (known/shown) bad battery on the shelf so they can warranty iffy batteries with data to back it up. 

 

In the old days we would just put some baking soda in one cell but with the new sealed battery's no-can-do anymore.

 

I only wonder if they could do that today.  Their battery tester may be too sophisticated for it.  It prints out a little page of paper with data.  Which may well include some information about the battery.  Serial no, date of manuf. etc.,  I didn't look at it but no idea what all could be on there. 

 

But then too, I was talking about Honda, so they may well have not had a bad battery for a while. 

dc

[dirtrider]

37 minutes ago, David13 said:

 

I only wonder if they could do that today.  Their battery tester may be too sophisticated for it.  It prints out a little page of paper with data.  Which may well include some information about the battery.  Serial no, date of manuf. etc.,  I didn't look at it but no idea what all could be on there. 

 

But then too, I was talking about Honda, so they may well have not had a bad battery for a while. 

dc

Afternoon  David

 

That is probably true BUT the data would have to be entered manually as a battery (even a BMW or Honda one) can't talk or supply any internal information. About all it can do is supply voltage, amperage to the tester. No ALDL or data connection port on a motorcycle battery, (at least YET)

 

So they do what they do & enter the motorcycle data, current date, date motorcycle was put into service, etc, 

 

Then they test the bad battery, then they have a data record  to print out for BMW (or whoever).