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Replacement Battery Info for R1200RT WetHead/R1250RT ShiftHead


Boxflyer

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There are lots of forum threads that contain individual users' experience with what battery they use to replace the OEM battery on the 2014-2018 R1200RT WetHead series of BMW.
This info is also probably applicable to the 2019-on R1250RTW as well, since the only real change with the ShiftHead was the engine. It's just not updated on the YUASA site but shows the same battery is used for all WetHead and ShiftHead RTW from 2014-2020 on RealOEM.com Part #61218531121. RealOEM Parts  MAX BMW Parts Fiche  $176

Since YUASA appears to make some of the BMW labeled OEM batteries, going to their website provides a couple of answers to help out when trying to find a suitable replacement battery.

There are few option choices if you stay within the original spec of lead-acid battery. I'm not going to get into replacement Li-Ion or other alternative chemical composition batteries since that's going outside the OEM Spec for batteries.

To gain some background on the development of batteries since 1859, this site has plenty of info on the SLA (sealed lead-acid) batteries we use.
Battery History

For the WetHead series of bike, we are limited in the type/size of battery that will fit into the location provided, specifically 6 x 3 7/16 x 6 3/8 inches, or 150x87x161mm (LxWxH).
Post/terminal position and polarity are also considerations. Knowing these 2 factors allows you to narrow your search very easily. (Using a slightly smaller battery in any dimension is not used in my search for a "proper" replacement)

Using this link to the YUASA Application Guide helps establish that there are just 2 batteries that are listed as, AGM or High Performance AGM.
Yuasa Battery Guide

The 2 batteries that are listed for the 2014-2018 BMW R1200RT are YTX16-BS AGM and YTX20CH-BS High Performance AGM.
If you follow the link above to the YUASA site and then search with the FIND Command, Command+F (Mac) or Ctrl+F (Windows) and fill in the SEARCH field with YTX20CH-BS it will step thru all occurrences of this battery on the entire website.


It's apparent that the difference between a "16" and a "20" series is capacity/power generated within the same size case.

To summarize what's there if the link to the YUASA site changes, these 2 batteries listed have the correct external dimension/size to fit our bike, but these differences in performance.

 

Yuasa%20battery%20-M.jpg

I have listed this as the replacement battery I'm using since the fall of 2019 when my OEM battery failed on my 2016R1200RTW at 52k…now 70k+.
Rechargeable YTX20CH-BS Chrome Pro High Performance Power Sports Battery
Amazon Link to YTX20CH-BS
Still working, as well as or better than, the OEM and at less than $55 delivered has been a good value for me.

Hope this helps WHEN…NOT IF…you need to replace your battery.

 

E6343165-F700-452E-BDD4-5F3793479902-M.j

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Aussie Mark

Great Battery info, thanks Boxflyer! :18:

Just frustrating when I look up the price in our little country and it does not include delivery.. 

 

YTX20CH-BS Aus.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

BoxFlyer, thanks for all your research and for posting this thread! Since my new-to-me 2015 R1200RTW is six years old with the original battery, I ordered the Yuasa YTX20CH-BS, which arrived yesterday. What I found to be very odd is that although this is an AGM battery, it was shipped dry with a bag of acid. I haven't had to fill a battery since the bad old days of flooded batteries. Never before heard of an AGM battery that wasn't filled and sealed at the factory, though most of my AGM battery experience is with Odyssey (and I like those a LOT, though of course they don't have an application for this bike).

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Hi Cookie,

I got this from the Yuasa site regarding a more detailed description of their AGM batteries.

Image%205-19-21%20at%2008.26-M.jpg

 

The battery I purchased and used in my 2016RTW is not a branded Yuasa battery, and was shipped wet, and sealed.

Here's the link to the battery I use.  Amazon Link to YTX20CH-BS

Sorry you had to add the acid yourself, but it should be just as powerful and serviceable once installed.

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Cookie,

 

I have the same battery in my 14RT and a different size in my Wee Strom, both required the acid to be added.  I think this is better since the batty hasn't been "sitting around".  By adding the acid yourself you are assured a fresh battery. 

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+1 on adding acid yourself is a good thing.

 

I had a Vstrom that would eat batteries every 3 years or so.  And it would seem to be fine right up to the day when it would not start.  So, I started keeping a spare battery on the shelf with the acid separate.  And then when the day came that the bike would not start, I could put a fresh battery in, and then order the next spare.  The acid came in a neat little 6-pack that facilitated filling all of the cells simultaneously.  Quick, easy, safe.  It's a feature, not a bug.

 

Cap

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8 hours ago, cookie said:

BoxFlyer, thanks for all your research and for posting this thread! Since my new-to-me 2015 R1200RTW is six years old with the original battery, I ordered the Yuasa YTX20CH-BS, which arrived yesterday. What I found to be very odd is that although this is an AGM battery, it was shipped dry with a bag of acid. I haven't had to fill a battery since the bad old days of flooded batteries. Never before heard of an AGM battery that wasn't filled and sealed at the factory, though most of my AGM battery experience is with Odyssey (and I like those a LOT, though of course they don't have an application for this bike).

Where did you order it from as I want one.  That is the best way to have a battery in stock, dry.

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14 hours ago, cookie said:

Amazon. Yuasa Battery

Thank you. 

 

Flea Bay has it for 89.15 if anyone is looking for this brand. 

 

Cap pm'd me, and I had already looked there and that price is a good price.

 

Now I ride a GS so I need a different size but it is also 89.15 and dry which for stock is what you want. 

 

I am more of a time guy on batteries then miles.  While miles may indicate it is a good battery a guy who does high miles is working and maintaining a battery much better then a 6-8K a year rider.  So a time is good but of course that depends on how it is cared for.

 

I have tried many brands and have stayed with Yuasa for many years on Harley's, Yamaha's and 2 BMW's and they give me good service. 

 

Back in the day we got 5 or 6 years as a minimum  no issues and no special care.  Now it seems we just pitch them at 3 or 4 and buy new.  It seems odd to me that they have dropped in performance or are all the new electronics just wearing them out?

 

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Amazon pricing is funny. When I bought the battery on 5/11, the price was $94.37 including 6% tax. When I looked again (so I could link it here), it was something like $138 plus tax. And the first place I looked for the battery WAS eBay, and it was $2 cheaper than Amazon, so I ordered it (was supposed to be coming from Chaparral). But eBay immediately refunded my money, saying the battery was not available.

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In my opinion you always need to shop around, Amazon is all about asking as much as it can get (I've seen prices on items change a couple or more times during the same day ) not a percentage of cost like most retail.  I got the same battery from Amazon in March of 2018 for $83.74.  It's going strong!

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  • 2 years later...

Bringing this thread back from the deep sleep.    I was doing annual maintenance and realized that my 2015 Wethead was still on the OEM battery.  While it still cranked the bike well in normal riding weather (above 50F), my GS-911 would not let me do a maintenance minder reset unless I put the bike on a charger as the voltage was 12.3 volts with the ignition on and the GS-911 wants at least12.5V to do this reset.  Anyway I am trying the Chrome Pro YTX20CH-BS Boxflier suggested which is still a bargain at about $64 shipped to the door.  Hopefully Boxflyer is still having good results with this battery.

 

The amazing thing is that I got 8 years out of the OEM BMW Exide battery.  Even if I only get half that out of the Chrome Pro I'll be way ahead of the battery expense game.  Probably helped that when the bike was going to sit around for a while, or over winter, it was on an AGM compatible battery tender (Optimate4) and all but one winter the bike was kept in a heated garage which never was colder than 40F

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  • 1 month later...
40 minutes ago, Ken Kirk said:

I suggest any battery in which you add acid should be charged before being placed in service.

I do it with any battery I purchase for a motor vehicle, whether it is lead acid, agm, etc. Now that I think about it, I do it for all batteries, including power tools and toys.

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On 7/12/2023 at 2:01 PM, Paul De said:

was kept in a heated garage

Mine is in a heated garage right now. Just checked it’s a toasty 109 in my garage with the doors open. 

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I worked selling and managing a Moto Guzzi shop and the one tech we had was a a real die hard in setting up the dry batteries. He would add acid and demanded the battery sat for 24 hours. Then he would do a slow 2-4 amp charge for another 24 hours. We had no problems with batteries.

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Set up a few what we called “dry-charge” batteries in the first shop I worked at.  And the ones where the customer would wait a day to get it never came back.  The ones that needed it immediately we would give them a 6 amp blast for 10 minutes and warn them to charge it on a trickle charger for 6-8 hours sometimes only lasted that summer at best before the customer would be back saying it was a crap battery.  We’d tell them the process again to assure a long life for a setting up a new dry battery with acid freshly installed.  Some listened the rest did it wrong again…rinse was repeat.

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15 hours ago, Skywagon said:

Mine is in a heated garage right now. Just checked it’s a toasty 109 in my garage with the doors open. 

LOL. Well I did say heated, but maybe should have said temperature controlled, and in these parts that means heated.  -10 F is only 5 months away:(

 

 My newest inexpensive replacement AGM battery, which is working well so far, will be living the life of Riley in a truly temperature controlled environment in about two weeks. I’m installing a mini split heat pump to the garage turned Rumpus Room. So, any future battery life comments I make will need to be qualified with that factoid.

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On 8/25/2023 at 2:33 PM, Ken Kirk said:

I suggest any battery in which you add acid should be charged before being placed in service.

I think the term is 'full initialized' and it is a must if you want to get long life out of your battery.  The charge needs to be complete.  No half measures.

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On 8/25/2023 at 6:33 PM, Skywagon said:

Mine is in a heated garage right now. Just checked it’s a toasty 109 in my garage with the doors open. 

Morning David

 

That kind of temperature is hard on a battery, at anything over 100°f  typical automotive/motorcycle battery's start to self discharge quickly. And charging at those raised temperatures raises the internal  temperature even more. 

 

Ideally you would like to store a battery at 50°f - 60°f if possible but cold (down to reasonable) is way better than hot. 

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I know but short of air conditioning the detached garage, it’s just life in Texas. We’ve had 55 days over 100 so far this year and the 10 day forecast is all over 100. Haven’t ridden since June. Every 3 weeks I’ll put the bike on tender at night when it cools to 82-85 and take it off in the morning. I replace batteries in all vehicles every 3 years because of heat and the desire to not be stranded. 

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Your making me nervous Skywagon. Moving to Plano area from LI NY next year but have family on both coasts. Should I plan on traveling the months of July & August 

Edited by reg26
mistakes
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Early morning blasts can be done as long as it's not humid, for me it's the humidity that gets me.   100-150 mile Breakfast runs.  I live east of Dallas about 50-60 miles.   Welcome to the area!

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On 8/28/2023 at 4:51 PM, reg26 said:

Your making me nervous Skywagon. Moving to Plano area from LI NY next year but have family on both coasts. Should I plan on traveling the months of July & August 

LOL, I moved from Vancouver, BC to Plano, TX. Vancouver barely drops below 32F/0C and only get's as high as maybe 37C/98F. Dallas ranges from -15C/5F to 42C/107F. We just don't go outside in July and August. Not sure what  you mean by "...travelling the months of July & August". You just deal with it....

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Joe Frickin' Friday
5 hours ago, Boxflyer said:

Admin:

Please lock this thread...it has gone WAY off track and has nothing to do with what the OP was.

Thank you.


Not gonna lock it…but tech threads like this are a valuable resource for our members, and we’d rather not see them diluted with mundane (albeit friendly) chatter.

 

With that in mind, everybody please drop the chit-chat about riding/climate unless you’re making a relevant point about battery life.

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  • 1 month later...

After reading about  speed readout changing to the RT logo  in another thread, it got me thinking about my battery too. I have had the speed change to the RT logo twice now.

Going through Boxflyers  suggestion on battery replacements I went ahead and bought the one (YTX20CH-BS) off of Amazon.   Currently it is under 54 dollars.

Im not sure how old my current battery is, at his price I will just change it.

 

Thanks Boxflyer for all that you do here on this site. 

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2 hours ago, Scooter01 said:

After reading about  speed readout changing to the RT logo  in another thread, it got me thinking about my battery too. I have had the speed change to the RT logo twice now.

Going through Boxflyers  suggestion on battery replacements I went ahead and bought the one (YTX20CH-BS) off of Amazon.   Currently it is under 54 dollars.

Im not sure how old my current battery is, at his price I will just change it.

 

Thanks Boxflyer for all that you do here on this site. 

 

 

I just looked at Amazon prices two hours after your post, and nothing even close to $54.

$114,$117,$123,$137.

 

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Yuasa+YTX20CH-BS+Battery&i=automotive&rh=n%3A15684181%2Cp_89%3AYuasa&s=price-asc-rank&dc&crid=22S6XIE7P1AFQ&qid=1698340415&rnid=2528832011&sprefix=yuasa+ytx20ch-bs+battery%2Cautomotive%2C117&ref=sr_st_price-asc-rank&ds=v1%3AKFgbxJ6P1XzRYlAYllVvtexl4k7IT53HFRJerOTiv3w
 

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here is what  i ordered:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Chrome-Pro-YTX20CH-BS-Performance-Battery/dp/B078XGZK81/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=YTX20CH-BS+Chrome+Pro+High+Performance&qid=1617377275&sr=8-3

 

Chrome Pro YTX20CH-BS Maintenance Free Replacement Battery for ATV, Motorcycle, Scooter, and Snowmobile: 12 Volts, 1.8 Amps, 18Ah, Nut and Bolt (T3) Terminal

 

Amazon'sChoicein Powersports Batteries by Chrome Pro
 
 
 
50+ bought in past month
 

 
 
 
-16% $53.80$53.80
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Ah, $54 for the Chrome Pro. YTX20CH-BS. Does it ship wet and sealed?
I’m in Northern Oregon. I ordered the Yuasa (shipped dry) for well over a year now and flawless regardless of ambient temperature.

 

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Battery life is entirely dependent on ambient temperature. Those us that live in and ride in TX, DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT expect batteries to last very long. the HEAT kills all batteries whether it's a MC or Car. Summer time, the auto parts stores are littered with vehicle owners waiting to have their batteries replaced.

 

All you guys that don't have summer temperatures in the 100+F DO NOT understand this issue. We DO NOT expect batteries to last more than 4 years, 5 years and your on borrowed time.

 

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1 hour ago, GoldenWest said:

Ah, $54 for the Chrome Pro. YTX20CH-BS. Does it ship wet and sealed?
I’m in Northern Oregon. I ordered the Yuasa (shipped dry) for well over a year now and flawless regardless of ambient temperature.

 

The Chrome Pro battery shipes wet and sealed. I used one for a few years in my 2018 RT. Works and fits fine. 

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  • 4 months later...
duckhawk64

My battery flaked out this morning at work and almost stranded me. I turned off the heated grips and seat,  and the start up menu was turning off and on. I got it to start and 15 minutes later, @ 5000Rpms, I made it home.

 

I'm taking this adice and orsering the chrome this morning. 

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