Batteries

[RwC 2006]

ok my battery is completely dead, i can charge it up and ride it and it does fine but as soon as i cut the bike off it wont start back up. so i called the dealership and asked about a new battery and they said it would be $68 and it was fully charged and ready to put in. then i told one of my friends about the price and he said i should go to advance or pepboys and get one and it would be alot cheaper but i would have to put water in it, so my question is what would you guys reccomend?

[md86]

If you charge your batt and it'll start , but won't start later , you need to check you charging system before shelling out for another battery , otherwise you'll destroy THAT one soon , too . Also , you can get a battery from JC Whitney for like $35 , but you'll need to fill it with acid (another $5-$10) and charge it (another $20 for a charger , but they ARE usefull) . Hook up a voltmeter/multimeter to your battery leads and see if your charging voltage goes up when the bike's running . If not , you got a problem . Cyberpoet , your electrical troubleshooting guide ....

[Zukiman]

I've noticed that Advance Auto is starting to carry more stuff for bikes. I would check with them. But take the advice of md86 first.

[RwC 2006]

but if the charging system on the bike didn't work wouldn't the battery just die and not work while i tried to ride it? actually on my first post i should clarify a little bit, i don't take the battery out and charge it i use one of those charger/booster packs and as soon as i hook it up the bike will crank no problem, so i'm not sure if that makes a difference or not...

[md86]

Well , the charger/booster thing is probably starting the bike , the battery's dead . If it STAYS running , then the charging system is PROBABLY working . I'd check it to make sure , as the seat's off at that time anyway ! I've ridden with a toasted battery before . Pushstarted the bike and it'd run all day long with a dead battery .

[RwC 2006]

yeh i'm definitely going to check it before i spend the money for a new battery, with my luck i'd get the battery and it would be the charging system thats messed up...

[smhholm]

Easy way to check if it is you battery or charging system is to use a load tester. Your battery might charge but it might not be able to handle the load of starting, it would however run just fime once you jumpstarted it. Any car part stroe should be able to check it for you if you don't know anybody who has a load tester.

[kiwiman555]

JCWhitney doesn't have Suzuki listed under batteries!?!?!

Which one fits?

[Mojoe]

ok my battery is completely dead, i can charge it up and ride it and it does fine but as soon as i cut the bike off it wont start back up. so i called the dealership and asked about a new battery and they said it would be $68 and it was fully charged and ready to put in. then i told one of my friends about the price and he said i should go to advance or pepboys and get one and it would be alot cheaper but i would have to put water in it, so my question is what would you guys reccomend?

md86 pretty much covered it, but he left out one little thing. Check the level of electolite in your battery. I have 2 perfectly good batteries sitting in my shed that others tossed away for the same reason. They charge it up, and it is good for one start....then that is it. So they bought new ones. I was there for both of the switchings to new batteries, and asked if I could have the old one. I took the electrolite out of an old battery I bought at Walmart that is no good anymore, that I keep around just to top of my battery. Many people do not bother to pop the top off and check the level. You need to have the electrodes covered. The lower the level, the hotter the battery becomes. The hotter the battery becomes, the more electrolite that evaporates. You can use distilled water to top it off.

[The CyberPoet]

You've got a 2003 model. That means no checking electrolyte (it's a sealed no-maintenance battery).

You can find replacements through various mail order dealers, sometimes through Walmart or some auto parts stores. The OEM battery (Yuasa) delivers far more cold crank amps than any of the cheaper aftermarket batteries I've seen for the same form-factor.

To test the charging system, see this:
CyberPoet's How to Test, Diagnose, Troubleshoot your motorcycle electrical and charging system, at MotorcycleAnchor.com

KNOW THIS:
Each time you drain a lead-acid battery most or all of the way (enough that it can't start the bike), it loses 25 - 40% of it's storage capacity. Run down the battery three times and it becomes borderline defective, unable to start the bike on high-demand (on particularly cold days, etc). Trickle chargers help because they help keep the battery from running low enough while parked to damage it.
The other two killers are heat and vibration. Living in Florida and doing long roadtrips means my batteries face both of those, especially engine heat pouring backwards across the battery.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[WildKat]

Similar issue that a buddy of mine had w/ his gixxer last summer.. once it was running, it was fine, but as soon as he shut it off, no dice. His stator was shot, replaced it after the trip, which was quite the ordeal to say the least, and all was good again. He also replaced the battery.

[CorpZ]

wow$68.
$37 at my local Honda-Suzuki dealer for new batt. and charging system test

[RwC 2006]

yeh the 68 bucks didn't sound too great, and i guess it was "just my luck that he ONLY had 1 KATANA battery left" i'm going to go get the charging system checked on it this weekend, i'll probably just carry it over to the dealership and let them check it since it's right down the rode from my apt. but i'm definitely not pay $68 for a battery...

[The CyberPoet]

yeh the 68 bucks didn't sound too great, and i guess it was "just my luck that he ONLY had 1 KATANA battery left" i'm going to go get the charging system checked on it this weekend, i'll probably just carry it over to the dealership and let them check it since it's right down the rode from my apt. but i'm definitely not pay $68 for a battery...

$68 is about SRP on the Yuasa OEM maint-free battery for the 98+. If that includes pre-charging on their charger and install, it's a reasonable price. Remember that new batteries need to be charged after having their acid added -- something that takes about an hour on a 4 amp charger (well, would take longer, but that's the max rate that battery can be charged at, and the max time it can be charged at that rate), and about 6 hours on a 0.8 amp trickle charger to fill the battery all the way

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet