what kind of battery?
 

what kind of battery for my yamaha xt? in terms of cranking amps anyway... i've been told it's 9amps but friends of mine got 12 amps batteries on their honda bikes etc so what kind of battery do i buy? also where do you recommend i look?

Hi Adrien,

Not sure where you live or what type XT you have, but the only limitation you will have with regards to batteries is what will fit in the battery tray of your bike. More cranking amps is better, so if you can fit one on your bike go for it.

You can run your bike off a car battery if you have to. Anything 12 volts will do.

Interesting story. I was riding my old BMW through the Okanagan valley in British Columbia Canada one day years ago. My trusty bike died right in front of a Canadian tire store after having traveled miles through the middle of nowhere. It wouldn't start. Turns out the battery was not only dead, but the alternator rotor was toast. The bike could only keep going until the battery was totally flat and the electronic ignition couldn't fire the plugs. You gotta love a bike that coasts to a stop right in front of a battery store when its alternator gives out. What to do. 1000 miles from home. Hmmmm. So I went into the Canadian tire store and bought a big-ass truck battery that fit my truck at home and some long battery cables and strapped the battery on the rear rack and extended the battery cables through the side covers and hooked it up in parallel to my dead battery. Disconnected my headlight and ran the bike on dead loss off the truck battery for hundreds of miles no problem until I could get to a BMW repair shop and swap out the dead alternator rotor.

So in summary, get the best battery that will fit your battery tray.

Kindest regards,
John Downs

I put an Odyssey battery in my XT600E..

GREAT battery. I swear that thing would of cranked for 12 hours without running down lol.

Odyssey are good, i used a Motobatt (both AGM) and the thing is with an AGM you can mount them any way you like (except upside down) ive seen guys mount bigger battery's on there side under the seat (on a DR650) so like the poster said your only limited by the size of the space & only an AGM can be shoved in to spots where a normal battery cannot go (as it would leak).

Mezo.

I recently ordered a standard OEM Yuasa battery for one of my XT's and eventually was sent another cheaper version of same! Not impressed. Took ages to get a refund, I was almost at the point of issuing proceedings in the small claims (County) courts. What annoyed me was that the idiots I bought the thing off didn't understand the principal of reasonable and fair compensation. They eventually gave my money back so why was I complaining..... Damn fools.

My advice - Go to your local trusted bike shop and get a maintenance free gel type battery.

If you can afford an Odessy battery then get one otherwise spend around £30 - £40 on a OEM fit.

My original battery has lasted almost 9 years, and 96.000km. I accidentially drained it totally once when the starter relay got stuck, and the starter turned over till there was no more juice on the battery. Talk about reliable. Still works great.

the gel batteries are very nice, but if you cannot afford one go with standard "YTX9BS" or one of the same size ie. "UTX9BS" "ES9BS" etc.
12V 8AH. you do not want to go to much (DO NOT) use a car battery, you may not have problems right away. but ive seen what the wrong size battery can do to an electrical system and it is not nice at all. good luck to you, hope my info was helpful.

The AGM battery posted here: eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices says it's for a Yamaha XT 600 Z Tenere (34L) (K/Start) (1983-1985) but the height is 168mm which is 6.61417323 inches (exact conversion thanks to Google!) but the battery I have already is only about 130mm high (about 5 inches). The exact same battery is also on wemoto Yamaha XT 600 Z Tenere 84 Battery Motobatt Sealed High Torque Parts at Wemoto - The UK's No.1 On-Line Motorcycle Parts Retailer for the '84 XT600. Common sense says it's not going to fit but that's two sites selling it for the bike. Anyone used these MotoBatts with their XT600s or have any input into it? Thanks.

edit: @Mezo Just noticed it was a MotoBatt you used, was this the one and how was the fit?

Mezo Just noticed it was a MotoBatt you used, was this the one and how was the fit?[/QUOTE]

Which model is this for? i fitted one on a 3AJ.

Mezo.

Ah right, mine's a 34L... I've emailed the sellers to get a bit more info on it

Just got off the phone to the ebay seller - the correct MotoBatt replacement for a 34L is a MB4U

If you go on Motobatt website you can see all there batteries, amps & dimensions, your a bit limited with a 34L as the battery box is pretty small where the 3AJ one allows a bit more.

The MBTX7U will squeeze in there but sticks out about 25mm so you would have to make sure your side panel has the clearance.

Its the same price but gives another amp of power & is 2lbs heavier as well so basically a bit more heavy duty.

Might be worth just going through the range & checking the dimensions, remembering you can fit an AGM on its side with no problems (except inverted).

Mezo.

I have a MTBX9U in my 91 XT, fitted no problem and spins it over like a sewing machine, and it converted a reluctant starter into a first time every time starter.

I agree, it's a great battery, I've been using one for a while now and had no issues with it.

Yes an Odessy battery is a nice bit of kit BUT it's also a premium item. By this I mean that it's not really worth the extra money asked. The company sells the item for as much as the market will stand which means their profit margin is enormous = unfair to the consumer.

I would like to know just how much the Oddessy battery costs to make compared to a standard one. I'd guess the standard battery can be made for less than £10 whereas the Oddessy battery costs around £20 to make. No one would stop a company making a profit but often the profits taken are a rip off.

If you want a prefectly servicable basic battery go for a £30 YTX9BS jobby on Ebay.

If you are wealthy and have the money to throw away, go for the top shelf stuff like Oddessy. Although it will perform brilliantly it doesn't represent brilliant value for money.... :(

As much as I'd like to, I can't agree with this.

Those cheap Ebay jobs are junk. They will last 1/3 of the time as a properly maintained Yuasa or Odyssey. I'd never had a cheap battery that has lasted or performed well and I've tried LOADS. The only time I buy them is when I need a new battery to sell a bike.

Batteries are really one of those 'You get what you pay for' items. A proper Yuasa will probably cost about £70 and an Odyssey about £100 if you really shop about.

Of course. You have to look after any battery. Letting it go flat or kept for extending periods in the bitter cold without being used, will ruin one.

USE It, OR LOSE IT !!

Yuasa are made in China as well now. :thumbdown:

The Odyssey is made in the USA & Wales.

Mezo.

ahhh come on. Just because something is made in China, doesn't mean it's crap. It's just cheaper labour. China can and does make a lot of quality stuff. They have the technology, skilled workers and industrial might to out do most countries now. Hence while we'll all be speaking Cantonese in 50 years :innocent:

I think Yuasa actually make two varieties of the same battery. You will often find that they have a cheaper and full price version of the same battery. Just with a slightly different code.I think the difference is where it is made....

The quality control is probably the same. Yuasa have a strong product reputation to protect. "Billy bad ass batteries LTD" selling his Generic black bricks on Ebay doesn't :rolleyes2:

Surly you mean "Birry Ba Ass Battarees" Ted. :mchappy:

Anything coming out of China is absolute utter crap, end of story.

Mezo.

Funny thread this one is turning out to be. lol :clap:

I have to agree with Touring Ted on the China thing - It's clearly unfair to say that every single thing manufactured there is crap! This is clearly not the case. There are many items made in China that are as good if not better than European made stuff. As Ted said, it's all about wage levels nothing else.

The thing I do get riled up about with the Chinese is that they blantently pinch ideas of others and copy manufacturing processes without regard to the inventor. This is out of order. :nono:

As for the battery - My £30 Ebay jobby is currently hooked up to my battery conditioner/maintainer on one of my XT's over winter. It will be interesting to see just how long it lasts compared to the standard OEM Yausa battery it replaced. The budget battery was NOT my first choice, I actually ordered a Yausa but the supplier messed the order up and sent the budget one (charging me a Yuasa price). I sorted it out and got a refund (but will never again get one on Ebay again). Some (normally foriegn it must be said) retailers just don't understand the principal of compensation when they mess things up - they think it's all okay just to refund a proportion of your money. It infuriates me....

I went to a tradesman expo few months back, there was a couple of Chinese larrikins with a stall set up selling knock off Paslode nailer`s right next door to the official Paslode stall.

These things were identical in every way, even the orange was an exact match, the cheeky sods even informed us Paslode nails & batteries fit straight in.

The difference? (apart form the build quality) $1200 for the original & $300 for the copy, and there's nothing Paslode could do or say about it.

Back to the topic, you said "My £30 Ebay jobby is currently hooked up to my battery conditioner/maintainer on one of my XT's over winter"

Chinese battery conditioner to a Chinese battery? make sure your house insurance is up to date. :innocent:

Mezo.

Luckily I use one of these things -

http://www.datatool.co.uk/consumer/p...roduct=battery

The "Datatool" is a re-badged Accumate and that is a re-badged Optimate 3 and if you page right down to the bottom it says,,,,

Made in,,,go on guess :mchappy::chinese:

Mezo.

The Motobatt is a Chinese knock of of the Odessy, and in Oz it costs less than half the price of a Odessy.

There is a good comparision test somewhere online and the Motobatt comes out top in the things that matter.

My dealer now stocks them exclusivly, and claims he has has had no warrenty claims in over a year.

The Chinese can make whatever you ask, to any spec and quality you are prepared to pay for - just dont expect them to make top quality for a junk price!

I have Motobatts in my G/S and XT600 and in both cases they have transformed them from reluctant starters into first time starters - while they have around a modest 25% more CCA than a SLA battery they are able to supply this and still supply a full 12 1/2 volts to the ignition/ electronics, and this is a great to starting, particularly on an older bike with a bit more voltage drop on the old harness, etc.

Never tried a motobatt but it's good to hear they're are performing well. :thumbup1: