Odyssey PC680 - '07 R1200RT

Hi -

Santa stated she'd buy something for my

damn keyboard

...anyways, getting on with the story, she stated she would buy us a battery for the '07 1200RT. However, checking the website, there's not one listed. Will the PC680 work, and if so any mods necessary?

Thanks, Don

Yep, just put one in my '09.

YOU WILL NEED TO SHIM IT A BIT TO GET IT TO FIT TIGHTLY.

I used reinforced plastic hosing and cut some pieces the width of the battery and placed them under the hold bar on the top and this tightened it right up. I think rubber fuel line hosing is what many have used!

Atomicman52 said:

Yep, just put one in my '09.

YOU WILL NEED TO SHIM IT A BIT TO GET IT TO FIT TIGHTLY.

I used reinforced plastic hosing and cut some pieces the width of the battery and placed them under the hold bar on the top and this tightened it right up. I think rubber fuel line hosing is what many have used!

Click to expand...

Yep - fuel line trick worked for me.

Don,

Per: http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?46055 - I'm adding that info to your thread title. Please do so yourself when posting to the tech forums. As you can imagine the answer you're seeking is somewhat model specific..

Thanks for your cooperation!

I just worked through a lot of issues related to charging voltage versus pc680 requirements on my R1150RT.

Since the '07 R1200RT was shipped with a GEL battery, similar to mine, which requires a lower charging voltage than the AGM PC680, I'm curious as to the typical charging voltage on this model year? (Mine ran in the 13.6-14.0 range which is far too low for the PC680.)
RB

Odyssey PC680

I replaced the OEM battery with this one early in the season in my 2009 RT. It performed beautifully and I did the
rubber hose method of securing it which works great. I'd recommend this battery to anyone. Good Luck.

Same battery, same method used in my07 R1200RT-P. No charging issues so far.

It turns out I had a GS-911 file from roborider so I could check the charging voltages. Although it averaged about 14.4V on the particular day he took the file, and it is slightly on the low side, it's much better than mine was. The Odyssey batteries charge best between 14.4 and 15.0 depending on temperature of the battery. (In fact in my garage below 40F it called for a 15.2V charge voltage and a 14.2V float (trickle charge voltage).

Looks like the voltage regulator in the R1200RT alternator runs a higher voltage than the R1150 alternators, which is good. Between my low alternator voltage and BT Jr. trickle charger, my 18 month-old PC680 battery was only holding a 67% charge. In spite of that it spun the engine quickly by it started slowly, first start of the day.
RB

This brings up a good question I've wondered about myself. If AGM batteries like the Odyssey want a little higher charging voltage, and gel batteries like BMW's Exide gel OEM battery have to have a little lower voltage, are we doing the right thing making the switch to an Odyssey?
Empirically, I can attest the Odyssey works great in my K12RS and my son's R1150R. I'm on my 3rd gel in my R12RT, all thanks to the original owner and BMW warranty replacement, but the bike also came with the special BMW float charger and advice from the PO to "always" keep the bike connected to the charger. With my 03 K12RS and Odyssey, I plug in my good Battery Minder charger every few weeks and find that the battery is always in good shape and the charger promptly goes to float / maintenance mode.
So if there are differences between a gel, wet cell, and AGM for charging voltages, how come we can swap them one for the other and have good results in most vehicles?
And how can one determine that his Odyssey is only 67% charged? (Yet it cranks great.)
I'm a believer in Odyssey batteries, having read on numerous forums about all kinds of experiences with various batteries in various BMW models. If the RT needs another battery, you can be sure it'll be an Odyssey. But, if that happens, I wonder whether I should get rid of the expensive BMW canbus-fluent gel charger and just use a Battery Minder with leads connected directly to the Odyssey replacement?

Jim

Jim, thanks for asking this question, I have been confused on this for years. When I went from an airhead to an oilhead with a GEL battery (2004 R1100S), BMW sold me their version of the BMW branded Deltran Battery Tender that was designed for the GEL battery.

When I bought my first CANBUS bike (2007 - F800S), BMW again sold me their charger designed to operate with that bike, a BMW charger (not Deltran), which is also called out in my owners manual of my new bike (2012 - R1200R) as the correct charger to use. That said, my BMW dealer now tells me there are better chargers on the market, and recommends the CTEK charger, especially with the Odyssey battery.

Chargers are not cheap, but being stranded hundreds of miles away from home due to a fried battery is more expensive. I hope someone has done enough research to tell us the correct answer.

Wayne

Hi All,

I'll get back to you with my experience regarding charging the PC680 when I have some. My 1st PC680 died (and was replaced under warranty) and so far the new battery has about 15 minutes operating (baby, it's COLD outside!) I did purchase the Odyssey charger and will be using that to keep the battery topped off.

As to mounting in an RT - yep, shimming required. The rest of you are way too sophisticated. Having grown up on the fringes of redneck-dom, I got out my box cutter and did just that - cut the shipping box to size for shims. Seemed to work just fine - or is that the reason the first PC680 died prematurely???

Regards, Marty

I am a fairly new BMW owner (purchased a used 2008 R1200RT this past summer) and the previous owner had replaced the battery with an Exide OEM battery some time ago, they were not specific on when, but maybe only 2 years ago. Anyhow, it has seemed weak from the get go to me. Recently I let the bike sit for about 2 weeks and when I tried to start it up, it was dead, I mean absolutely nothing showed up when I turned the key on. So I pulled it out and put it on my old Battery Tender and it took a good 10-14 hours to charge it. I then took it in to an auto parts store and had it tested and they said it was weak and needed replacing. Since they did not carry anything compatible, I ordered an Odyssey PC680. I am waiting for it to arrive. My question, in addition to what has already posted and I hope to read some good replies to those questions, is it OK to connect a battery charger directly to the battery even though it is connected to the bike? The owners manual indicates that you should disconnect the battery before charging, but I am seeing things that indicate that this may not necessarily be true. And if it is OK to connect a battery charger to it while connected to the bike, does it need to be a special charger that is compatible with can-bus systems?

After posting this I saw another thread that posed the question about connecting directly to the battery to charge it. They said it was OK.......still curious about what charger to use. http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread...t-battery-charger-to-bike-or-not-2005-R1200ST

Bob in Statesboro, GA
'08 R12RT

Yes, it is OK to connect the charger directly to the battery while it is installed, and I recommend it.
As for chargers, I recommend one that does charging specifically for AGM, like the battery minder 1500 (which I just bought 4 of, since they also charge / maintain other batteries and I've got lots.)
I called technical support at the battery minder factory (the name I can't recall right now) and they assured me that the 1500 would be fine for the Odyssey. I would call it an economy charger since I also have a more expensive model 12248 of theirs which costs over $100. I'm now into buying desulfating chargers, which battery tenders are not. I've had a few BTs and a couple of them have failed, and I'm loosing faith in that brand for that reason. Just all my opinion and experience. The BM brand is USA made, the BT chargers are made in China, I believe.

You don't need a special canbus charger if you connect it directly to the battery. You're supplying voltage to charge and maintain the battery which is pretty much what the battery has when it is fully charged, so it sits there in your bike supplying that voltage whether you're charging it or not. The bike won't be hurt by the charger, although if your bike has a lot of parasitic drain on the battery, you might as well leave the charger connected at all times when parked. I suspect the R12RT I have sucks down batteries for some reason, since it went through 3 gel batteries until the PO bought the BMW CANBUS-approved charger which plugs into the accessory outlet and kept it connected whenever parked.

2fast2 said:

This brings up a good question I've wondered about myself. If AGM batteries like the Odyssey want a little higher charging voltage, and gel batteries like BMW's Exide gel OEM battery have to have a little lower voltage, are we doing the right thing making the switch to an Odyssey?
Empirically, I can attest the Odyssey works great in my K12RS and my son's R1150R. I'm on my 3rd gel in my R12RT, all thanks to the original owner and BMW warranty replacement, but the bike also came with the special BMW float charger and advice from the PO to "always" keep the bike connected to the charger. With my 03 K12RS and Odyssey, I plug in my good Battery Minder charger every few weeks and find that the battery is always in good shape and the charger promptly goes to float / maintenance mode.
So if there are differences between a gel, wet cell, and AGM for charging voltages, how come we can swap them one for the other and have good results in most vehicles?
And how can one determine that his Odyssey is only 67% charged? (Yet it cranks great.)
I'm a believer in Odyssey batteries, having read on numerous forums about all kinds of experiences with various batteries in various BMW models. If the RT needs another battery, you can be sure it'll be an Odyssey. But, if that happens, I wonder whether I should get rid of the expensive BMW canbus-fluent gel charger and just use a Battery Minder with leads connected directly to the Odyssey replacement?

Jim

Click to expand...

The charging voltage of the 1200 seems higher than the 1150 and seems close enough to work. The way I determined that my battery was 67% charged was by using Odyssey's instructions that you can find on their site. For the pc680, time the discharge using a 4 ohm 50 watt resistor, stop discharging when you reach 10 volts. After 6 full discharge and recharge cycles my battery holds a full charge.

Gel and AGM do have different charging requirements but the R1200 alternator/voltage regulator pair seem to put out close to enough if you make long rides. Here is a link to what I found out and the testing I did: http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?70495-Starter-or-Battery-2004-R1150RT.
RB

rps58 said:

.still curious about what charger to use. http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread...t-battery-charger-to-bike-or-not-2005-R1200ST

Bob in Statesboro, GA
'08 R12RT

Click to expand...

It didn't seem like you'd gotten an answer. FWIW, I have two "Optimate4" battery maintainers...one which is on my 2008 RT whenever it's in my garage, and another which goes on Mrs. ExGMan's BMW 4-wheeler when it's left alone for three days or more. I connect each of these directly to the battery. The Optimate4 comes in a version which is CanBus Compatible, but if you're going to connect directly to the battery, that's a non-issue so you don't have to pay extra for that feature. Also, I have been using an Odyssey PC680 for a couple of years now. Seems to work just fine.