2008 R1200RT Battery Replacement

Greetings all,

I'm a daily rider with 52K on my bike. My battery decided to crank over for the last time this weekend. So, I'm curious you active riders recommended for a replacement that handle cold temperature starts over and over. Over the last few winters IÔÇÖve had to start up on for the ride home from work with temperatures down to 16F degrees. The factory battery was having a tough time last winter but made it through.

Thanks!

--Jeff

Get the Shorai LX18AH for your bike. I have one and its great!

I like oem. I just got an oem for mine. Also 2008.
It fits in the space and all.
dc

And weighs 15 lbs extra!

No, it's not extra. That's how much it's supposed to weigh.
dc

The Shorai is 2 lbs. Makes for a better ride.

I need the ballast.
dc

I just replaced mine in my 2006 as a preventative measure for this winter although I don't see your low temps in Albuquerque. I did not want a BMW battery after what I have read on this forum. I did want something that fit correctly. The battery in the bike was a Walmart battery for a GS and had to be adapted to fit.\. I went to the local battery store Interstate Battery Center and they have a replacement that is the correct fit and is an AGM battery for $80-90. It is NOT currently listed in their book but the counterman knew of it and it was on their motorcycle rack. I needed no terminal add-ons or adapters. But I have no history on this battery's reliability or cold weather performance.

Shorai.

Lithium technology, doesn't lose voltage sitting, no need to put on a tender, charges fine as you ride. Plus, very light & no acid to leak.

I'm surprised no one's mentioned the Odyssey batteries yet. I recommend you check out the PC680 model ($120) - lots of info over on the BMWST forums, if not here.

JStrube said:

Shorai.

Lithium technology, doesn't lose voltage sitting, no need to put on a tender, charges fine as you ride. Plus, very light & no acid to leak.

Click to expand...

But they work poorly on cold weather. Tradeoffs!

Paul,

Sorry you are behind the times on the Shorai. First, the 18AH batteries work well in cold weather, but more importantly, turn on key, turn on heated grips, wait 10 seconds bike starts. The Shorai heats up and starts in cold, when "currenting".

AZ-J said:

Paul,

Sorry you are behind the times on the Shorai. First, the 18AH batteries work well in cold weather, but more importantly, turn on key, turn on heated grips, wait 10 seconds bike starts. The Shorai heats up and starts in cold, when "currenting".

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While its true that they need to be warmed up to work in the cold, it can be a lot longer then 10 seconds, which may be an issue for the poster at 16 degrees. The following is from the Shorai FAQ...

"Q. I hear that lithium crank poorly when it gets cold, is that right?"

"A. Lithium do increase in resistance more as temperature drops, compared to lead-acid. However, they also react to cranking under cold conditions in a much better way. Lead-acid will increase resistance on each subsequent cranking attempt, until it wonÔÇÖt turn over. If your LFX fails to start the engine on first crank, that first crank has warmed the battery, and the second attempt will be much stronger, and so on until you get a good start. Shorai LFX are much better in cold-weather conditions than other-brand lithium starter batteries, due to our eXtreme-rate formulation with low resistance. Down to about 20 degrees fahrenheit (-7C) most users find that they can start normally on first crank. If your headlight comes on at key-ON, it is good for the batteries to flow some current before cranking in cold weather. The suggested headlight-on time before cranking depends on the temperature. If starting at 40f (5C), 30 seconds will help wake the battery and increase cranking performance. If at 0f (-17C), leave the lights on for 4~5 minutes before cranking. The result will be a better first crank, and longer battery life. Any other accessories that can be turned on before cranking can also be used for this purpose, such as heated gear, radio, etc..."

Now many of us don't ride at zero but I would hate having to wait 4-5 minutes before I crank it over.

That being said, since I generally ride at temps above freezing, I'm going to give one a try. It seems to have a lot more positives than negatives, which is strange for a battery. It can only have one positive and one negative. Right???

I just ordered a replacement Odyssey PC680 yesterday from Amazon, $98.32 free shipping. Just checked my email, the battery is slated to arrive today.
Free shipping was supposed to be 5 - 8 working days! Hopefully it makes today that would be awesome. Batteries Plus in town has one in stock for $149.99 plus 9.1% tax!

62rampsidekid said:

I just ordered a replacement Odyssey PC680 yesterday from Amazon, $98.32 free shipping. Just checked my email, the battery is slated to arrive today.
Free shipping was supposed to be 5 - 8 working days! Hopefully it makes today that would be awesome. Batteries Plus in town has one in stock for $149.99 plus 9.1% tax!

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smoking good deal!!

i still think i may go for the Shorai my next time out. (on my 2nd Odyssey, and not unhappy, but the extra positive post on the Shorai sounds real good! )

Really GREAT deal. I got an Odyssey P680-P about 2 months ago - love it - cranks fast. Gotta keep them charged, though - with a "programmed for gel" charger.

-Brian

PC 680 battery

Only got 2.5 years out of my PC680 and 20K miles... just started to give me problems. Anyone else have better luck? 2006 R1200RT

dstuckmann said:

...It seems to have a lot more positives than negatives, which is strange for a battery. It can only have one positive and one negative. Right???

Click to expand...

That was just baaad...

The original battery in my '07 RT is still working great, but it only has 13,000 miles on it and I keep it on a gel-type Battery Tender whenever I'm not riding. I sometimes worry that, with its age, it might let me down on a long trip away from the Tender...I just don't know. Anyway, since the '05-'09 (and newer?) RT's charging system was originally designed with a gel cell in mind, does anybody know what the long term effect will be on the bike's charging electrics when replacing the gel cell with lithium or other technology batteries?

As to the "turn on your accessories" trick for warming a lithium battery, isn't the CAN-bus too intelligent to allow any of the seat or grip heaters to activate when the engine is not running?

No, the Can-bus will not turn off unless there's an overheat. Nonetheless, I just the 14AH traded free for the 18AH. Turn on key and start bike. No more waiting!

YMMV if you get a lot colder, and most places do, but we are down in the 30's and 40's in the morning.

my first battery (2010 r12r) lasted almost a year

i have a battery condition gage. it says the 2nd one is at 52% (got it in the spring)

yea!