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Odyssey PC680 Installation, 04 R1150RT

roger 04 rt

New member
I've just installed a PC680 that batterymart.com delivered yesterday. To my surprise, it was fully charged. The install took a couple hours, including pulling and replacing the fairing. In concept it's easy to do but it takes some care to dress the cables downward because the PC680 is taller than many batteries.

On my 04 RT it's not a seamless installation. The main negative cable to the engine needed to be reshaped to fit, there is a tab at the end that needs to be flattened. The L-adapter brackets (required because the PC680 has no lug terminals like usual batteries) had to be assembled in a certain order (ground has to be attached to the L bracket before the L bracket is attached to the battery). And now, to get at the positive terminal I will have to lift or pull the tank. The positive terminal is a close fit to the inside of the gas tank and fairing so cable dressing is important. Lastly the rubber hold-down strap was loose so the battery needed a rubber shim between the strap and battery to stay tight.

I'm satisfied overall, but it turned into an "erector set" type project.

RB

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pc680b.JPG
 
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Hmmm. Took me 20 minutes. Installed "L" brackets on the battery. Removed the seat, left side tupperware, and the intake "horn". Removed cables slid old battery out. I then cut a piece out of a heavy rubber mat that I had and placed it in the battery box for the PC battery to sit on. Slid the PC in, attached the positive cable, slid the battery back out an inch or two, installed the negative cable, slid back in installed rubber strap which fit well because of the rubber mat under the battery. Installed intake "horn", fairing, and seat, and finished. Everything is indeed a close fit, but then everything on my 04 RT is a close fit.
 
Hmmm. Took me 20 minutes. Installed "L" brackets on the battery. Removed the seat, left side tupperware, and the intake "horn". Removed cables slid old battery out. I then cut a piece out of a heavy rubber mat that I had and placed it in the battery box for the PC battery to sit on. Slid the PC in, attached the positive cable, slid the battery back out an inch or two, installed the negative cable, slid back in installed rubber strap which fit well because of the rubber mat under the battery. Installed intake "horn", fairing, and seat, and finished. Everything is indeed a close fit, but then everything on my 04 RT is a close fit.

I wish mine had gone that easily, yours sounds as easy as getting my old battery in and out.

My cables must be dressed more tightly than yours, and the main ground cable lug had an attached bolt and needed to have its tip flattened to lay flat on the bracket. Also that ground cable needed to connect to the L-bracket before the L-bracket attached to the battery and torqued. They call for 80 in-lbs torque at the battery attachment and it's hard to fit the wrench in at either end with the fuel tank down. Maybe I take the torque thing too seriously--first time in 50 years of wrenching that I torqued a battery cable. ;)
 
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My cables had enough length to them so it made the job easier. I wonder if the previous owner of my RT rerouted or replaced the cables to make the job easier? Whatever was done, I appreciate it :thumb
 
I made my own brass L-adaptors. I made them point downward instead of upward. Also installed permanent screw studs. Easy to slide in and attach the cables.
 
I made my own brass L-adaptors. I made them point downward instead of upward. Also installed permanent screw studs. Easy to slide in and attach the cables.


I also made my own and pointed them downwards, seemed to work better that way on my K1. I like the idea of the permanent screw studs, I think I'll do that at my next battery change.
 
PC680 install on my own R1150GS
I made my own adaptor for Negative and kept the profile low for Positive as the tank is metal on the GS thus creating a short circuit hazard directly above it.
The negative adaptor is tin plated copper with a pem nut in the back.
The logic of the Philips screw at 90 degrees is in case it's required to disconnect the battery quickly (ie: stuck abs relay) I can access with the toolkit screwdriver without lifting the tank.
It would be nice if the negative cable had a bit more slack in it.
The rubber guard that sits over the battery is to protect from contact with the tank as well.

I installed quite a few Odyssey batteries on various machines and prefer not to modify the original connectors and rather adapt them to the new battery

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Very nicely done. If I had had more time and the stock needed I might have made some brackets of my own. The Oddessey brackets leave a lot to be desired. They nearly interfere, have little metal in the cable attachment area and are clunky to install.

I thought about attaching the positive cable like you did but didn't want to stress the large cable by bending it over the top of the battery. At least that's what would have happened on mine.
 
Very nicely done. If I had had more time and the stock needed I might have made some brackets of my own. The Oddessey brackets leave a lot to be desired. They nearly interfere, have little metal in the cable attachment area and are clunky to install.

I thought about attaching the positive cable like you did but didn't want to stress the large cable by bending it over the top of the battery. At least that's what would have happened on mine.

The Odyssey brackets are too thin from a mechanical standpoint and have a poor contact surface are on the small end.
While the battery is top notch, the kit is an afterthought. I have been up against this problem for the last 10 years.
 
Forget the brakets! Modify negative terminal now you only have one connection on each battery post. More connections are just problems waiting to happen.
 
Forget the brakets! Modify negative terminal now you only have one connection on each battery post. More connections are just problems waiting to happen.
On a customers bike I leave the stock wiring intact.
Also very quick to isolate (see my post notes)
I have been building equipment for years and the rule is to leave the original system in a way that it can be returned to stock if required.
The so called extra connection is very reliable and of very low impedance.
Butchering the already too short negative terminal assy. is asking for troubles.

What you do on your own machine is your business.
 
2001 R1150 RT Battery Install

Thanks for all the pictures and thoughts. I tackled mine new battery today. Took about one hour as I have never been under the plastic. A combination of all the ideas presented allowed me to be ready for everything. My only change was to place the rubber shim for the strap on top of the battery to increase the clearance from the tank and the battery terminals.
I would not have tried this without having this thread to guide me.
 
odyssey 680 battery

It appears from this thread that the Odyssey battery is one of choice. Any "alibis" or other recommendations? It's time to replace my 4 year old (estimate, on the bike when I bought her) battery. 2000 1100RT. I'm told the tupperware on the left side is all that will be needed to remove - that I can jiggle the old battery out and new in without taking anything else off.
Thoughts?
thanks, folks.
Larry in Virginia
 
It appears from this thread that the Odyssey battery is one of choice. Any "alibis" or other recommendations? It's time to replace my 4 year old (estimate, on the bike when I bought her) battery. 2000 1100RT. I'm told the tupperware on the left side is all that will be needed to remove - that I can jiggle the old battery out and new in without taking anything else off.
Thoughts?
thanks, folks.
Larry in Virginia

I've had the battery installed for a couple weeks and am very satisfied. On the 1150 you can do the job by pulling the left side fairing but I found I could do a better job with both sides off and the tank up a few inches.
 
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My solution using about 3 inches of half inch copper bar stock. No "modification to the bike's wiring harness required.


attachment.php
 
It appears from this thread that the Odyssey battery is one of choice. Any "alibis" or other recommendations? It's time to replace my 4 year old (estimate, on the bike when I bought her) battery. 2000 1100RT. I'm told the tupperware on the left side is all that will be needed to remove - that I can jiggle the old battery out and new in without taking anything else off.
Thoughts?
thanks, folks.
Larry in Virginia

The Boneyard has a Westco AGM on sale for 79.95 and you get 10% off that with your MoA membership.
I don't know how Westco measures up against Odyssey :dunno
 
The Boneyard has a Westco AGM on sale for 79.95 and you get 10% off that with your MoA membership.
I don't know how Westco measures up against Odyssey :dunno

Mine lasted one year, even on a battery tender. Folks have good luck with Westco so I may have got a dud. Once burnt, twice shy though.
 
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