The dreaded "what battery would be best" question.

[hawkeye54]

I am confident that this question has been asked before. I just do not know where to look for the answers. So this being my first post, ( so try not to crucify me to much ) a friend of mine has a R1100 and it is time for a new battery. He is looking at purchasing one from the BMW shop or looking for something a little less expensive but still very reliable. I have my preferences, but I rather he hear it from you other oilhead owners. Thanks

 

[gsaddict]

Odyssey PC680 would be my first choice.

I have used them for years in my own and other oilheads.

 

[Davesbmw]

try these guys

these guys are great to deal with and have excellent service Good prices also.

http://www.euromotoelectrics.com/

they sell deka and westco

 

[27376]

beemer bone yard has westco and offers moa members 10% off online

 

[happy wanderer]

+1 for the Odyssey PC680. Have them in two of my three bikes. Waiting for number 3 to die!

I've put a few in friend's bikes as well and no issues. I have never been able to find one with free delivery cheaper than here:
http://sepbatteries.com/pc680-odyssey-battery

 

[hawkeye54]

Thanks

thanks for the information, I will pass it on. You guys have been very helpful.

 

[bobbymacd]

Don't buy Westco

My westco lasted a little over one season despite being in an attached garage and attached to a battery tender during winter where the ambient temp never got below 35 degrees.

 

[alancoles]

Bobby, I presume it was a flooded lead-acid battery not AGM, would I be correct?

I've had far more luck with AGM than anything else for older charging systems. On the newer systems where they're pumping out 13+v at a virtual idle the Lithium batteries are supposed to be really good but my only experience with them has been on an older system and it didn't work well.

My PC-680 on my R1150RT is over 6 years old and hasn't missed a beat yet. I used that very same model to run a 1995 BMW M3 race car and it always had enough juice to fire it up (except for one year where it spent the winter unplugged, but a recharge brought it back). YMMV

The thing is, an AGM battery will be okay with the less than ideal charging system of the R1100 and will also outdo a lead-acid for off-duty storage life.

 

[snookers]

Odyssey PC680 would be my first choice.

I have used them for years in my own and other oilheads.

.

 

[roger 04 rt]

...

The thing is, an AGM battery will be okay with the less than ideal charging system of the R1100 and will also outdo a lead-acid for off-duty storage life.

The AGM batteries need about 0.8 volt higher charging voltage than the stock flooded lead acid. The stock oilhead alternator's output voltage is only a bit higher than the maintence voltage (trickle charge) for an AGM battery.

If you make short trips and then trickle charge with something like Battery Tender Jr, whose voltage is too low, you will likely sulfate the battery, leading to poor starting. I did it to my PC680 that way in about one year. The good news for me was that the good tech support people at Odyssey helped me to fully restore the battery. My battery is now going on 5 years and performs like new. The key is to keep them 100% charged.

So if you put an AGM in an Oilhead you should make long trips or maintain the battery with a good AGM charger.
RB

 

[36654]

beemer bone yard has westco and offers moa members 10% off online

I've been running the same Westco for 10-yrs. In the winter or long idle periods, it's connected to an Accumate trickle charge.

 

[alancoles]

RG, as I mentioned, I've got over 6 years now with my PC680 (AGM) in my oilhead.

Mine is a real mix of riding and never any problems.

You are quite right that if you use the wrong charger for the job you may not have satisfactory results, but that is to be expected if you use the wrong "tool" with anything.

I've been using the older metal cased BMW motorcycle battery charger with very good results. It is made for BMW by Battery Tender and is simply a re-branding of their Battery Tender Plus.

The other thing to remember is that there are many reasons not to lug an Oilhead or Airhead. One is that you put undue shock loads on the tranny / drive-train by running the engine below 3,000 rpm with any regularity and another is the weak charging of these systems below, IIRC, 2,200-2,500rpm. So, if you're constantly running at below 3,000 rpm, or doing virtually all city riding, than you'll definitely need to make some adjustments. However, even for a car, continued activity of that nature is classified as "Severe" duty and requires adjustments, just more so for any air/oil head.

 

[bobbymacd]

Alan -- the dead Westco was AGM model 12V20P

I am not an expert so can't add much to this debate except that the Westco 12V20P should have lasted longer than 9 months of use over 16 calendar months in an attached garage while attached to a Battery tender Jr during the winter. My final ride was in November 2015 and my on-board voltmeter -- which was attached directly to the terminals was still registering "green" -- at that time. After coming off the charger last weekend, it powered two starting attempts and then died. The warranty was one year so I'm out of luck.

Based on the reviews here and elsewhere I will try the Odyssey. My bike is a 2004 R11050RT with 30k miles.

Thanks to all for the input and comments.

 

[BC1100S]

Based on the reviews here and elsewhere I will try the Odyssey. My bike is a 2004 R11050RT with 30k miles.

There's your problem right there. At an average of 2,700 miles per year, your bike is trying to tell you to ride more.

 

[AntonLargiader]

Bobby, I presume it was a lead-acid battery not AGM, would I be correct?...an AGM battery will be okay with the less than ideal charging system of the R1100 and will also outdo a lead-acid for off-duty storage life.

Just to keep the terminology clear, AGM IS lead-acid. It's merely one of the variations of captive (rather than loose, aka flooded) electrolyte.

 

[alancoles]

Just to keep the terminology clear, AGM IS lead-acid. It's merely one of the variations of captive (rather than loose, aka flooded) electrolyte.

Sorry about that Anton, your quite correct, thanks for catching that.

 

[bobbymacd]

There's your problem right there. At an average of 2,700 miles per year, your bike is trying to tell you to ride more.

Funny...you got that right enough! But the low milesage isn't my fault....I bought the bike in 2014 with 16K miles and have put 7k miles/year since then driving around New England. The seller's ad touted a "high end" BMW gel battery that was supposedly "new" but died within the first year. But the overall price was right (about $8,000) so I didn't feel too bad about it. I recall reading something about gel batteries not being compatible with a Battery tender Jr so maybe that was my fault.

The only problem I had with the bike was a slow oil leak at the back end. Saw the Chris Harris video on Youtube about oil changes for the R1150RT and realized synthetic oil was the problem as the original owner was on synthetic for 10 years. I went to using Spectro 4 non-synthetic and haven't had a problem since.

The 1150RT's are NOT designed to accomodate synthetic oil and if you use a good quality oil every 3k miles, you don't need it!

 

[JoeDabbs]

I've never had to buy batteries for my newer bikes, for my R60\6 every 10 or 12 years I buy a new BMW battery. I once tried a YUASA, but that only lasted a couple of years.

 

[BC1100S]

Funny...you got that right enough! But the low milesage isn't my fault....I bought the bike in 2014 with 16K miles and have put 7k miles/year since then driving around New England.

OK, I take it back, you're certainly riding it enough . And New England gives you lots of great roads to explore.

 

[alancoles]

Anton, I decided to edit my original post to reduce the likelihood of the dreaded Internet miss - information spread. Thanks again for spotting and pointing out my oversight.