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Which battery do I want?
- Thread starter 66113
- Start date
The Odyssey works great...never have to think about it anymore. Two years old already. Time will tell if they truly are better. The OEM lasted two years and spent a great deal of time on a gel battery tender too. Each to their own...I like this one very much thus far. Not cheap but very good.
G
GEvans
Guest
I have an Odyssey in my R1200C
and I think it is the best motorcycle battery I have ever had.
About one year old and it hasn't hesitated. Put it on a tender once only briefly.
Easy decision .
and I think it is the best motorcycle battery I have ever had.
About one year old and it hasn't hesitated. Put it on a tender once only briefly.
Easy decision .
Y
yeahbabytr6
Guest
I've bought the Gruber.......and have not had good luck with it. 1st one would not even run the fuel pump. Called them, they sent a new one no questions asked. The second one started the bike 1 time, then the same, it wont even run the pump. Used the BMW charger and get the green light but still not enough power. Now we will see what their customer service is like. Im going to get a refund and get the Odyssey.
F
FatChance
Guest
I've had a Westco in my 1150GS for the last 3 years and have been very happy with it. We just got FatWife her own 1150GS and I'll probably put a Westco in it as well.
skidgillen
New member
Go with the Odyssey. Don't waste your time with anything else. Don't need any special high price tender either. A cheap Walmart float charger works fine. Aerostich claims they'll last up to 10 years. I HATE taking the fuel tank off, and the Odyssey is the way to go to eliminate this task to get to the battery.
knary
looking for a coal mine
I have a Westco in my bike that's 5 1/2 years old. It's due for replacement this fall (it cranks just fine when temps are above 45??F), but that may well be largely a result of it having been on a battery tender only once in the past five years.
JohnnyMoto68
New member
Put an Odyssey in my 02 K1200RS last winter. Keep it on a tender. Great stuff, no maint/no worries and never a problem cranking, etc. Love it.
1990K1
New member
Ouch.. an hour and a half?... I have a 925 in my K1 and a 680 in the RT fantastic battery. I get them from West Coast Battery and yes, Odyssey did have some production issues with something like 16,000 batteries when I spoke to them.
I waited about two weeks for the 680... they called me as soon as they had one.
As far as starting out on the right foot just install it and go... the only thing I added was a "pig tail" connector for the Battery Tender Jr... both bikes have one as well as 2 cars, it just makes it easier not having to search for the adapter plug to use the accessory socket.
biketrax
New member
So how have the Odyssey's been holding up?
I am looking for a battery with a bit better than a 3 month warranty. So I found this thread and thought I would revive it.
Going to check the locals distributors and see if I get Lucky.
IT would be nice to get some feedback on how happy folks are with this make ,and how long they have been lasting?
Any special attachments needed?
thx
I am looking for a battery with a bit better than a 3 month warranty. So I found this thread and thought I would revive it.
Going to check the locals distributors and see if I get Lucky.
IT would be nice to get some feedback on how happy folks are with this make ,and how long they have been lasting?
Any special attachments needed?
thx
jconway607
JohnWC
You may want to check my previous, rather long, thread dealing with Odyssey batteries, and the chargers they claim are absolutely necessary for them.
But, to summarize:
a) They seem to be good batteries.
b) The Odyssey company has no actual idea what chargers are compatible with them, although they claim their batteries are VERY particular.
c) The company lists several chargers on their website, which they will state authoritatively, that these, and only these, will work with their picky batteries. But apparently no one there has ever actually tested any of them for rated output voltage. If they did, they would find, as I did, that they put out the same voltage as the Tender.
And d) the critical piece of information: The Battery Tender Jr and PLus will work fine. They put out the same voltage as all the rest of the more expensive chargers. Yes, the more powerful ones will charge quicker. But who cares about that? It's a maintenance charger. I trust I have saved you the many, many hours I wasted on "Odyssey battery chargers."
But, to summarize:
a) They seem to be good batteries.
b) The Odyssey company has no actual idea what chargers are compatible with them, although they claim their batteries are VERY particular.
c) The company lists several chargers on their website, which they will state authoritatively, that these, and only these, will work with their picky batteries. But apparently no one there has ever actually tested any of them for rated output voltage. If they did, they would find, as I did, that they put out the same voltage as the Tender.
And d) the critical piece of information: The Battery Tender Jr and PLus will work fine. They put out the same voltage as all the rest of the more expensive chargers. Yes, the more powerful ones will charge quicker. But who cares about that? It's a maintenance charger. I trust I have saved you the many, many hours I wasted on "Odyssey battery chargers."
bikerfish1100
New member
Last 2 batteries have been Odyssey's, R1100S.
First lasted 5 years, this last one made it for 6.
I don't know if you could get a better batt, i know you could do worse.
First lasted 5 years, this last one made it for 6.
I don't know if you could get a better batt, i know you could do worse.
roger 04 rt
New member
Like jconway, I too spent a lot of time evaluating the pc680 in my r1150rt. I have reached different conclusions.
1) AGM batteries (e.g. Westco or Odyssey) require higher charging voltages AND higher maintenance voltages than the GEL or FLA batteries that Oilheads were designed for.
2) I found Odyssey to be very helpful in advising me how to successfully recondition the PC680 that I badly damaged by regularly recharging it with a Battery Tender Jr., whose output voltage is too low for AGM batteries.
3) By following Odyssey's advice, my battery which seemed to be useless 3 years ago, still is performing like new after reconditioning it.
Bottom line: use the PC 680 but keep it properly charged, per Odyssey's recommendations.
My write up is here: http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?70495-Starter-or-Battery-2004-R1150RT&highlight=.
1) AGM batteries (e.g. Westco or Odyssey) require higher charging voltages AND higher maintenance voltages than the GEL or FLA batteries that Oilheads were designed for.
2) I found Odyssey to be very helpful in advising me how to successfully recondition the PC680 that I badly damaged by regularly recharging it with a Battery Tender Jr., whose output voltage is too low for AGM batteries.
3) By following Odyssey's advice, my battery which seemed to be useless 3 years ago, still is performing like new after reconditioning it.
Bottom line: use the PC 680 but keep it properly charged, per Odyssey's recommendations.
My write up is here: http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?70495-Starter-or-Battery-2004-R1150RT&highlight=.
roger 04 rt
New member
Here is the voltage versus temperature curve, from the Odyssey manual for properly charging the PC680. You can see that at 20C, the correct maintenance voltage is just a bit below 13.8V and the correct charging voltage is about 14.8V, far higher than an oilhead's 13.8 V output, which is why the maintenance charge voltage is so important. My battery tender jr. had an output voltage on only 13.1V.
jconway607
JohnWC
Roger, I can only go by my own, hands on results. I have heard all of this same information before, actually several times, from numerous calls to Odyssey. As for the bike not producing enough voltage, well, after 5 minutes of riding, the battery was sufficiently charged to cancel the blinking ABS lights. I now own, thanks to Odyssey, a Schauer Charge Master, listed specifically as the one of the "correct" chargers for their batteries. After a month of dealing with both Odyssey and Schauer (two chargers, and people there who contradicted themselves on how the units operated) I threw all the notes away in disgust. But I do recall that the Charge Master put out around 13. 1 volts on float voltage. Not 13.5 that Odyssey claimed they did. The same voltage as the Tender Jr.( of which I now own two). And, as an aside, I believe the Tender Jr went to 14.5 volts or thereabouts, when it was in the initial full charge mode.
So I now have a charger that Odyssey said I had to have, that works the same as the ones they said wouldn't work. I'm trying to figure out what I did wrong here? It would be great if these companies would actually figure out what they are selling. My experience is that an awful lot of them these days, not only Odyssey and Schauer, seem to have absolutely no idea what is going on with their products.
