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1Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Smaller Battery Thu Oct 17, 2013 9:57 am

Crazedbiker

Crazedbiker
active member
active member
Hi everyone,

Does anyone here know if there's a battery out there that offers the same performance but in a smaller form factor than the standard-sized options (Yuasa YTX14-BS, Yuasa Y60-N24AL-B)?

I'm moving the battery and bracket out of the area under the seat and into a space in the front. Right now it's not going to work..

Would a 12V Ninja battery or the like do the job?

Much appreciated!


__________________________________________________
K100RS 1987 Cafe Racer
    

2Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Thu Oct 17, 2013 10:25 am

Rick G

Rick G
admin
admin
You can go to a much smaller battery than the 24, the big batteries were an option on the later machines.
Providing the battery is capable of delivering the amps for cranking. I had a battery in my K100 for a couple of years that was only 15 amp/hours which is about 1/2 of the usual capacity and it always started ok.
The Lithium batteries are a small unit with a heap of punch but expensive.


__________________________________________________
"Man sacrifices his health in order to make money.
Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.
And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived."   Dalai Lama


Bikes 1999 K1100 LT with a Big Block 1200
    

3Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Thu Oct 17, 2013 10:32 am

JR_K100RS

JR_K100RS
Life time member
Life time member
G'day Crazedbiker , I'm using an Odyssey PC680 AGM battery at the moment , probably about half the depth of the stock battery ( it fits into the drop section in the middle of the tray ) plenty of cranking power

JR


__________________________________________________
Diamond Grey ( 617 ) 1987 K100RS ( European Delivery ) Original owner
    

4Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Thu Oct 17, 2013 11:31 am

Crazedbiker

Crazedbiker
active member
active member
Thanks guys...


RicK G
Interesting stuff. Lithium batteries in a motorcycle - why not I suppose! So 12V, 15Ah is the minimum you reckon? Do you remember which battery it was you used?


JR_K100RS
Heard great things about Odyssey. I'll get one if I can't find anything smaller. 18x8x17cm is still pretty chunky. Definitely better but chunky!


__________________________________________________
K100RS 1987 Cafe Racer
    

5Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Thu Oct 17, 2013 12:48 pm

duck

duck
Life time member
Life time member


__________________________________________________
Current stable:
86 Custom K100 (standard fairing, K75 Belly pan, Ceramic chromed engine covers, paralever)
K75 Frankenbrick (Paralever, K11 front end, hybrid ABS, K1100RS fairing, radial tires)
86 K75C Turbo w/ paralever
94 K1100RS
93 K1100LT
91 K1
93 K75S (K11 front end)
91 K75S (K1 front end)
14 Yamaha WR250R
98 Taxi Cab K1200RS
14 K1600GT
http://www.ClassicKBikes.com
    

6Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Thu Oct 17, 2013 1:21 pm

JR_K100RS

JR_K100RS
Life time member
Life time member
G'day Duck , yup I had to flip the battery hold down when I installed the PC680 as well , forgot to mention that

Ta Mate

JR


__________________________________________________
Diamond Grey ( 617 ) 1987 K100RS ( European Delivery ) Original owner
    

7Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Thu Oct 17, 2013 2:01 pm

Crazedbiker

Crazedbiker
active member
active member
Cheers Duck/JR,
Useful to know and a good back-up. I'm still hoping to find something slightly smaller as I have to fit it into this space...

https://i.servimg.com/u/f55/18/57/27/28/k100rs11.jpg


__________________________________________________
K100RS 1987 Cafe Racer
    

8Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Thu Oct 17, 2013 8:50 pm

Rick G

Rick G
admin
admin
Crazedbiker wrote:Thanks guys...


RicK G
Interesting stuff. Lithium batteries in a motorcycle - why not I suppose! So 12V, 15Ah is the minimum you reckon? Do you remember which battery it was you used?


JR_K100RS
Heard great things about Odyssey. I'll get one if I can't find anything smaller. 18x8x17cm is still pretty chunky. Definitely better but chunky!
The small battery I used was a motobatt sealed AGM but cant remember the details. It was all I could get when I desperately needed a new one. I had to use a chock of wood under the clamp to hold it down as it was shorter than the OEM.


__________________________________________________
"Man sacrifices his health in order to make money.
Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.
And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived."   Dalai Lama


Bikes 1999 K1100 LT with a Big Block 1200
    

9Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Fri Oct 18, 2013 9:03 pm

Crazedbiker

Crazedbiker
active member
active member
Ah yeah - heard good things about them. Cheap but never need servicing..

Would an 18Ah Motobatt would do the job? They have a 32 Ah but that seems excessive.


__________________________________________________
K100RS 1987 Cafe Racer
    

10Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Fri Oct 18, 2013 9:10 pm

charlie99

charlie99
VIP
VIP
just be careful mounting something plastic directly to the motor
most probably will be 100 degrees c all the time there.
and that temp will soon burn off electrolyte if lead acid type .


__________________________________________________
cheezy grin whilst riding, kinda bloke ....oh the joy !!!! ...... ( brick aviator )

'86 K100 RT..#0090401 ..."Gerty" ( Gertrude Von Clickandshift ) --------O%O
'86 k100 rs.. #######..  "Fred " (f(rame) red ) ( Fredrick leichtundschnell ) - -
bits and pieces from many kind friends across the k100 world ...with many thanks ..
1987 k100rs ########   "Red"  - (red sports rs TWB style )
1989 K100rt #009637   "Black Betty"  (naked rt ala Nigel , now sporting an rs main fairing )
    

11Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Fri Oct 18, 2013 9:15 pm

Rick G

Rick G
admin
admin
Crazedbiker wrote:Ah yeah - heard good things about them. Cheap but never need servicing..

Would an 18Ah Motobatt would do the job? They have a 32 Ah but that seems excessive.
My wife's K75RT has a 18AH Motobatt and it starts just fine. The Cold Cranking Amps are more than double what is needed.


__________________________________________________
"Man sacrifices his health in order to make money.
Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.
And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived."   Dalai Lama


Bikes 1999 K1100 LT with a Big Block 1200
    

12Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Fri Oct 18, 2013 9:52 pm

duck

duck
Life time member
Life time member
My K100 starts up just fine with a 15 amp-hour battery.  You might even be able to get away with 12 or 10 but there's only one way to find out.

Note that ABS control units can be power sensitive so getting too small of a battery MIGHT cause ABS faults at start-up on an ABS bike.


__________________________________________________
Current stable:
86 Custom K100 (standard fairing, K75 Belly pan, Ceramic chromed engine covers, paralever)
K75 Frankenbrick (Paralever, K11 front end, hybrid ABS, K1100RS fairing, radial tires)
86 K75C Turbo w/ paralever
94 K1100RS
93 K1100LT
91 K1
93 K75S (K11 front end)
91 K75S (K1 front end)
14 Yamaha WR250R
98 Taxi Cab K1200RS
14 K1600GT
http://www.ClassicKBikes.com
    

13Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Sat Oct 19, 2013 5:55 am

Two Wheels Better

Two Wheels Better
Moderator
Moderator
I just plopped a Motobatt (bright yellow) into my 87 K100, standard size, not smaller than usual. Part number 51814, fits into the drop in the battery tray, cost me $116 at Beenleigh Battery, Queensland. A good value for OZ.

I've got some experience with the Shorai brand and can say that the first year or so we sent almost 50% of them back to the distributor because they simply failed. In fairness they aren't a bad battery, but their initial catalouging suggested a fair too small capacity for the given application. It took them two catalogues to get it right and now they're selling the proper capacity battery for the bikes listed. Then there's that special charger you have to use...it's almost not worth it unless you're racing, have extra money to burn, or just have to have the latest, but not necessarily the greatest.

In Seattle at a particular workshop we sell a Motobatt for the F650GS singles as it's a good battery for a fair price ($79.95 + 9.5% tax) and one of the only 'AGM' available for that model that actually fits properly. The OEM battery is a flooded lead-acid, old-tech that costs more.


__________________________________________________
1977 R75/7-100, '93 K11/K12 Big Block, '95 R100 Mystic, '96 K1100RS, '98 K1200RS, '06 K1200R & '09 K1300GT. Projects: 1993 & '96 K1100RS, & 1st '98 K1200RS.
The Mystic, Big Block, 2nd K1200RS, K12R & K13 are running & ridable.
    

14Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Sun Oct 20, 2013 11:50 am

AJ.Valente

AJ.Valente
Life time member
Life time member
Two Wheels Better wrote:I just plopped a Motobatt (bright yellow) into my 87 K100, standard size, not smaller than usual. Part number 51814, fits into the drop in the battery tray . . .
Thanks for that, I'll be looking for one.

Last ride of the year here, cold morning, bike would not start do to low battery. Jump started by riding down the hill from the house. Brought the bike back into the garage for winter maintenance with the 4L fuel light glowing brilliant red. Now, that's the way to end a season of riding IMO. Very Happy


__________________________________________________
'98 K1200RS Marrakesh Red

My old K100 RT Pics and Mods
    

15Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Tue Oct 29, 2013 5:31 pm

Crazedbiker

Crazedbiker
active member
active member
Thanks for everyone's input!

Very helpful. Slightly embarrassed to admit that I didn't consider the effects of the engine heat on the battery. I'm hoping that providing there's no actual contact, the battery will just run 'warm' and not actually melt/fail. Fingers crossed there's enough space there to give the battery some breathing room.

It makes me wonder how so many people have managed to clear our that space for the very naked cafe look. Smaller bikes with smaller batteries in the seat pan I guess...


__________________________________________________
K100RS 1987 Cafe Racer
    

16Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Mon Nov 04, 2013 7:59 am

Crazedbiker

Crazedbiker
active member
active member
Have gone for the MotoBatt MB51814. As reviewed works well (so far) and fits snugly into the inner part of the tray. Didn't want to risk the battery acid leaking onto the engine so until I work out a way to house a slightly smaller battery in a decent contained bracket, I'll stick with the current setup.

Thanks for the input guys

J


__________________________________________________
K100RS 1987 Cafe Racer
    

17Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Wed Nov 13, 2013 10:45 am

Tony the Skin

Tony the Skin
active member
active member
Odyssey are one of the best batteries on the market. I have seen them give 12 years life on a Harley which takes a lot more than a K to turn it over.

    

18Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Wed Nov 13, 2013 11:09 am

Guest

avatar
Guest
Tony the Skin wrote:Odyssey are one of the best batteries on the market. I have seen them give 12 years life on a Harley which takes a lot more than a K to turn it over.
Are you saying that the battery will outlast the HD then?
Being serious, I love the Odyssey and have on on my microlight.

    

19Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Sat Nov 16, 2013 5:46 pm

thumperslaw

thumperslaw
Silver member
Silver member
Hi, might be tad late but I've used odyssey 680 it's really thin but tallish

Works a treat Smile


__________________________________________________
K100 "ratrod" , VTR firstorm, stunted up srad 750, gsxr 750m (sold) , '86 slabby (Sold)
    

20Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Sun Nov 17, 2013 5:52 am

thumperslaw

thumperslaw
Silver member
Silver member


__________________________________________________
K100 "ratrod" , VTR firstorm, stunted up srad 750, gsxr 750m (sold) , '86 slabby (Sold)
    

21Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Mon Nov 18, 2013 2:08 pm

Tony the Skin

Tony the Skin
active member
active member
bikerboy wrote:
Tony the Skin wrote:Odyssey are one of the best batteries on the market. I have seen them give 12 years life on a Harley which takes a lot more than a K to turn it over.
Are you saying that the battery will outlast the HD then?
Being serious, I love the Odyssey and have on on my microlight.

Modern H-D batteries are very good indeed though often dearer. I find Odyssey better but regret that on my newer Harleys they don't make ones that fit,Sad

    

22Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Mon Nov 18, 2013 10:02 pm

Two Wheels Better

Two Wheels Better
Moderator
Moderator
I've got a five year old Odyssey PC680 sitting on the bench in the garage, waiting for its time again in a bike. I give it a charge every now and then, but it doesn't need it. I've load tested it three times in over a year and it always pops back up to 12.7 volts even with the load tester smoking hot.

I grabbed it off the rubbish battery bin last year (Summer 2012) because the parts manager threw it there when he saw that the case had swollen. I tested it then and it came up strong, so I took it home and charged it just for good luck. When the Westco (Vietnamese-made) 12V20P karks it I'll whack the Odyssey into my R1150RT (same battery as a K100/K1100) and keep on going. I expect it'll be fine as they often are.

My first use of an Odyssey came eleven or twelve years ago when a police motor came in after a parade day with two 'flat' Odyssey batteries. In the interest of 'customer service' the new service manager plopped a new one into the bike and rolled it out. That supposedly flat PC680 sat unloved and unattended for another eighteen months until the owner of the shop told me to clear off the shelf. So I took it home. It went straight into a stripped R1100RS I was building. That bike got wrecked so it went into the next R1100RS build. I used that bike for two years, fulltime, then sold the bike to a mate. Three years later he was still running that battery in the bike.

Several years ago I attended the annual Indianapolis Motorcycle Show - for the powersports trade. At the Hawker Energy booth sat a man surrounded by show attendees. He was answering questions about his company's batteries - Odyssey. He stated that the Odyssey can be fully discharged up to 200 times, and as long as it's brought back to full charge quickly using high amperage, it'll last. I never trickle charge my PC680. I hit it with ten or more amps for an hour or two. Six months later, even if left alone, it'll take a load test that'll smoke any other battery. I like Odyssey batteries.


__________________________________________________
1977 R75/7-100, '93 K11/K12 Big Block, '95 R100 Mystic, '96 K1100RS, '98 K1200RS, '06 K1200R & '09 K1300GT. Projects: 1993 & '96 K1100RS, & 1st '98 K1200RS.
The Mystic, Big Block, 2nd K1200RS, K12R & K13 are running & ridable.
    

23Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Tue Nov 19, 2013 9:13 pm

duck

duck
Life time member
Life time member
I was able to kill an Odyssey in about five years.  It had a pretty hard life though.


__________________________________________________
Current stable:
86 Custom K100 (standard fairing, K75 Belly pan, Ceramic chromed engine covers, paralever)
K75 Frankenbrick (Paralever, K11 front end, hybrid ABS, K1100RS fairing, radial tires)
86 K75C Turbo w/ paralever
94 K1100RS
93 K1100LT
91 K1
93 K75S (K11 front end)
91 K75S (K1 front end)
14 Yamaha WR250R
98 Taxi Cab K1200RS
14 K1600GT
http://www.ClassicKBikes.com
    

24Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Wed Nov 20, 2013 5:41 pm

duck

duck
Life time member
Life time member
BTW: In order to minimize the strain on a battery when starting:

- If you have a Euro headlight switch then turn the headlight off before turning the key.

- Same for heated grips and other accessories.

- Use synthetic oil since it isn't affected by low temperatures as much as dino oil so the bike will spin more easily when cold.


__________________________________________________
Current stable:
86 Custom K100 (standard fairing, K75 Belly pan, Ceramic chromed engine covers, paralever)
K75 Frankenbrick (Paralever, K11 front end, hybrid ABS, K1100RS fairing, radial tires)
86 K75C Turbo w/ paralever
94 K1100RS
93 K1100LT
91 K1
93 K75S (K11 front end)
91 K75S (K1 front end)
14 Yamaha WR250R
98 Taxi Cab K1200RS
14 K1600GT
http://www.ClassicKBikes.com
    

25Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Wed Nov 20, 2013 5:55 pm

sidecar paul

sidecar paul
Life time member
Life time member
No need to switch everything off, the load shed relay does it for you!


__________________________________________________
'84 K100RS (0014643) (owned since '85), 86 K100RS (0018891) with Martello sidecar (built as an outfit in '88),
'51 Vincent (since '67),'72 Montesa Cota (from new), '87 Honda RS125R NF4 (bought 2015) 
....No CARS never ever!
    

26Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Wed Nov 20, 2013 7:27 pm

duck

duck
Life time member
Life time member
sidecar paul wrote:No need to switch everything off, the load shed relay does it for you!
Yeah, that's what I used to think too - until a friend proved otherwise when he demonstrated the difference to me and, much to my surprise, it made a noticeable difference in how quickly/easily the bike started.


__________________________________________________
Current stable:
86 Custom K100 (standard fairing, K75 Belly pan, Ceramic chromed engine covers, paralever)
K75 Frankenbrick (Paralever, K11 front end, hybrid ABS, K1100RS fairing, radial tires)
86 K75C Turbo w/ paralever
94 K1100RS
93 K1100LT
91 K1
93 K75S (K11 front end)
91 K75S (K1 front end)
14 Yamaha WR250R
98 Taxi Cab K1200RS
14 K1600GT
http://www.ClassicKBikes.com
    

27Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Wed Nov 20, 2013 9:01 pm

Rick G

Rick G
admin
admin
It must have been messed about with AFAIK no Ks ever came out without the Load Shed Relay.
My wifes K75 has no switch like the US models and it used to stay on at start up but it had been played about with.


__________________________________________________
"Man sacrifices his health in order to make money.
Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.
And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived."   Dalai Lama


Bikes 1999 K1100 LT with a Big Block 1200
    

28Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Wed Nov 20, 2013 9:35 pm

duck

duck
Life time member
Life time member
Nope. This was a low mile bike with good electrics.  And I can demonstrate the exact same phenomena on all of my K bikes since they all have "Euro" headlight switches.  To start with, from an electronics perspective, the load shedding relay is a relatively slow mechanical device driven by electromagnetism that does not disengage instantaneously.  On top of that a battery is going to put out more cranking amps going from a minimal loading situation (headlight and other accessories off) than going from one load to another such as when the load shed relay disengages power to the headlight and other gear.


__________________________________________________
Current stable:
86 Custom K100 (standard fairing, K75 Belly pan, Ceramic chromed engine covers, paralever)
K75 Frankenbrick (Paralever, K11 front end, hybrid ABS, K1100RS fairing, radial tires)
86 K75C Turbo w/ paralever
94 K1100RS
93 K1100LT
91 K1
93 K75S (K11 front end)
91 K75S (K1 front end)
14 Yamaha WR250R
98 Taxi Cab K1200RS
14 K1600GT
http://www.ClassicKBikes.com
    

29Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Sun Dec 08, 2013 5:01 am

aquachrono23

aquachrono23
active member
active member
Have a look at this:



and this: 


__________________________________________________
1988 K100 RS , Pichler touring fairing
    

30Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Fri Dec 20, 2013 4:34 pm

defied

defied
active member
active member
Crazedbiker wrote:Thanks for everyone's input!

Very helpful. Slightly embarrassed to admit that I didn't consider the effects of the engine heat on the battery. I'm hoping that providing there's no actual contact, the battery will just run 'warm' and not actually melt/fail. Fingers crossed there's enough space there to give the battery some breathing room.

It makes me wonder how so many people have managed to clear our that space for the very naked cafe look. Smaller bikes with smaller batteries in the seat pan I guess...

I don't know if you got an answer to this, but most mods extend the wiring, and place the battery in the tail.
I intend to do that, as well as my master brake cylinder, and my EFI.

D

    

31Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Sat Dec 21, 2013 12:42 pm

frogy

frogy
Silver member
Silver member
duck wrote:Nope. This was a low mile bike with good electrics.  And I can demonstrate the exact same phenomena on all of my K bikes since they all have "Euro" headlight switches.  To start with, from an electronics perspective, the load shedding relay is a relatively slow mechanical device driven by electromagnetism that does not disengage instantaneously.  On top of that a battery is going to put out more cranking amps going from a minimal loading situation (headlight and other accessories off) than going from one load to another such as when the load shed relay disengages power to the headlight and other gear.

Hey Duck,did you have to gain wght to put on that Santa suit?

    

32Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Sat Dec 21, 2013 2:34 pm

duck

duck
Life time member
Life time member
Nope, it's an armored Santa suit.


__________________________________________________
Current stable:
86 Custom K100 (standard fairing, K75 Belly pan, Ceramic chromed engine covers, paralever)
K75 Frankenbrick (Paralever, K11 front end, hybrid ABS, K1100RS fairing, radial tires)
86 K75C Turbo w/ paralever
94 K1100RS
93 K1100LT
91 K1
93 K75S (K11 front end)
91 K75S (K1 front end)
14 Yamaha WR250R
98 Taxi Cab K1200RS
14 K1600GT
http://www.ClassicKBikes.com
    

33Back to top Go down   Smaller Battery Empty Re: Smaller Battery Sat Dec 21, 2013 2:37 pm

duck

duck
Life time member
Life time member
defied wrote:
Crazedbiker wrote:Thanks for everyone's input!

Very helpful. Slightly embarrassed to admit that I didn't consider the effects of the engine heat on the battery. I'm hoping that providing there's no actual contact, the battery will just run 'warm' and not actually melt/fail. Fingers crossed there's enough space there to give the battery some breathing room.

It makes me wonder how so many people have managed to clear our that space for the very naked cafe look. Smaller bikes with smaller batteries in the seat pan I guess...

I don't know if you got an answer to this, but most mods extend the wiring, and place the battery in the tail.
I intend to do that, as well as my master brake cylinder, and my EFI.

D
Why put all of that weight high and to the rear?


__________________________________________________
Current stable:
86 Custom K100 (standard fairing, K75 Belly pan, Ceramic chromed engine covers, paralever)
K75 Frankenbrick (Paralever, K11 front end, hybrid ABS, K1100RS fairing, radial tires)
86 K75C Turbo w/ paralever
94 K1100RS
93 K1100LT
91 K1
93 K75S (K11 front end)
91 K75S (K1 front end)
14 Yamaha WR250R
98 Taxi Cab K1200RS
14 K1600GT
http://www.ClassicKBikes.com
    

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