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Batteries - a confession

Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 6:26 pm
by Porge
So. My dirty confession.

I've never bought a proper battery for a bike. Ever. :roll: Every bike I've had has come with something decent. Or has only really needed the battery as a short-term storage device. A fancy capacitor, if you will. My bikes normally have been kick-start only. My R65, of memory long past, must have had something decent, as it always worked. Even after weeks, nay, months laid up. It outlived my 4 years of ownership.

The R75's battery is old, "wet", and not taking charge too well. It's price tag denotes a 1990's purchase.

I'm tending towards an AGM battery, but have close to ZERO experience in batteries. What should I look for? One I looked at this morning - a $200 335CCH/20AH agm seemed a good option, and was slightly slimmer than the wet equivalent. And cheaper. The chap said that the CCH rating was more important. That I'd need all that cranking power. Is he right? The AH rating he said was archaic and irrelevant. Help!

Re: Batteries - a confession

Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 6:49 pm
by Kurt in S.A.
What the heck is CCH? Usually it's CCA or cold cranking amps. Never heard of CCH before. A quick google brings something up about CCH connectors...doesn't do squat for me.

I'm a "wet" battery fan...more suited to the charging profile of the electrical system. That said, people seem to like the Odyssey batteries. Go here - http://www.odysseybattery.com/battery_search.aspx - and search for one. Seems the PC925L is the usual choice.

http://www.odysseybattery.com/extreme_b ... specs.aspx

Kurt in S.A.

Re: Batteries - a confession

Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 6:56 pm
by Porge
:oops: I really do know nothing about batteries, huh?

I think that I've heard referral to cold cranking hours, hence CCH.

Re: Batteries - a confession

Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 7:04 pm
by Kurt in S.A.
Maybe it's a new term...I just googled "cold cranking hours" and didn't find anything. I wait to be schooled! :)

Kurt in S.A.

Re: Batteries - a confession

Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 7:08 pm
by Porge
I think I'm the one receiving the schooling ;)

Re: Batteries - a confession

Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 8:31 pm
by Rob
Kurt in S.A. wrote: I'm a "wet" battery fan...more suited to the charging profile of the electrical system. That said, people seem to like the Odyssey batteries. Go here - http://www.odysseybattery.com/battery_search.aspx - and search for one. Seems the PC925L is the usual choice.

http://www.odysseybattery.com/extreme_b ... specs.aspx

Kurt in S.A.
When I had my R65 (smaller battery), I was a big Odyssey fan, with their PC680-P. It never faltered in the 6+ years I used it in the bike.
That Odyssey website, OTOH, leaves much to be desired!
I'm due to replace the OEM battery in my Honda CBR250R, but unfortunately Odyssey doesn't make anything that small.

I think CCA is CCH in the "southern" hemisphere. ;)

Deka Batteries

Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2015 12:50 am
by SteveD

Re: Batteries - a confession

Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2015 12:52 am
by Porge
I'd been wracking my brain to remember what brand I'd looked at. Deka was it. Is the 220 cca going to be enough grunt?

Re: Batteries - a confession

Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2015 4:10 am
by SteveD
Porge wrote:I'd been wracking my brain to remember what brand I'd looked at. Deka was it. Is the 220 cca going to be enough grunt?
ETX14L should be plenty. I've had the etx16l in my R100RS for 6-7 years now. It's still good and I'm starting to wonder if I should replace it...with the same thing. Nah...I'll wait a little longer.

They're not ampere-hour or amp-hour, they're just plain hours! ;)

Re: Deka Batteries

Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2015 5:53 am
by Zombie Master