new battery question

[Simmo50]

ok so just bought a new st1300 police.
wouldn't start this morning
took it to battery world ,battery had swelled up and looked ready to burst, they said it was a cheap Chinese one not really good enough for this bike.
they said new battery needed ok $235 down but all good.
they then tested it while bike running,  was throwing out 16.0 , obviously way too much.
so im looking at a regulator/alternator issue possibly.
I thought before I get stuck in I would do a final test.
I was getting 12.8  at rest   14.1  while running.
i rang them back and they said it could have been the alternator overcompensating for the old battery and now its corrected itself.

does this sound right to anyone

[Brock]

14.1 is fine, dont know why they saw 16 V

[CallMeSteve]

Just my opinion,  sounds like poffle.

Why would a 'cheap chinese one' (which most are these days) be good enough for some bikes and not others?  No doubt it was dead, but it would have done that in any bike.

Did you see it charging at 16V or did they just say it was?    Your measurements look about right.

[Biggles]

I can't say Battery World excite me.  You can get perfectly good batteries off eBay for under $100.  I know it doesn't keep local shops open, but when this is the quality of their advice I'm not sure I want it.
"The regulator reset itself."  I'm with Steve- AFAIK they are set to an optimum output and back off according to demand.
For that money you can get a Lithium battery off the 'net. 
On that subject, I mentioned to a Battery World guy that I'd had a lithium battery because it put out 320 CCA.  He proceeded to tell me his gel batteries will do that too.

[Simmo50]

yes I saw it at at least 16.2   and more.    but as soon as I got home I tested it and got 14.1.
does the regulator rectifier reset itself then ?when putting a new battery in

[CallMeSteve]

If you saw it with your own  it’s hard to argue with! But it’s strange to say the least.

I’m out of my league with anything automotive, but lead-acid charging circuits are generally pretty simple - they limit the charging current to a safe value and also limit the maximum voltage to something appropriate for the battery (I seem to recall 13.8v as a standard for a 12v battery but anyway about 14v). 16V on a 12v lead-acid battery is not good for it.

I’m not aware of them having any self-learning smarts.