ST1300 Battery

[JuST Peter]

What battery should I get for the ST13? I've been into Ebay and see they're listed at $117.50.
All and any advice gratefully accepted :)

Cheers,
Peter.

[Diesel]

I'll check what's in mine and let you know the brand Pete - it's been very reliable and NO trouble....

Hang on - I'm just going over there to touch some wood!     

[JuST Peter]

I feel I owe you a little more background as to why I think I need (or needed) one.

I had read on the ST-owners.com site (an' do ya think I can find it again? >:()where a poorly charged (or charging) battery - due to short commutes - affects the performance and starting of the ST, so I now put it on trickle charge overnight, turn on the key in the morning, let the electronics do their thing (I am assuming it's the fuel pump priming), wait till all is quiet and hit the starter button and Hey! Presto! no more starting problems (fingers crossed), and better still, improved fuel economy.

So my dilemma now is....do I change the battery for a new one, or continue to put it on charge each night? Would not a new battery suffer from the same thing? Short runs, more discharge than charge?
If it's to be a new battery, what sort do I get? Where do I get it from? How much should I expect to pay?

Again, scrolling through the American site, it appears Yuasa isnt the most favoured one - what do others use?

[Diesel]

Yep - I ALWAYS wait for the FI light to go out before hitting the starter too, that way I know the computer, fuel injection and fuel pump are all primed and ready for action.

But - going on the theory of the short trips slowly emptying your charge, then won't this happen to the new battery as well?   

I would think it's more a case of the current battery losing cells.

You have a few options BEFORE replacing it:

Put a hydrometer on it and check your fluid quality;

Try a replenishing kit - you get the new acid to rejuvenate the battery;

Put a multimeter on it to check its cranking amps, static amps, and volts.

Then you can make an educated guess as to whether to turf it or not (at least keep it as a spare).

Hope this helps.

Cheers, Diesel

[JuST Peter]

Yep - I ALWAYS wait for the FI light to go out before hitting the starter too, that way I know the computer, fuel injection and fuel pump are all primed and ready for action.

But - going on the theory of the short trips slowly emptying your charge, then won't this happen to the new battery as well?   

I would think it's more a case of the current battery losing cells.

You have a few options BEFORE replacing it:

Put a hydrometer on it and check your fluid quality;

Try a replenishing kit - you get the new acid to rejuvenate the battery;

Put a multimeter on it to check its cranking amps, static amps, and volts.

Then you can make an educated guess as to whether to turf it or not (at least keep it as a spare).

Hope this helps.

Cheers, Diesel

It does indeed. Thanks D

[West Aussie Glen]

My ST has only done 6,400 kms since new in 3 years and about 1,500 of those where covered on 5 separate day trips so you can see it has done a lot of short runs and and often not started for over four weeks at a time due to work commitments. It is still the original battery (typing this one handed while I hold the wooden window sill)and has never had to be charged. One of the very early things I did was to turn off the red flashing security light, see your manual.
I would find it hard to understand how charging your battery would make a noticable difference in you fuel economy, what improvement did you get?

[Marcus]

Yeah...good luck finding it...Pro Tip: it's not under the seat. :D :D :D :D

[Brock]

What do you consider a short trip to be...

A charging system that is working properly will recharge the battery after start in about ten minutes of riding. a dead flat battery (that is in good condition) will recharge with in an hour of riding. If you battery is losing charge when riding, then the problem isnt your battery.

A healthy charging system will have the battery at around 14volts  while running. On start the battery shouldnt go below 10 volts. If when you are running (the engine not you as such) the voltage isnt above 12 then you have a problem.

[Colin13]

I had a little bother not long after buying my '05 st13 where the odo and clock would reset themselves at cold start. turned out that the battery was the culprit. these guys gave me amazing service with free delivery to Perth. http://www.allpurposebatteries.com.au/
I can vouch for their service 100%

colin13
 

[JuST Peter]

I would find it hard to understand how charging your battery would make a noticable difference in you fuel economy, what improvement did you get?

That was a bit of a blue on my part, thinking I was actually getting better economy as the fuel gauge hadn't moved over three days, so have to retract that statement and offer apologies where appropriate.

In the last 3 days the ST has been in the workshop getting a much needed tune-up as it's been a real cow to start as of late. Some of the things found wrong was/were very poor battery connections, fouled plugs, and running rich. I've got it back now, cold starting isn't so much of a bother now, but have been asked to bring it back in a week or two so the F1 signals can be checked out in greater detail.

The battery was checked several times over the days it was in quarantine, found to not be losing much voltage overnight (or on first start), so will keep a close watch on it in the coming days.

[gerd]

I recently replaced my battery in my ST1100 and went with a "good quality' $80 battery that went flat after 6 weeks. I returned that to the dealer and got a $100 Motobatt brand which the bike shops in my area all say are the most reputable and reliable. If you need a new one I would get a Motobatt.

[sac468]

I had a little bother not long after buying my '05 st13 where the odo and clock would reset themselves at cold start. turned out that the battery was the culprit. these guys gave me amazing service with free delivery to Perth. http://www.allpurposebatteries.com.au/
I can vouch for their service 100%

colin13
 

I agree with Colin my 04 13 was acting the same, every time I turned the key everything apart from the odo would zero which is very annoying when you are trying to calculate mileage on a trip.

as I had only had the bike three weeks I took it back  to the dealer with a very strong WTF? and was told the battery was not holding charge even with a trickle charger, enter a freebie Yuasa battery & problem solved

[John Meara]

I've had problems over the years with my ST13 batteries linked to the alternator. Anyone who has a battery die (seemingly) prematurely should also get the charging output tested.

[Brock]

Out put testing is easy, you just need a multimeter.

Set it to the 20VDC range, connect it across the battery and run the bike at around 2000RPM or more. A good system will run at 13.8 VDC to 14.2 VDC. If that is good, turn everything electrical on, and if VDV is still about 14V then all is good, now go riding.