Dry Battery

[snatchpiece]

I need a new battery on my Strada, I seem to recall reading about a Hawker Odyssey battery being a good bet, I've had a dig around on here but I don't seem to be able to find the thread in question, can anyone help?

[crozjota]

Hi,
i fitted one to my jota, a PC680 i think, it is superb, does everything it says on the tin! i bought mine from a car tuning shop called indigo gt in methyr, south wales, they were by far the cheapest! the car racers use them as well.
Crozjota

[3potjohn]

I have one on my 350,it came fitted when I got the bike nearly 3 years ago.No issues except not as thick so needed a rubber pad wedging in front.

[snatchpiece]

Hi,
i fitted one to my jota, a PC680 i think, it is superb, does everything it says on the tin! i bought mine from a car tuning shop called indigo gt in methyr, south wales, they were by far the cheapest! the car racers use them as well.
Crozjota

Thanks for this. I've looked at these PC680's and they are quoted as 12volt 16Ah, the handbook for my Morinin states the battery should be 12volt 18Ah, I'm not sure what 'Ah' is and whether it's detrimental to differ from the official book (electrics aint me strong point)

[Steve Brown]

I'm not sure what 'Ah' is and whether it's detrimental to differ from the official book (electrics aint me strong point)[/quote]

And you a Matchless owner? What is the world coming too ?

AH stands for Amp Hours and is an indication of the batterys ability to supply power at a given quantity over a given time. 2 Ah less than the manual states just means it won't crank it over on the electric starter for as long, or if you left the lights on the battery would be flat a little sooner. You can actually get a bigger battery in the 500's battery carrier, mine is I think 20 or 22 amp hours. This is able to work the starter for an impressive time without going flat-I found out when the starter relay stuck in the engaged position and it was an awful long time before I could disengage it and stop the bloody thing cranking the motor over
If you were doing mainly longer rides that gave the battery plenty of time to recharge and your bike is a good starter, the difference probably wouldn't matter. If it's only an occasionally used bike that needs a lot of cranking to start, then you would soon be in trouble.
Hope this helps,
Steve.

[alan j]

Steve is right!! fit the biggest amp. h. battery you can get in! I always kick my 500 over first when cold-otherwise it will not spin fast enough to generate "sparks" for the plugs.

[snatchpiece]

Thanks guys,

It all makes sense now.

[snatchpiece]

Can't seem to find an Odyessey battery with anymore than 16Ah that doesn't look like it was built for a lorry! Is this one any good ?
http://www.motorcyclebatteryshop.co.uk/ ... I3394.html

[EVguru]

The non-Kukosan ignition equipped bikes need to be spun over fast enough for the alternator to generate enough voltage to produce a good spark. Often the electric start does not do this.

You could put a 100Ah battery on the bike, but if it doesn't have a low enough internal resistance it won't provide enough voltage whilst cranking to spin the engine over fast enough. The internal resistance is normally talked about in terms of Cranking Amps (CA) and Cold Cranking Amps (CCA).

CA is the amps that can be delivered at 0 Celcius whilst maintaing 7.2 volt (12 volt battery), CCA is the same test at -17.8 Celcius.

With traditional 'wet' battery construction, the CA and CCA ratings were quite closely tied to the AmpHour capacity. Those ratings have improved over the years due to the use of thinner plates (more surface area), but there is a limit to how thin the plates can be and stand up to the vibration.

AGM batteries like the Odysey use VERY thin plates seperated by a glass matt saturated with acid (in theory no free liquid), the whole lot being under compression by the battery case. This supports the plates, so they are very resistant to vibration. I've had experience of 1 (ONE) Ah batteries that could provide 1000 Cranking Amps.

If it took 200 amps to crank a Morini engine over (I'm pretty sure it's less) then cranking continuously for 1 minute would use just 3.3 Ah. However, with lead acid batteries, there is a problem in the shape of the Peukert effect, which describes how the available capacity drops with increasing current. AGM batteries suffer much less from this drop in capacity.

AGM batteries are often so superior in CA, that even whel almost flat, they'll crank an engine faster than a wet battery. They are however much more expensive and much less tolerant of being over-discharged. If you run one very low (like leaving the lights on for a couple of days) you probably won't be able to recharge it without specialist knowledge/equipment.

Taking all that together, I'd recommend chosing a battery mostly on it's Cranking ability. It will be cheaper and lighter. If you're in the habbit of running your battery flat, then stick to a cheap one.

[alan j]

Wow, Paul,that's all a bit technical!-but no doubt true. I have a very clever technical friend, who can always answer my questions-but unfortunately I rarely understand her answers! When cold just kick it-the electric "boot" usually works when warm.

[snatchpiece]

Thanks for the replies, they're very helpful, but.....is this battery OK for a 500 Strada being used for club runs and Sunday rides?

http://www.motorcyclebatteryshop.co.uk/ ... I3394.html

[John Bunting]

Hi Snatch,
I just bought yesterday an Odysseys PC 545 for my strada, a 680 should fit but a bit of a tight squeeze to get it in.
I wont get my grubby mitts on it till I go on leave in April/May and will bring it back to Kano with lots of other bits and a bike in a crate.
Good luck
John

[Steve Brown]

Hi Snatchpiece,

tried following your link but not sure which battery you mean. (it's clubnight and I'm rushing to go out!) Going on Paul's illuminating reply (must be a joke there somewhere) then 16 A/H wouldn't be a problem with these modern super-duper batteries. As long as everything else is ok- e.g. physical size and position of the terminals- then I think it should be a good choice for you. As long as you top up the charge if you do leave it a long while (same as any battery-some will just last longer than others)
I didn't see Morini listed on the website, maybe an e-mail query to the company would help confirm the choice? Send them the battery number as originally fitted, they should be able to tell you. Good luck, and we'll be interested to hear the outcome.

Steve

[3potjohn]

I just went out to check once again what Odyssey battery I have on my 350-its PC680. Absolutely no issues.Its now 3 years old at least.I have a lead connected in situ should I need to trickle charge it but this has not been required yet.I do take care to clean up any earth points on the bike.

[3potjohn]

This may be a source for you perhaps- in the frozen north

www.euroenergy.co.uk

+44 (0) 116 234 056