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Technical Resource Discussion / Re: Batteries and battery tenders
« Last post by Donkey Hotey on June 03, 2025, 09:57:24 PM »Nothing to really add with regard to battery brands. I'm always surprised to hear these tales of batteries lasting more than 3 or 4 years.
The thing I want to warn everyone about:
Some batteries out there have got sheet metal terminals on them. I have personally never bought one of them. Doug Hoffelt and I were recently helping Harvey Jackson with 1526. He has one of these batteries. It's very dangerous on our bikes.
As it is, this type of battery can and will short against the battery cover. I burned my finger so badly that it took weeks to heal. I was pushing the battery cover into place. It contacted the positive terminal and as soon as the battery strap screw grounded, the cover heated up instantly and burned my thumb. We had to find a rubber pad to wrap the side of the battery. I would have personally bought a new battery. No way I'd have one of these on my Super Xs.
If you look closely at these two terminals, the cast lead terminal on the left is what we had on the original battery. Most compatible batteries are made this way.
There are some low-cost options available on eBay, Amazon, etc, that have the sheet metal terminal style shown on the right. If you look closely, that vertical face of that sheet terminal is able to contact the battery cover. On Harvey's battery, it even stuck out just a little further. A very, very bad combination.
The thing I want to warn everyone about:
Some batteries out there have got sheet metal terminals on them. I have personally never bought one of them. Doug Hoffelt and I were recently helping Harvey Jackson with 1526. He has one of these batteries. It's very dangerous on our bikes.
As it is, this type of battery can and will short against the battery cover. I burned my finger so badly that it took weeks to heal. I was pushing the battery cover into place. It contacted the positive terminal and as soon as the battery strap screw grounded, the cover heated up instantly and burned my thumb. We had to find a rubber pad to wrap the side of the battery. I would have personally bought a new battery. No way I'd have one of these on my Super Xs.
If you look closely at these two terminals, the cast lead terminal on the left is what we had on the original battery. Most compatible batteries are made this way.
There are some low-cost options available on eBay, Amazon, etc, that have the sheet metal terminal style shown on the right. If you look closely, that vertical face of that sheet terminal is able to contact the battery cover. On Harvey's battery, it even stuck out just a little further. A very, very bad combination.