Types of Motorcycle Batteries
Filed Under Motorcycle Batteries | 5 Comments
There are two main types of motorcycle batteries – conventional and maintenance free.
Conventional
These include batteries consisting of flooded electrolyte and cell accessible construction. This means that you have to maintain them – you should be aware of safety precautions at all times. They are less expensive than maintenance free but require more attention. With a conventional type battery that offers access to the cell compartments, the periodic addition of distilled water is required. Water loss is normal in these batteries through the process of electrolysis and evaporation. If there are low electrolyte levels due to evaporation, the result is permanent damage to the motorcycle batteries due to exposed lead plates to the air. Therefore, you must maintain the electrolyte levels above the minimum fill lines on the battery and at or below the maximum line. They discharge at a faster rate than maintenance free motorcycle batteries.
Maintenance Free
These are more expensive than conventional motorcycle batteries and are being pushed by the big brands, and for good reason. Maintenance free batteries mean that water loss is eliminated. Once the battery is filled with acid it is permanently sealed – so you’ll never need to fill it with water or check the acid level. It’s totally sealed and all of the acid is absorbed in the special plates and separators, so there is no need to worry about acid leaks on valuable vehicle parts and accessories.
Also, the amount of free-standing electrolyte above the plates is designed to be much higher in a new maintenance-free battery. This means that there’s enough electrolyte to keep the plates covered even after a few seasons of normal use. So, during the battery’s normal service life there should be no need to add water. Any abnormal electrical system condition or high ambient temperatures may boil off more than the normal amount of water, however. Even though this is the more expensive type, when buying motorcycle batteries this is the only type I would purchase. Not worrying about acid leaks is a big plus!
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Hi admin,
Nice blogs.
I also has a blog about motorcycle batteries.Please visit mine also.
Thank you
Dear Sirs/Madams,
This is Allen from Yucell Industry Ltd., which is one of the leading manufacturers of Lead Acid Batteries in China.
1) Our motorcycle batteries including:
•Sealed Factory Activated;
•Sealed Gel MF;
•Maintenance Free;
•High Performance;
•Conventional.
2) For VRLA batteries we supply 2V, 6V, 12V series for you to select.
Our company profile is as follows:
1) We are the NO.1 motorcycle battery manufacturer and exporter from 2006 to 2008 in mainland China;
2) We are the first Chinese motorcycle battery manufacturer to apply cold cranking rate of SEA, JIS, DIN, EN & IEC standard
3) We offer more than 400 Powersports battery models and our monthly capacity is about 500,000 pieces batteries;
4) We have been passed CE, UL, ISO9001, ISO14001;
5) We have been established branches in Germany and Indonesia.
Best Regards
Allen Zheng
Yucell Industry Limited
Tel: +86-0592-5558-102
Fax: +86-0592-5202-500
Hello there,
I live in Paris – France, and I ride a Harley Davidson 2003 Softail Deuce.
Originaly, the engine was a 1450cc.
Actualy, the engine is a 1700cc screamin’eagle with htcc pistons and htcc heads (carb is mikuni HSR45)
I put a heavy duty starter and each head has a decompressor to help the engine start…but it seems it is not enough.
The engine is very difficult to start as the starter seems to suffer a lot to push all that stuff and if I do not start the engine after 5 tries, there is not enough battery to keep on trying. That means I need another battery to start my engine.
When I use my BMW 530DA car battery The engine starts quite easily…so I am wondering about finding another more powerfull battery than the stock one that will fit in my HD.
Unfortunately, I am not an expert in electricity and I don’t know which one to choose.
Thank you very much for any advice that could help.
Serge