| Author | Message | ||
     Uly_man |
On the advise of a Buell Guru I changed out my original two year old OEM battery for a new OEM battery two years ago. He said this would solve the slow/stuttering thing they do sometimes. Well it did not on mine anyway. After a charge both still hold at 12.5v and will fire up the bike, no slow starting, easy from cold even in cold weather. If I leave the bike for two weeks the starting becomes a problem. If I use the bike near daily its fine as well. I have found all of this out by keeping a close eye on what the bike does over the past three years of use. My conclusion is. 1) If you use the bike less than twice a week or on very short runs then use a battery tender. 2) Do not deep discharge a Gel battery, if you can help it, as they do not like it much. 3) The OEM battery is solid enough but fit a higher rated unit if you can. The OEM unit is on the margin for a V-Twin engine. 4) Even with a good fully charged battery it does not take long to flatten it enough to give starter chatter. Do not let it chatter for to long as it may damage the cogs long term. Jump or charge the battery. I prefer to use a 1 Amp max charger to stop any possible damage via over heating the battery. It charges fine with it. I also have a mini set of jump leads that fit under the seat easy. A VERY handy item to have with the Uly. So at the end of the day I did not need a new battery. What I did need was to know what the bike needed. | ||
| Uly_man |
As a matter of interest I have just started the bike and it fired up first time. Its been standing outside for 24 hours and its 0.3C or 33.3F outside now. I have to say that keeping the damp out of the HT leads has made starting better, as well as idle/running, since I sprayed them with ACF-50. Also all my numbers are done with Fluke true RMS meters. | ||
| Whisperstealth |
What are HT leads? | ||
| Simond |
I've only just got myself a Uly (09 model) but my S2 is still on it's original 14 year old battery. It is kept on an Optimate ( or Acumen equivalent) and is kept in a garage but that is still impressive. Starting takes a few turns if I haven't taken it out for a while but it always gets there. The Uly sits next to it now on a new Optimate. I hope it does as well. HT........... High tension/plug leads. | ||
| Uly_man |
Simond. 14 years is very, very good service out of a battery. Some people bang on about XBs not lasting because of so-called bad build quality. I do not agree with that myself and I intend to get 10 years and 50k plus out of my Uly. It is better, on some parts, to even Honda and BMWs in the same price range. I know as I have seen it. Rusted fixings and bad Chrome seem to be the worst problems. | ||
| Uly_man |
Up-date. Ten days standing outside, not used, 5C, it started first time and runs/idles perfect. I let it warm up for about 3 min and then went for a ride. It run perfect and handled like a dream on the stone cold Mitch Pilot Road 2CT rubber. It made me grin a lot as well. Its such a great bike. A modern classic in my opinion. | ||
| Clang |
Any recommendations on a higher rated replacement battery? My 2006 Uly is ready for a new battery come spring. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Clang - um...why? You got five years out of this one (assuming it's your original, but you don't say). Just get another one that's the same. If my '06's OEM battery ever goes out...you bet your a$$ I'm dropping in exactly the same thing. No sense reinventing the wheel if you don't have to.... | ||
| Clang |
The original battery never felt that strong to me - always was an effort to start the bike. I really should have replaced it a couple of years ago, but I've been milking it along and keeping it on a battery tender (I don't get to ride that often). (Message edited by clang on January 05, 2011) | ||
| Yjsrule |
I tried to start mine yesterday morning at 20 degrees setting outside after not riding for one day. It would not start, cranked very slow. When I came home from work it was in the low 40s and it started fine. It has a replacement battery that was in it when I got the bike. Has always cranked slow, drops voltage enough to kick my ballast on the HID headlight but normally starts. Holds good voltage when running, is the battery just weak? | ||
| Uly_dude |
Though the Odyssey batteries don't fit perfectly(someone here did show us how to get one to fit however) I've heard nothing but good reports on their power and longevity. You pay alittle more, but it sounds like money well spent. | ||
| Uly_man |
Yjsrule. I would advise, if you can, to fit a switch that cuts power to the ballast when starting the bike. Its because of the way the XB starting system works and not the same for other bikes/cars. Its going to cut the life of the ballast/lamp in the long run. The CCA of a battery is the thing to look for. The higher the better. The OEM unit is still good quality though. (Message edited by uly_man on January 07, 2011) | ||
| Uly_man |
Just as a wild idea how about this one. Unlike the other XBs the Uly has loads of space under the seat. If you did not need to use this space it would be very easy to fit a second slim gel battery on the back of the one on the bike. This would boost the CCA by 50% or more. You would, of course, need to work out the right size needed to fit under the seat. Saying that though it would be easy to adapt the under tray to fit a slim battery or even a full sized OEM one. That may be a bit over the top though. | ||
| Bbird |
Check out the Shorai battery! LFX18A1 | ||
| Uly_pirate |
I have been experiencing starting issues lately on my 2009 Uly XT. I replaced the OEM battery one year ago after completely discharging it twice (oops), once at an airport for one week. I love this bike and ride it almost every day (27k miles so far). It always starts, but there is the hesitation to turn over at first click, sometimes for as much as a few seconds. Acts like there is just not enough juice to crank it. So bought another new battery and that didn't change anything (waste of money). So now I have two good batteries, but a bike that doesn't like to crank over. I live in Northern California, so I can't believe that winter temps in the 40-50s would have that much of an impact. This is mostly the cold starts (morning or after work). My questions are: Is this common? Should I just stop whining and enjoy the ride? (obviously yes). | ||
| Rwcfrank |
My experiences with the Uly are exactly like Uly-Pirates. I did all the ground mods then bought a Big Crank. Same deal, it always starts, just hesitates. Just like me! | ||
| Eulysses |
Mine too...whether sitting for a week or 2 months it goes "rump" and sticks for a second or two then cranks right up. (09 Uly) | ||
| Bttrthnwrk |
My '09 has done the same thing since I bought it almost 2 years ago. I have several miles on mine, too. As soon as the temp drops below 55 degrees, it hesitates when starting. It hasn't ever not caught, however, except for when the (if I remember right) fuel pump fuse blew. | ||
| Uly_pirate |
Well, I'm glad it's not just me. Thanks for the replies. It's definitely a winter thing and I guess it is something in the less than 55 deg range. So that's one less thing to worry about. That just leaves where to ride next. Oh and I really should change the plugs again.  | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
My 2008 has always done that too. Always starts though. I just assumed it had a wussy battery. Did they change the starters for 2008-up? | ||
| Ronmold |
That starting hesitation is just the beast's rebellious attitude, letting you know that it will go when it's darn good & ready. I rather enjoy it. |
