| Author | Message | ||
     Mike_dinger |
...tried to s**t, but only farted. This ol' porta-potty rhyme expresses my current state of mind as I am sitting here, 50's out, not a cloud in the sky here in beautiful Sacramento, Ca. I can see the snow caps on the Sierras to my East from my office window. I am not out riding. Why you ask? I suffered the lovely click-click-click when I turned the key. I did some research here on finding a new battery. I was a little lazy to search for a Yuasa, and declined the thought of grabbing a HD battery from the dealer. I ended up going to Sears last night and buying a DieHard Gold PowerSports battery. Trouble is, it has to be charged before use. No biggie, it's out in the garage charging now. I did a search to see if anyone has had any experience here with the DieHard's, but nothing turned up. I was hoping someone out there might have some insight as to whether or not they have used one before. Any thoughts, concerns, or comments welcome. It's got a 6-month warranty, so that's a plus.  I'm hoping all is well with my decision, and will provide an update later. Wish me luck! - Mike | ||
| Froggy |
I am loving my Speedcell battery, it weighs 2lbs and is a fraction of the size of the HD battery!   I haven't heard anything bad about Die Hard, so no news is good news I guess. | ||
| Mike_dinger |
Froggy, looks like you will have some substantial weight savings there. Are you expecting the same life expectancy from the Speedcell? | ||
| Froggy |
At $350, it better last!  | ||
| Mike_dinger |
WOW! That's like...a new pair of shoes! Yeah, or a big tricked out nametag! | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Froggy, how will you make your remote control robot work now? | ||
| Xbimmer |
Where's the Die Hard made? | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
Where did you get the SpeedCell Battery from?.... Thats like another horse power or 2 for the race bike.... | ||
| Froggy |
I am going to be posting a review soon. There is this guy in Texas that makes them, he races bikes. He actually went to the extreme of removing the stator to reduce rotating mass, and uses these batteries on the track, and after a session swaps the batteries quickly and throws the old one on a charger. I first learned about it here: http://www.speedzilla.com/forums/ducati-superbikes /51647-new-battery-installed-2.html#post515308 Because of my high accessory and drain loads, I had to get the biggest model, which can replace a car battery You can email Dave speedcell@me.com Thats what I did, as I wasn't sure what one would be best for my "unique" setup. Good news is, I can turn on both HID headlights, my PIAAs, heated grips, heated jacket, Zumo, XM, and race computer, and then still start the bike as if nothing was on. Temperature doesn't affect it like a lead battery so starting in the near freezing temperature is the same as a middle of the summer. Also nice to keep the heated suit going when stopping for gas | ||
| Tootal |
Not positive but I think the Die Hard is made by Yuasa, they make 90 percent of the bike batteries out there. I like the Odyssey but you have to modify the battery box to get it to fit. Xbimmer had this to say: When I called East Penn this morning to see whether I could buy one directly from them I was told no, but their Deka's were sold through Star Auto, with a warehouse about five miles from me. I called Star and sure enough they confirmed that their ETX-14 was in stock and in fact a Deka-East Penn battery. This seemed to work well for him and others and you don't have to modify anything. If your interested in the Odyssey here is a link on what you have to modify to get it to fit. I love em!: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/397081.html#POST1260388 | ||
| Mike_dinger |
The DieHard is made in Taiwan. Not sure where the Yuasa's are from. | ||
| Xbimmer |
Xbimmer had this to say: When I called East Penn this morning to see whether I could buy one directly from them I was told no, but their Deka's were sold through Star Auto, with a warehouse about five miles from me. I called Star and sure enough they confirmed that their ETX-14 was in stock and in fact a Deka-East Penn battery. This seemed to work well for him and others and you don't have to modify anything. Yep. And made here  Still no regrets with a $75 battery with four tapped holes in the posts that haven't loosened up since I installed it. Ready to go upon purchase. Recovers to 14V after starting within two minutes at idle. Pleased as a pig in mud. Almost bought the WalMart (GS-made, Taiwan) first, but another BadWebber had problems with his. At the battery rack some big tall older guy who rode HD's and a V-Vision steered me away to Interstate where I found theirs was also an East Penn battery with their label. That's when I started looking for East Penn batteries distributed by local companies. http://www.eastpenn-deka.com/default.aspx?pageid=8 43 That being said, I'd still take a Taiwan battery over the Chinese or Vietnamese batteries that are out there for us to "score" on for the price. I used to buy Korean and then Taiwanese batteries for my Airhead after I figured out the Vartas and Maregs were overpriced junk. Always performed well, but these days I like the idea of a $75 battery that kicks butt in my Uly and keeps some people employed in PA... | ||
| Xbimmer |
...tried to s**t, but only farted. I suffered the lovely click-click-click when I turned the key. For the record, those of us who ride bigass high compression twins can prevent (like I didn't before my battery totally gave out) being out of commission by fixing it asap. No kick starter and a ECM that needs 11 volts or so. IF at any time your LCD odo readout defaults to "1:00" clock time when you start the bike, you need to verify the battery connections and wouldn't hurt to take a voltage reading too. Chances are the battery is gasping its last and unless you like walking hand in hand with your bike you might want to address it. | ||
| Mark_weiss |
When I suffered the dreaded clickety-click, the problem turned out to be a loose ground. It was the woven cable that is under the airbox (loose at the engine end). Mark in Arizona |
