battery options updated with three part harmony

[Ian Francisco]

Just about any bike you buy will have quirks and foibles and gotchas. The DR650 has its share, or so I've read.

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Don Bittle wrote: > My buddy > bought a DR650 just because of the doohicky. Right bike, wrong reason. -- ian http://www.scarletfuries.com http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Scarlet-Furies/121218125931 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Mike Frey]

I got tired of replacing slosh batteries every 2 years, and even more tired of having to top off the battery 3 times per summer. So, I switched to AGM. One KLR has a Wal Mart AGM battery in it, same battery for the past 4 years and for the past 3, I have only been with it (remote location) only once every 12 months. Each time, it has started as if it had run last week. If my habit stays the same, I ll get back to it in April, and we ll see if it is the same. The KLR sitting 15 feet underneath me (it s in the basement right now) has had a Sears Die Hard AGM battery in it for the past 9 months. At $15 closeout sale at K-Mart, I am certainly not going to complain. I bought all three! The 2nd is in my Sears lawn tractor, the 3rd is in my 1976 Suzuki GT-750. I have had one AGM battery die so far but it was not a KLR. I got that one from Batteries Plus, it lasted about 1 week past the 1 year warranty period. It didn t die suddenly it gave me a couple days warning with slow cranking. There is an AGM battery in my ZRX-1200. I don t remember the brand, but I do know how long it s been in there: since Feb 2004. My experience with batteries is hit and miss. Yuasa / Exide and Deka are generally safe bets, but there are certainly other brands that are as good. I've had a Yuasa battery die in less than 1 year. Mike From: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com [mailto:DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Eckert, Christopher (Infrastructure Solutions Dept.) Sent: Tuesday, November 29, 2011 11:53 AM To: Eckert, Christopher (Infrastructure Solutions Dept.); DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Subject: [DSN_KLR650] battery options updated with three part harmony 4 options so far. What sites list this sort of comparisons for KLRs? David Nichols says he has heard good stuff about the Deka ETX15L AGM. Ebay - $73 including the shipping. He has no personal experience But Greg May backs him up saying this, "I've been running this battery for the last 2 years with no problems, It seems to crank the KLR a bit faster then the original after the bike has been sitting for a couple weeks and takes a couple tries to start.". http://goo.gl/pujOF Jeff Saline says he has good results with the Slosh battery from Walmart. He liked the 3-5 year life and the slow failure mode of the lead acids vs the AGM finger snap and its dead business. I checked yesterday and it was $36.99. That is going to be hard to beat. The book lists the Everstart es14ls2 as being correct and there is an empty slot for it. Damm Black Friday shoppers got all the good batteries! http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_query=everstart+motorcycle+battery&ic=16_0&Find=Find&search_constraint=91083 Michael Martin says this regarding the Magna Power, "I bought a Magna Power ETX15L AGM battery in July, 2010, from Advance Auto Parts. So far, so good. Made in USA. Today only, there's s 20% off (enter code CYBER in cart). Order online, pick up at store". Cyber Monday deals on Batteries. How cool is that? I checked and the site says $79.99 and they are in stock. The Black Friday bastards missed this Xmas option for their KLR riding kin didn't they? Incidentally Jeff, The naked water skier one, seems to feel strongly that AGM is the best option using the following arguments. AGM or glass mat batteries are the best way to go. You save taking off your 20 times to check the water in a slosh battery. AGMs work well and the prices are reasonable...you should be able to find one for under $80. There are better batteries if you want to pay over $120 but price/performance/convenience-wise AGM is the only way to go." His observation on price is solidly backed by the Advanced Auto Parts web site as well. http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_12-Volt-Sealed-AGM-Premium-Batteries-for-Power-Sports-Applications-MagnaPower_16940004-P_40_A%7CGRP60054_____ The NAPA web site lists their 14La2 as not available online. That said Consumer reports listed the Napa branded batteries as one of the best quality and dependability options last year, which probably is saying something. I went down the street to my local NAPA and picked one up for $46.99. I will report on dependability in a few years but if Consumer reports is to be believed then at only $10 more than the Wally World battery this may be a good dependable value option. Hmmm, sort of like a KLR!!!! http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogItemDetail.aspx?A=PSB14LA2_0247342724&An=0&Ar=AND(P_RecType%3aA) ************************************************************ This communication, including attachments, is for the exclusive use of addressee and may contain proprietary, confidential and/or privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, any use, copying, disclosure, dissemination or distribution is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail, delete this communication and destroy all copies. ************************************************************