New Battery Time

[mikey]

Yep, think its time, just to be sure...wanted to get the Odyssey, but which one?, I remember seeing something about one will require 'slight' modification?....also would I be able to use my BMW charger with it..tks Mikey

[RonKMiller]

The PC 680 Odyssey is overhyped and way too damned expensive at $110.00 plus shipping. I had one fail in a year although it was replaced under warranty.

Get the LCX 1220P Panasonic from www.digikey.com (http://www.digikey.com) for about half the price ($63.00) and just as much dependability.

[astuber]

I have had my Panasonic battery for a year and have had zero issues with it during that time. I left the original BMW gel battery plugged into the battery tender all of the time. I think I may have plugged in the Panasonic battery once.

The Panasonic battery comes with new bolts that are smaller than those used with the BMW battery. I ran a drill bit through the openings in the battery terminals so that I could used the older hardware. Otherwise, it bolted right up.

Good service from Digikey.

[garry_kramer]

Ordered the LC-X1220P $76.64 cdn + $8.00 shipping + $5.08 tax

They had over 1500 in stock.


I ordered it from Digikey 2 day delivery to Canada. The price had the Canadian exchange in it. I think now it would be about $58.00 Cdn

Garry

[rando]

I just looked, none in stock, expected shipping date of 11-19-07 and $70.88.

http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail?name=P231-ND if that link works.

Go figure.
Randy

[RiderRay]

I bought the Universal Power Sport UB22-12N for $74.95, no tax and free shipping, the beginning of this season from here: http://ebatteriestogo.com. Fast shipping and perfect fit with no modifications. The bike was just sitting for the last 4 weeks and the temps dropped into the 30's at times. I hit the starter on Sunday and she started right up. Great product and price IMHO.

Ray

[RonKMiller]

I just looked, none in stock, expected shipping date of 11-19-07 and $70.88.

http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail?name=P231-ND if that link works.

Go figure.
Randy

The site page shows $62.90, obviously they have not updated it to match the checkout - I'll bet they honor the lower price if youi call them...

[nocanpickem]

Unless you need one for riding this fall, I would wait and get the battery in the Spring. Much of the life of a battery is used during winter storage. Battery Tenders help but not as good as starting over with a fresh battery in the Spring.

[rando]

I may do just that. I don;t ride that much over the winter, but do take an occasional day trip. So I should be okay with the old one. With bike outside, oil temp at startup will cause it to drag, I guess.

I just wouldn't want to get out next year on a nice trip and have battery issues. The one in it has been a good un. PO must have kept it charged pretty well.

Thanks for a good reminder.
Randy

[JohnnyBSurfing]

Gentlemen:

I don't mean any disrespect to the idea that cheaper is better but, lets get real for a minute. You are recommending a brother LT rider something that is half price and ? % quality.

Ok the Hawker Odyssey PC 680 I can fully recommend and that is backed up by the last 11 months and just under 20,000 miles with not one battery issue.

I did have a BMW sealed gel battery and charger that came with the bike in January. The seller had just kept it on the charger all the time in the garage.
So the battery was fried and after 24 hours in the driveway I had to plug in the charger to get her to fire up.

After the great advice I received here I installed the Odyssey PC680 and have been more than happy since. In fact today I twisted the key after the bike sitting for a month and it had all the juice I needed to pump up the tires to my favorite pressure, start her up and ride away with no thought of getting stranded.

Here is a good site to purchase it they ship Fed Ex ground and you can track it all the way.
www.gotbatteries.com/items.asp?params=batteries/SLA/1/Hawker%20Odyssey/PC680/0769-2016/SL105/37L105S5

I also purchased the Odyssey battery charger to go with it.
I have plugged it in and it has only confirmed that the battery was fully charged.

PS if you search the wisdom here there is a complete step by stem guide with tips on how to change out your battery. Like the 12v battery in the socket to keep your electronics memory while you break the circuit! I would have never thought of that without the wisdom found on this site!
Thanks
good luck,
You drive a BMW don't settle for less than excellent !

[Zotter]

Gut feel here - no real science to back it - but....

I'm thinking the Odyssey is more tolerant of abuse. If you baby your battery with constant maintenance and tender care, likely a less expensive batt will give you similar results (it is just a battery after all, not the motor).

But, if like me, you have a few farkles that may get left 'on' now and then - deep discharging your battery, unintentionally. You may just want a battery that can survive such abuse without leaving you trying to push start your LT in some motel parking lot days/weeks after you've recharged it.

I'm betting the Panasonic - after a deep discharge and recharge - may well not hold nearly as well as the Odyssey. The Odyssey will suffer for such abuse as well - but not nearly so badly.

"You can pay me now, or you can pay me later" comes to mind.

[astuber]

Gut feel here - no real science to back it - but....

I'm thinking the Odyssey is more tolerant of abuse. If you baby your battery with constant maintenance and tender care, likely a less expensive batt will give you similar results (it is just a battery after all, not the motor).

But, if like me, you have a few farkles that may get left 'on' now and then - deep discharging your battery, unintentionally. You may just want a battery that can survive such abuse without leaving you trying to push start your LT in some motel parking lot days/weeks after you've recharged it.

I'm betting the Panasonic - after a deep discharge and recharge - may well not hold nearly as well as the Odyssey. The Odyssey will suffer for such abuse as well - but not nearly so badly.

"You can pay me now, or you can pay me later" comes to mind.

I have to respectfully disagree with most if not all of your comments.

Battery type (standard lead acid, Gel, or AGM) is much more important than the specific manufacturer. Both the Odyssey and the Panasonic batteries are AGM type and should perform very similarly. There may in fact be some differences in the two batteries but based upon my personal experience and the collective experience of other Panasonic battery users on this site, the Odyssey is not twice as good though it costs almost twice as much.

It is interesting that you use the 'pay me now or pay me later' analogy since this is the old advertising line for Fram filters which are probably the worst oil filters that you can buy. Sometimes paying more gains you an improved product and sometimes all you are paying for is marketing hype. JM2CW

[DanMartin]

Gentlemen:

I don't mean any disrespect to the idea that cheaper is better but, lets get real for a minute. You are recommending a brother LT rider something that is half price and ? % quality.

Ok the Hawker Odyssey PC 680 I can fully recommend and that is backed up by the last 11 months and just under 20,000 miles with not one battery issue.
!

When my LT approached 3 years old I decided to replace the battery. I was getting ABS faults and wanted to see if this would fix it. The Panasonic was out of stock so I went even cheaper to the BB brand at DigiKey for about $25. Did not install right away,the Panasonic became available so I bought it for $48. Swapped out the original BMW gel cell and still got ABS faults. Switched to the el-cheapo BB battery, only 1 ABS fault in 6 months of daily riding. El-Cheapo is Ok with me.

Dan Martin