[AlaninBC]

'13 RT Camhead here - manufactured 15 January 2013, and original battery still fine. Bike is put up for the winter. No fancy battery maintainers, just a tiny trickle charger and a lamp timer.

 

[Skibumwi]

Based on climate.

Yep, average ambient temperature for the battery is a huge indicator for battery longevity. Most people are surprised to find out that the climate with the shortest battery life expectancy are the HOT one, not the cold ones. Heat really stresses an battery.


Ski

 

[6speedTi]

Yep, average ambient temperature for the battery is a huge indicator for battery longevity. Most people are surprised to find out that the climate with the shortest battery life expectancy are the HOT one, not the cold ones. Heat really stresses an battery.


Ski

So true based on my experience living in Florida.
I had a Toyota corolla back in New York. The original battery lasted almost 10 years. The last year I was nursing it only to see how long it would realistically last.
1979 to 1989. In Florida car batteries last me an average of 3 to 4 years at best.

 

[McWideglide]

In my 45 years of using batteries I have had good bad and ugly. Cheap ones did not last as long. Expensive ones seemed to fail too. A few years ago I replace stock battery on m 09 K1300 GT. I chose by popular demand the Odyssey 680 was purchased. Ultra pure lead. I replaced the original to try and head off the hot start issue. Well the 680 did not perform any better than the stock. In fact at the 11.5 month the battery suffered from a shorted cell. I had to pay shipping costs so Odyssey could test the battery. I got a new one but it shows the best fails too.

Batteries in my Ford F 250 have lasted 12 years of not perfect use. Meaning heavy drain to start and then recharge . My battery was neglected 5 days a week as I had a company vehicle to use.

A stock battery in my Ford Explorer had the + post on the battery separate at top of battery. I was able to put a screw through the post to hold it together long enough to get home.

So as far a new batteries I will stick with what I have until it shows any sign of failure or just dies.

 

[prz42]

On my 05 FJR it is still the original and still working like a charm with 90,000 miles on it. I don't use any battery tender, only if it sits for a long period. If I replace the battery it will be a Yuasa. It is the battery all motorcycle industry uses. Hopefully my 2017 R1200rt will last that long.:smile:

 

[Tango Alpha]

Two years into a stock RT battery, no problems, have it on a trickle charger as per recommendations by guys at the shop most of the time.

Just wanted to know how many months your RT battery lasted before it failed or started to give you problems and you purchased a new one.

I'm taking a ride out from San Diego to Colorado and a ride from San Diego to Sturgis this year and if they start failing around 30 months I'd just go ahead and pick one up now, rather than be waiting for the UPS guy to show up when I'm in some podunk place in the middle of nowhere.

Also, what's the most popular replacement.

Good topic. I just replaced the battery in my RT. I got 5 years out of my old BMW Gel Battery, I replaced it with the same exact type. As for keeping the bike on a tender full time, when not in use my bike is connected to a Deltran Battery Tender Plus. This is not a typical battery charger which only charges. This unit has a microchip which constantly determines the state of the battery while connected. Once fully charged, the tender switches the charger off and switches in to "Storage" mode. A bike just sitting unused will slowly discharge due to parasitic drain. The genius behind these type of chargers is that once the battery level drops below a certain point, the charger switches back to charge mode and back to storage mode according. This keeps the battery in optimal condition and never overcharges the battery where it become damaged. I've used this charger on all types of bikes I've owned over the years and always the first thing I do when I buy a new bike is add the quick disconnect pigtail to the battery. While some folks only seem to be getting 3 years...maybe 4 years of use out of their batteries, the fact that I got 5 years out of mine I believe is a real testament to how well (automatic) battery tenders work.

 

[RTnoob]

Going to revive this old thread on purpose. The original battery (Aug 2013 build date) on my 2014 Camhead RT just died. 9 years is a good life. Always on Optimate charger when not in use.

 

[Dalton 5]

Original OEM batteries have lasted me from one year (defective) to typically five years. Began replacing the BMW installed battery's with Odessys. They appear to have more cold cranking power but that's just my unscientific personal take. Batteries are always connected to a battery tender (via pig tail) or BMW charger.