[minirips2]

I leave my tape roll in place. That way I can remove and install the bolt many times in the future and the nut is held captive just as Yuasa should have designed it to be in the first place! I just installed the tape on my daughters Ninja 300 last year when we attached the battery maintainer pigtail. Only takes a few extra invites to roll and insert the tape and it will easily outlast the battery. I actually transferred the tape rolls from battery to battery on my 1987 Voyager and the same tape rolls lasted the 17 years I owned the bike. :grin:

I've been doing this exact same thing on my bikes and snowmobiles. Imagine conditions that are so cold you don't dare leave a battery out in it for a full night. Then imagine trying to get that terminal screw started without something under the nut in sub-zero temps. No thanks!

 

[rapz]

On our summer ride out West during the last week of July my '17 RT was hesitating before cranking over. I always have it on a tender. We were having lunch in Del Rio, Texas and about to hit a stretch of a couple of hundred miles before seeing another mid-size town (Alpine, Texas). We were right next to a WalMart so I decided to just not chance getting stranded so I bought an AGM battery for about $70 with CCA 220 which was the right size except for an inch shorter. Changed it right there at Rudy's BBQ by the Walmart in about 20 minutes. Few thousand miles later and no problems!

 

[wetboxerrt]

The 20AH is almost 5/8" higher than stock. Any problems with the added height?

It will fit. I still had some room to move with the 18ah....Height on the 18ah was 6.34 and the 20ah was 6.42 that is only 8 hundredths of an inch or .08 difference. I went with the 18ah and 270 ca because I didn't feel comfortable going 4ahs more than stock. Hope this helps.

 

[steveaikens]

I just bought a replacement for my 07. [yes, I'm doing some work on it] The one in the bike is 5 years old and just gave up to ghost. See photo. BMW Exide.

I keep my 15 on a trickle charger when it's parked 99% of the time.

The chargers I use are CTEK's. My suspicion is they're about as good as they come. Not cheap but I believe worth it.

 

[feisty]

The ebay cheapie battery (TPR rated at 170 cca) that came with my bike died recently. I went looking for another. The motobatts I have in my other boxers aren't anywhere near as good as they used to be. So I picked up a fullriver hc20. This is not a common brand in Oz but I have only heard good things about them and they come with a 2 year warranty. They don't seem to get mentioned much on Boxer forums.

It arrived today and is rated at 230cca. I know this is a minimum and was interested to see what it actually was. I was blown away to see it come up at 405cca. Just checked the battery build date. Week 18 of 2019 early may. So when I put this in it was only 2 months old. I'm pretty happy about that. Hasn't been sitting on a shelf for years.

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

 

[FriendofTed]

Thanks for the input. Went with the Yuasa battery. And it was only 83.00 from Walmart (including shipping). Shipped from Chaparral powersports. Fit perfectly and arrived fully charged.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

[Advcanuck]

I just bought a replacement for my 07. [yes, I'm doing some work on it] The one in the bike is 5 years old and just gave up to ghost. See photo. BMW Exide.

I keep my 15 on a trickle charger when it's parked 99% of the time.

The chargers I use are CTEK's. My suspicion is they're about as good as they come. Not cheap but I believe worth it.

I love my CTEK. I’m not sure how old my ‘14’s battery is, but I added a pigtail to it when I acquired the bike in ‘17 and swear that a GOOD battery tender is worth every penny. The battery is still maintaining adequate voltage...

 

[tvguy]

Thanks for the input. Went with the Yuasa battery. And it was only 83.00 from Walmart (including shipping). Shipped from Chaparral powersports. Fit perfectly and arrived fully charged.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

I just put one of these in a few months ago. Works great.

 

[Hfjeff]

My 2016 is cranking slowly, especially after sitting a week or 2 between rides. Still on the original battery (ordered in late 2015) so it is time. However I am a couple weeks from hibernation and will wait until spring. I have always had good luck with Yuasa batteries in snowmobiles but out of curiosity, how much is an OEM battery from BMW? The ones from Impact also look to be a good replacement.

 

[GSinNC]

My 2016 is cranking slowly, especially after sitting a week or 2 between rides. Still on the original battery (ordered in late 2015) so it is time. However I am a couple weeks from hibernation and will wait until spring. I have always had good luck with Yuasa batteries in snowmobiles but out of curiosity, how much is an OEM battery from BMW? The ones from Impact also look to be a good replacement.

The battery in my 2016 started cranking very weak last summer while at Americade so I had it replaced at Max BMW. The BMW battery was $176 and 2 year replacement warranty. I have always been happy with BMW batteries. I know others have save a few bucks buying others brands.

 

[PatM55]

Mine lasted 3 years before it finally failed. I had noticed that it did crank slowly before that.

 

[muffin]

Has nobody tried a motobatt on an RT?
I have always had greay experiences with them personally and would always use them, just curious here.

 

[GSinNC]

Has nobody tried a motobatt on an RT?
I have always had greay experiences with them personally and would always use them, just curious here.

Was riding with a group this past weekend in the NC Mountains and one of the guys had a battery issue. Another in the group suggested him getting a motobatt for his GS. That was the first I had heard of motobatt but the person suggesting motobatt spoke well of them. I personally have never used them but his recommendation certainly raised my awareness.

I just checked and looks like the Motobatt is $131 for the RT and has a one year replacement warranty. The BMW Battery as a 2 year warranty. For the extra $40 and 2 year warranty I'd probably still give the business to my local dealer if possible. But certainly Motobatt is another good option.

 

[LAF]

Never had any luck on Moto Batteries. I ran two that were raved about and they are expensive and lasted like 3 years.

A Yuasa battery is one of 2 or 3 that make their own battery's. Every other is manufactured by a battery company and a label put on to match specs and brand. They manufacture right down the road in Reading PA.

BMW is not making battery's. A 2 year battery guarantee is easily meet, maybe not written, but very easy to meet on any battery in this day and age.

These went up since I last looked they are 98.90 on Amazon for a 12 volt, 16 ampere-hour, 240 cold cranking amps, high performance sealed maintenance-free battery and made in the USA.

With Prime you have it in a day.

GYZ16H Battery Link

 

[muffin]

Was riding with a group this past weekend in the NC Mountains and one of the guys had a battery issue. Another in the group suggested him getting a motobatt for his GS. That was the first I had heard of motobatt but the person suggesting motobatt spoke well of them. I personally have never used them but his recommendation certainly raised my awareness.

I just checked and looks like the Motobatt is $131 for the RT and has a one year replacement warranty. The BMW Battery as a 2 year warranty. For the extra $40 and 2 year warranty I'd probably still give the business to my local dealer if possible. But certainly Motobatt is another good option.

In my experience they have always been cheaper than OEM and I have found no fault or had issue with them over a 5 year run on my 03 honda cb1300, from touring with sat nav, phone and other gear charging whilst riding (sometimes left to charge whilst I stop for a break) the battery performed without issue.
However I always keep my bikes on an optimate to prolong the life of my battery as much as possible.

All else fails you can never go wrong with a yuasa, they are proven and have a great track record.

 

[GSinNC]

And I am sure you realize the BMW Battery is made by Yuasa. (as are the vast majority of batteries)

So it appears that much like oil there are a few options for batteries that are made to fit the R1200 BMW's so whatever works for you should get you down the road.

I have been riding BMW's since 2000 and have always used BMW batteries primarily because it is just easier to get to my dealer (or a dealer on the road) when I need it "now". In all these years and batteries on 3 bikes I have gotten anywhere from 3 years to 6 years life out of a battery. My bikes are always on a Battery Tender when not on the road. I feel if I get 3 years out of a motorcycle battery it owes me nothing.

If I had the luxury of being able to order a battery online or find a place selling an aftermarket such as MotoBatt I probably would do that but am happy getting the battery immediately and giving the business to a local dealer.

 

[6speedTi]

So far my odyssey battery is going strong after 5 plus years.
I do the occasional deep cycle as recommended and my battery still shows between a 90 to 94 percent capacity. I do carry a Noco battery power boost just in case.

 

[LAF]

And I am sure you realize the BMW Battery is made by Yuasa. (as are the vast majority of batteries)

So it appears that much like oil there are a few options for batteries that are made to fit the R1200 BMW's so whatever works for you should get you down the road.

I have been riding BMW's since 2000 and have always used BMW batteries primarily because it is just easier to get to my dealer (or a dealer on the road) when I need it "now". In all these years and batteries on 3 bikes I have gotten anywhere from 3 years to 6 years life out of a battery. My bikes are always on a Battery Tender when not on the road. I feel if I get 3 years out of a motorcycle battery it owes me nothing.

If I had the luxury of being able to order a battery online or find a place selling an aftermarket such as MotoBatt I probably would do that but am happy getting the battery immediately and giving the business to a local dealer.

Yes I knew BMW was a Yuasa.

It is nice you support your dealer. Someone has to as we all know.

I just have used Yuasa for as long as I can remember and consider them the battery of choice. Not sure why or when I started using them but it must have came as OEM on one bike or another.

As you said they are all going to get you down the road.

It used to be I changed batterys out in 5 years no matter what. Now 3 years seems like a safe bet if your away from home a lot.

 

[GSinNC]

Yes I knew BMW was a Yuasa.

It is nice you support your dealer. Someone has to as we all know.

I just have used Yuasa for as long as I can remember and consider them the battery of choice. Not sure why or when I started using them but it must have came as OEM on one bike or another.

As you said they are all going to get you down the road.

It used to be I changed batterys out in 5 years no matter what. Now 3 years seems like a safe bet if your away from home a lot.

Agree ... if I get 5 years out of a battery and am planning a long trip I just swap out the battery. But most recently as you stated 3-4 years seems to be the life of a battery.

The BMW battery says Yuasa and has the BMW logo on it.

My dealer takes good care of me so I take care of them whenever possible.

 

[Hfjeff]

Wow batteries have gone up since this thread started 18 months ago. That same YUASA battery is now around $145. I am need this spring so will be watching for sales.