This pertains to the BatteryOver the past 15 years I’ve never gotten more than 3 years of service on my 1999 TW. Looking for suggestions as to what brands may be more robust and longer lasting. Thanks
Thing #1 you will probably never need to actually charge a lithium. Lithium does not self discharge very fast so the battery can sit for a very long time and maintain its state of charge. Mine sit for months on end all winter and never get plugged in and the bikes fire right up in the spring.I'd rather just change a battery every 3-4 years and be done with it. I think lithium batteries need a special charger when I was looking at them. Keep it simple.
Anyway, I use Yuasa since they specialize in motorcycle batteries and they're an American company.
They also sell a remote "restart" kit for it for $20. If you are ever in a situation where you need to push the button you can connect this to a tender lead to activate the restart feature without having to remove the seat.I recently picked up an Antigravity Lithium battery. Besides some of the other benefits folks have mentioned like lighter weight (I saved over 3lbs), smaller size, very slow discharge and a battery management system, it has a 'restart' feature which is awesome if you don't have a kick start.
It ensures the battery will retain enough juice for a few start attempts without going completely flat. To access this 'reserve' power you hit the 'restart' button on the battery and you have some power.
For bikes without a kick start, I think the restart function on the antigravity is worth the price alone.
3 years with a stock TW battery is great, a miracle. My FZ-09 has an AGM which has been great by comparison and is substantially stronger. When it got weak and gave up after five years, it was still starting the FZ with difficulty, and that is a whole lot more CC. Be sure to buy a $20.00 Led headlight bulb and a cheap Led tail light bulb, leave the turn signals alone because they are a pain to upgrade to led because of flasher issues.This pertains to the Battery
Actually, I just buy the cheap Yusa and keep replacing it, because it fits and the wires are the correct length. No big special modifications. The cost ends up being the same when everything is factored in.This pertains to the Battery