Gel Cell Battery for R3

[alselec]

Haven't had real good service with the lead acid batterys, Have had 2 and they both start to crank slower after awhile.
Was thinking of buying the Gel Cell, think there deep cycle or can get them in deep cycle.

 

[Pig9r]

You might find this helpful...

http://www.r3owners.net/showthread.php?t=2768&highlight=battery


Or better yet the original thread you started on this a few months ago had some good responses...

http://www.r3owners.net/showthread.php?t=2545&highlight=battery

 

[bmtbandit]

I have not tried a Lithium Ion battery in the Rocket yet, but have had the best experience of any battery with them in a Seadoo. Have had it in for 2+ years now, has never needed charged, or even disconnected over the winter. In the summer I hit the start button and she fires right back up. Can't say enough positives for them, at least in the marine environment.

 

[HeR3tic]

Haven't had real good service with the lead acid batterys, Have had 2 and they both start to crank slower after awhile.
Was thinking of buying the Gel Cell, think there deep cycle or can get them in deep cycle.

A deep cycle (DC) battery has a different purpose than those that we crank up our vehicles with. It's a matter of CCA. A DC is meant for slow (low amp) continuous draw like that which would be used for a trolling motor or in a hand held vacuum or Flipper's butt plug

 

[Sidecar Flip]

A deep cycle (DC) battery has a different purpose than those that we crank up our vehicles with. It's a matter of CCA. A DC is meant for slow (low amp) continuous draw like that which would be used for a trolling motor or in a hand held vacuum or Flipper's butt plug

I ani't got no stink'in butt plug.

I also wasn't aware that anyone made a Lithium Ion battery big enough for a starter battery.

 

[HeR3tic]

Flip, I always knew you were a fanatic about sanitation.
Gel batteries are usual in watercraft like a Seadoo.

 

[Sidecar Flip]

I did a little snooping around about batteries and I believe bmtbandit has his batteries mixed up. Like you said heR3tic, Seadoo=Gel Cel. The biggest military application Lithium Ion or Lithium Ion Polymer battery I could find was a meager 14 Ah... and the price was, well, a couple would cost as much as the Seadoo.

I run AGM batteries in the tractors, my gas driven welder and my pickup (Optima's). My camper has an Optima blue top deep cycle AGM that you could use to weld with.... A couple of 12 volt batteries and a set of 25 foot welding cables makes an excellent DC stick welder for the field.

Optima batteries are made by Johnson Controls. If I were to go to a true spill proof battery, I'd get a Hawker Odessy. They will run in any position and have tremendous CCA ratings.

For an excellent charger go visit the other thread. My Vector is the last charger I'll ever buy. It charges everything, has a de-sulfation pulse current mode and runs a piddily 2 amps or less for little batteries or 100 amps for big batteries, all automatically and it shuts itself off when the battery reaches 14.5 volts and starts again when the battery voltage drops due to idle discharge.

 

[alselec]

battery R3

Think it was the short trips over time. I bought a trickle charger to keep going. Problem solved

 

[Sidecar Flip]

Think it was the short trips over time. I bought a trickle charger to keep going. Problem solved

It can't be the short trips unless the trips were really short, like down the drive and back.

One very interesting about Triumph alternators is that they put out a very high charge rate at low rpm. Even allowing the bike to idle for 5 minutes will appreciably charge the battery. I believe I'd be checking all the connections for corrosion, the battery terminals and the molex plugs especially for the starter relay and the EFI computer feed. Low voltage in the ECU equates to hard starting. Just a few days ago, a poster posted on this site that his battery cable was loose on the fixing stud atop the starter motor (the one with the rubber boot on it). I checked mine and while it wasn't plainly loose, it wasn't what I'd consider to be secure either. I took it off, checked for oxidation and applied some di-electric grease and tightened it up. I pack all my molex plugs with di-electric grease as well as my battery cables where they attach to the battery. I have the original battery in my Bonnie/Sidecar outfit. The bike is an 03 and other than an ocassional top off and desulfate with my Vector charger it still cranks like new.

 

[bmtbandit]

Very possible, I am pretty sure they are not gel. If I get a break in the weather I will go out back (I live on my boat) and uncover the waverunner, and see what she has.

I did a little snooping around about batteries and I believe bmtbandit has his batteries mixed up. Like you said heR3tic, Seadoo=Gel Cel. The biggest military application Lithium Ion or Lithium Ion Polymer battery I could find was a meager 14 Ah... and the price was, well, a couple would cost as much as the Seadoo.

I run AGM batteries in the tractors, my gas driven welder and my pickup (Optima's). My camper has an Optima blue top deep cycle AGM that you could use to weld with.... A couple of 12 volt batteries and a set of 25 foot welding cables makes an excellent DC stick welder for the field.

Optima batteries are made by Johnson Controls. If I were to go to a true spill proof battery, I'd get a Hawker Odessy. They will run in any position and have tremendous CCA ratings.

For an excellent charger go visit the other thread. My Vector is the last charger I'll ever buy. It charges everything, has a de-sulfation pulse current mode and runs a piddily 2 amps or less for little batteries or 100 amps for big batteries, all automatically and it shuts itself off when the battery reaches 14.5 volts and starts again when the battery voltage drops due to idle discharge.