Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech WestCo Battery

In February of this year I finally replaced the OEM battery in my 2002 America. The new WestCo battery I got from NewBonneville.com. Since installing the new battery I haven't ridden the bike all that much, but each time I do I connect my Battery Tender for several hours just to make sure the battery is charged before going for a ride. Generally the battery tender indicates charged within 5 minutes of being connecting.

The last couple of times that I have attempted to ride the battery will not start the bike. The engine will turn over for a couple of seconds and then the starter relay will just chatter. If I connect my car charger directly to the battery the bike start right up and runs great.

So my OEM battery ran great for almost 7 years, and the replacement battery less than 6 months. I'll be taking the battery out and performing a load test on it to confirm it is bad. I guess I need to e-mail Brent and see what he says.

Anyone else have any problems with the WestCo Battery?

Tom

I replaced my OEM with a WestCo, back in April.
I never have it on a tender... no issues with it.

Sometimes they just go bad. My dealer replacement Yuasa died in less than a year.

Vera Lynn has had one for a while now (February 15, 2007 order date). The only thing I dislike about it, is the white print on the outer face.

When buying a motorcycle battery (or any battery for that matter) always buy a dry battery and add the acid then trickle charge to a full charge. As soon as you add acid the battery starts to decay so a battery stored with acid in it is decaying on the shelf. The longer it sits the shorter the installed life.

I replaced a good, but 4 year old stock battery with a new Interstate that I filled and charged, per the instructions, and it lasted less than a year. 6 month warranty. Tough Luck.

I replaced it with another Interstate, filled and charged by me per the instructions, and it's 15 month's old and no trouble.

Why do car batteries have unrealisticly long warranty periods that we never expect the battery to obtain, and a power sports battery only has a 6 month warranty?

A. They expect you to lose the receipt B. Those warranties are prorated so they still make out in the end.

I e-mailed Brent and he responded within the same day. I provided him with the Battery build date. I'll see what happens.

I removed the battery from the bike, charged it and then connected a battery load tester to it. Initially under no load it read just over 12 volts. Under load it went down to 6 volts within 2 seconds. Per the Battery load tester the battery is beyond bad.

Tom

you can borrow Vera Lynn's battery if you want to, until you get another one. It needs to be charged up anyways...

Went out today, and bought a YUASA Battery. It's made in America, unlike the WestCo which was made in China.

Yeah, don't get too excited. My replacement YUASA lasted less than a year.

Brent at newspeedmaster.com came through. Yesterday UPS dropped off a replacement battery, which was shipped directly from the distributor. I'll hang onto it just in case I have any problems with the Yuasa battery.

Tom

I have had my Wesco battery for several years. No problems.
--Tom