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I got stranded while out today due to a dead battery.
It was dead yesterday so I charged her up overnight. And yes, I did check the battery terminals yesterday, they were tight.

Bike started up an ran fine today until I was getting some fuel. That's when the battery went.

I've got a 110VAC trickle charger mounted under my seat, so I rolled her to a nearby spot where I could borrow and extension cord and put her on charge. After 20-25 minutes, she started up. I thanked the guys for their help and started on my way. The bike stalled maybe 150 feet away (I should have used a little choke). So I rolled on back and plugged in again.

After about an hour, she still was not turning over. At that point I was starting to think of options. I tried calling some people for advice.

I finally asked my sister to go see my neighbor, who's an ace mechanic (but rides Harley!).

While that happened, we spotted a guy on a well used Honda Shadow getting fuel. So I asked him if he could come over and give me a jump start. He said he didn't know where his battery was but came over anyway after filling up. It turns out that his battery was hidden behind some cover, held on by some bolts, down near his exhaust pipe.

At that point, my sister called to tell me that my neighbor was on his way. I thanked the Honda Shadow dude and sent him on his way.

My neighbor shows up in his Dodge Durango. I thought he'd come on one of his Harley's, since I seem to recall reading several posts here about not jumping a bike from a car. he assured me that with his engine off, it will be no problem.
I trust the guy so we hooked up the jumpers and got my bike to finally fire up.

So I'm finally home. My neighbor came by and we talked some more, he still says that jumping from an operating car should be no problem. I wasn't going to argue, I'm not an EE, like my son.

So anyway, I'm assuming the battery is the original stock battery, which makes her at least 6 years old. I think it's time to swap out batteries. I was looking in the tech vault and couldn't find anything on batteries.

Does anyone have any suggestions for an alternative or should I just go to the dealer ? I'm also thinking of getting a gel battery, if available.

I'm also looking at the jumper cables Fast Eddy sells. And maybe the Kuryakyn LED Battery gauge gizmo.

Any suggestions ?
Thanks in advance.

I just noticed you called me five hours ago

Ill PM you my personal cell. The work gets put away on the weekends.

As for batteries... I have both the Yuasa YTZ14S (in my bike) and a Shorai (in Karens) bike.

Both required some level of shimming the battery since both are smaller than OEM. The Yuasa was easiest. A small block of wood and all was well. The Shorai required a bit more but was so light I had no issue using the included packing materials for shimming the battery. In both cases its good to have a battery cover that actually covers the battery vs the standard strap.

Of the two the Shorai was my fav. It weighs almost nothing and the box actually felt empty...so I checked it before I left the dealer.

Ehhhh, I just wanted to get your opinion on jumping from a car battery. This was before my neighbor entered into the picture. I figured you were probably out enjoying the weather.

I found this on bike bandit. It's a gel:
http://www.bikebandit.com/bikemaster-trugel-battery-mg12-bs?m=17644

I was finally able to find some other battery discussion threads, including the Shorai discussion. Seems the polarity on some of those other batteries are reversed, including one I found, after the Oyster Run mishap, at a local battery store. On my battery, positive is to the right and ground is on the left.
I don't know if there's enough cabling to allow swapping everything around.

One of those new gel cells would be very cool. They are a bit on the pricey side but light weight and compact. I intend to get one myself when I need a new battery.

I would never get anything but lithium iron since getting the Shorai. Its far superior to lead acid in every way (including gel).

Well, I have to open mouth, insert foot. I just realized, it turns out the battery sits in place reversed. So the poles on that gel and the other options are correct. Which is good because I was considering having to cut the black electrical taped bundle that holds the positive lead (something I was really hesitant about having to do).
So off to order my gel battery from a motorcycle dealer in the Vegas area (cheaper than Bikebandit). Hopefully it will be here by this weekend, the forecast is looking very good all weekend long.
This gives me time to clean my beautiful brass battery cover. Since the seat is off, I'm going to clean out and re-oil my air filter. I might even finally install the Speed Bleeders I bought 5 years ago, I'm sure the brake fluid could use a change-out (I haven't touched it since I bought this bike used over 3 years ago).
I'd do the oil & filter as well, but don't have the oil yet.

Just in case anyone is interested, I bought a BikeMaster TrueGel Battery MG12-BS which is a direct replacement for the original battery, YTX12-BS.
You can buy it from Bike Bandit, but it's a little pricier and does not include shipping.
I bought the battery on eBay on Monday and it arrived today. There are several places selling them for about $86-88 with free shipping. I found a place selling one for $78 plus $10.50 shipping. With the great forecast for this weekend, I didn't want to risk waiting even longer for a free shipped battery, so I bought the $78 one.
Like I said, it arrived today. I measured 12.9 volts on the terminals out the box. It fit in the stock battery holder very nicely. After making all the connections, I smeared a little dielectric grease on the terminals.
The only issue is the black plastic top cover piece. The dimensions of the battery are just a wee bit different, so the cover doesn't sit perfectly flush as on the stock. But it's minor and you really have to look to spot it.

Here's a pic of the battery installed.




While things were apart, I decided to clean & re-oil my Unifilter and clean up the brass battery over. The brass battery cover still looks pretty good, although the darkened areas are lightening up. For example, what is supposed to be the blue field on old glory is no longer dark, so it's harder to make out the stars.
Anyway, put things back together, and rolled her out to fire her up. She started with no problem, good and strong.

Here's a shot of her, after I fired her up.



Afterwards, I installed the compass I got as a Christmas present. It's from Newbonneville.com. Easy installation on the right handlebar. It should complement the clock I have on the left handlebar.

Glad you got it sorted.

Another good option are Scorpion Batteries. A lot of Rocket owners have gone with them with good results.

The one made for the Speedy is: http://www.batterystuff.com/powersports-batteries/sYT12B-4.html

fwiw I always buy dry Yuasa Maintenance Free VRLA Batteries(YTX12-BS). add the electrolyte myself then boot it up. er charge it up. I bought one Dec 13, 2010 from the Bike Bandit. after going through all the hoops (gift cards, bandit bucks, etc) the delivered cost was $63.96.

Next one was March 2, 2011 from the bandit paid $68.23 delivered.

Thing with the bandit is: look for sales, then jump on them. For example, last March (2012), I bought two EBC rear Rotors MD634s @ $106.00 each. A most excellent sale.

I have also been looking at Motobatt batteries. They are High performance sealed AGM batteries. One interesting feature is that they have four terminal positions. Two Positive and two negative. Making it easier for connecting any extra wires you have.

at http://www.impactbattery.com they have the Motobatt for our bike (P/N MBTX12U) for $84.95. Comes with charger and spacers. Rated at CCA 200, AmpHr 14. Two year warranty.

So for me it will be either the Shorai LFX Lithium Iron battery or a Motobatt battery. I am done with lead acid batteries.

It's a lithium battery for me next time. More expensive but superior in every way.