 Any Other Battery Sizes Out There?
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Anyone know if there are any smaller batteries out there that would work with our bikes?
I mean 12 volts is 12 volts right? Cant I use something smaller? Or do they make an aftermarket battery that costs like $4000 and is the size of the fuse box?
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Re: Any Other Battery Sizes Out There?
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I want one too! O and...um...Carmen Electra if thats at all possible...
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Re: Any Other Battery Sizes Out There?
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Joined: May 2007
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Worn Saddle
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Worn Saddle
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Just match up the cranking amperage and you'll be good to go, especially since you're bobbing yours which means less electrical doo-dads and therefore less current draw when running (unless I'm way off base on what you're doing).
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. Herm Albright (1876 - 1944)
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Re: Any Other Battery Sizes Out There?
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Loquacious
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Seriously, they can put 12 volts in a cordless drill easy, and thats palm sized and weighs about 1 pound. I know theyre different battery types, but hasnt someone out there made something better?
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Re: Any Other Battery Sizes Out There?
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Quote:
Just match up the cranking amperage and you'll be good to go, especially since you're bobbing yours which means less electrical doo-dads and therefore less current draw when running (unless I'm way off base on what you're doing).
cranking amperage? whats that?...and would that have an affect on the charging system?
I relocated the battery under the seat and ran all the wiring and fuse box to be hidden tight under the seat so you cant see anything from the side except the battery. So after doing that I decided to leave the sides open, and not make any side panels at all....it looks really good, even with the battery showing a bit, but I'd love to be able to see right through to the other side without having anything hanging down. ya know?
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Re: Any Other Battery Sizes Out There?
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Joined: May 2007
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Worn Saddle
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Worn Saddle
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Look for a battery that has 125 or more cold cranking amps and a rating of 10 amp hours (according to the battery I referenced from the Tech vault).
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. Herm Albright (1876 - 1944)
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Re: Any Other Battery Sizes Out There?
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Loquacious
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but will any battery recharge like the normal one?
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Re: Any Other Battery Sizes Out There?
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Quote:
but will any battery recharge like the normal one?
As far as my limited knowledge is, i always thought a 12V charger will charge a 12V battery not matter what amps it is.
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Re: Any Other Battery Sizes Out There?
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When my battery dies I'm going to replace it with a AGM style battery, they are a better battery all round re. cranking amps & deep cycle, also zero maintaince
They are also somewhat smaller for the same capacity.
Hoffo
2x Norton Commando Roadsters
08 Triumph America
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Re: Any Other Battery Sizes Out There?
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I have an Absorbed Glass Mat battery - they are definitely superior. Don't ride your bike for 6 months, it'll start right up without a tenderizer. Once charged, the AGM battery is supposed to hold the charge for a year. My bike never sits more than 2 days, so I wouldn't know. 
Ride Safe,
Dennis
Triumph, it's how I live and what I ride.
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Re: Any Other Battery Sizes Out There?
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wont give you a huge window to start it?
the enemy of the system is the individual
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Re: Any Other Battery Sizes Out There?
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Loquacious
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Quote:
Quote:
but will any battery recharge like the normal one?
As far as my limited knowledge is, i always thought a 12V charger will charge a 12V battery not matter what amps it is.
if this is true how come all these custom chopper guys dont use a little battery similar to a cordless drill battery or something. You'd think a bike would look better if it didnt have to have some 20lb battery strapped to the side.
and why are car batteries so big?....how come they cant be the size of motorcycle batteries?...and how come motorcycle batteries cant be the size of RC car batteries?
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Re: Any Other Battery Sizes Out There?
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Joined: Mar 2007
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Member
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Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
but will any battery recharge like the normal one?
As far as my limited knowledge is, i always thought a 12V charger will charge a 12V battery not matter what amps it is.
if this is true how come all these custom chopper guys dont use a little battery similar to a cordless drill battery or something. You'd think a bike would look better if it didnt have to have some 20lb battery strapped to the side.
and why are car batteries so big?....how come they cant be the size of motorcycle batteries?...and how come motorcycle batteries cant be the size of RC car batteries?
one would assume cars have bigger batteries because they have bigger motors, starters and electronics aux
dont see why you cant have a smaller battery but itd be a pain in the ****** at times
where was it i saw they got rid of the batteries completely and relied on the charging system, that might of been just on a kick start i cant recall
the enemy of the system is the individual
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Re: Any Other Battery Sizes Out There?
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all i see is 12volts 12volts 12volts, im assuming the car needs to go longer without being recharged by the alternator than a motorcycle...so the bigger the battery the longer it can last with out being recharged. but are car and motorcycle batteries the kind that slowly decharge when theyre not being used? thats the way Nicad and Nimh are, theyre the typical rechargeable batteries that you buy in the store, they lose their charge if theyre not being used, so it makes sense that they wouldnt be used. I just cant believe that all these people out there building custom motorcycles havent worked on getting a smaller battery made...or at least proportioned differently. I found this battery just now, http://www.spyke1.com/battery.htm if you scroll down you can see they sell a smaller space saver kind, but the measurements dont look that small at all, whats the size of our batteries?
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Re: Any Other Battery Sizes Out There?
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brokenfixed,
With any battery it's a rule of thumb when recharging that the charger should only be 1/3 of amperage of the battery it is charging (eg.if your battery is 30amps then your maxium size your battery charger should be no more than 10amps). With regards to charging AGM batteries it is neccessary to use a fully automatic charger.
On a motorcycle it is desirable to have a battery that has a high cranking amp rating , also a reasonable deep cycle.
Most batteries I have seen on the web or in brochures have sizes noted (LxWxH). If by size you mean Amp Ah rating then the battery in my America is rated at 10 Ah.
Hoffo
2x Norton Commando Roadsters
08 Triumph America
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Re: Any Other Battery Sizes Out There?
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Joined: Jan 2005
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Learned Hand
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Learned Hand
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Quote:
Anyone know if there are any smaller batteries out there that would work with our bikes?
I mean 12 volts is 12 volts right? Cant I use something smaller? Or do they make an aftermarket battery that costs like $4000 and is the size of the fuse box?
Don't forget its not just about volts. It takes amps to crank an engine and keep every thing going. 
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Re: Any Other Battery Sizes Out There?
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Joined: Jun 2007
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Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
but will any battery recharge like the normal one?
As far as my limited knowledge is, i always thought a 12V charger will charge a 12V battery not matter what amps it is.
if this is true how come all these custom chopper guys dont use a little battery similar to a cordless drill battery or something. You'd think a bike would look better if it didnt have to have some 20lb battery strapped to the side.
and why are car batteries so big?....how come they cant be the size of motorcycle batteries?...and how come motorcycle batteries cant be the size of RC car batteries?
one would assume cars have bigger batteries because they have bigger motors, starters and electronics aux
dont see why you cant have a smaller battery but itd be a pain in the ****** at times
where was it i saw they got rid of the batteries completely and relied on the charging system, that might of been just on a kick start i cant recall
If Tesla was still around you could probably get him to make you a battery the size of a peanut.
Or,yeah, what exile said: do away with the d..ned batt altogether...git ya a kick starter.
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Re: Any Other Battery Sizes Out There?
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Nah, I meant whats the dimensions of our batteries. Cause that "space saver" battery on that site doesnt really seem that small at all compared to ours. They mentioned on there that the smaller batteries are for buells, so maybe ill look into what a battery for a buell looks like.
but that batterys 13amps, so i guess it wouldnt charge as good as our 10amp batteries cause the charging system isnt 3 times the size right?
I wouldnt turn down a kickstart, but how they heck could you make our bikes a kickstart?...thats seems like quite a bit of work
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Re: Any Other Battery Sizes Out There?
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Battery technology is fairly ancient, and still tied to the fact that it takes more battery mass to make more reserve power & CCAs. It's still about the chemical reaction inside the batteries that supplies the juice. A great deal has been done to reduce that mass, but we're still a ways from the miracle batteries where a hearing aid battery can crank over a car. The person who eventually may figure that out will be the Einstein of their age, allowing for instance, electric vehicles to go mainstream. As we discuss this, millions of dollars are being poured into research to reduce battery mass, and indeed find the magic required.
Some facts and opinions:
I wouldn't put much more than 1 amp of charge into a motorcycle battery. Too rapid a charge rate (amperage) WILL shorten the life span of a motorcycle battery.
AGMs are superior in many ways, but if they lose all charge, say, over the Winter, they can die an early death and often can't be revived, hence the need for the maintenance type trickle & 'smart' chargers.
NAPA has a motorcycle battery that fits our bikes perfectly, and ships dry. You add the supplied acid at the time of installation, which IMO, offers a fresh battery. Activated lead / acid batteries have only a limited & finite life span, and can lose a great deal of that life cycle when stored for a while prior to the sale.
"Battery Tender" brand of chargers are designed for the small batteries we use, and won't overcharge and fry the battery. They aren't the only correct chargers available for motorcycle batteries, but I do believe their results can be trusted not to damage the battery.
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Re: Any Other Battery Sizes Out There?
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yeah i got a napa battery actually...i just wanted something smaller than that.
Look at Lithum polymer batteries...theyre like the bees knees of batteries right now, im pretty sure thats whats in cell phones and laptops...theyre like 50% smaller than traditional batteries, and way superior to NiCad and NiMh batteries....Id be really awesome if someone that manufactures those lipo batteries aimed for the car and motorcycle industry, im sure they'd be able to do great things.
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Re: Any Other Battery Sizes Out There?
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While I will agree the lithium based batts are a major leap in technology, I'm not clear if the lithiums are able to supply the CCAs and oomph per mass & footprint that it takes to spin a starter & engine. I don't have a clue about how that works. You'd think they'd already be available for that duty, as for some folk, spending say, $1,000 for a lithium based vehicle battery wouldn't be a problem. Maybe it's a lack of demand for a $1000 battery that's in the way. I dunno. if it works, it's a great idea though. I suppose time will tell.
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Re: Any Other Battery Sizes Out There?
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I dont know man, I used to be into RC monster trucks, and they have gas powered ones, and electric...well of course the gas powered where fast as a mother, but then they started making LiPo batteries for them with a different type of electric motor, and now theyre killing the gas powered ones, quiet as he11 too. I think the cordless tool market is starting to upgrade into lipo batteries cause theyre lightyears away from the others.
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