GSX1400 Owners .org

Technically Speaking => Electrics => Topic started by: grog on Friday, 12 December 2025, 06:19 PM

Title: Battery is Heart
Post by: grog on Friday, 12 December 2025, 06:19 PM
Car not bike, spent days figuring why intermittent charging, dash light on. Checked everything, turns out today wouldnt start, battery very low wouldnt even test. On charger said fully charged after 10 minutes. Result is bad connection inside battery, good sometimes others not. New battery problem solved.Same for 14, dont chase faults unless totally confident battery is good.
Title: Re: Battery is Heart
Post by: Eric GSX1400K3 on Friday, 12 December 2025, 08:34 PM
Did you go lithium or std AGM replacement Grog?

I lifted the battery out of the Bavarian Mistress yesterday, 7kg sitting above the fuel tank.  Tempted to chuck it and put in an SSB lithium, weighs less than a kg.
Title: Re: Battery is Heart
Post by: grog on Friday, 12 December 2025, 08:41 PM
Eric, car battery. Went to my old workplace, they sold me new calcium $120, retails over $200. Just shows the mark up in batteries.Never burn bridges, sometimes needed 😎
Title: Re: Battery is Heart
Post by: Mr Gee on Saturday, 13 December 2025, 04:46 AM
Quote from: grog on Friday, 12 December  2025, 06:19 PMCar not bike, spent days figuring why intermittent charging, dash light on. Checked everything, turns out today wouldnt start, battery very low wouldnt even test. On charger said fully charged after 10 minutes. Result is bad connection inside battery, good sometimes others not. New battery problem solved.Same for 14, dont chase faults unless totally confident battery is good.

How do you check inside battery, to know. :confused1:
Title: Re: Battery is Heart
Post by: Hooli on Saturday, 13 December 2025, 05:07 AM
Quote from: Mr Gee on Saturday, 13 December  2025, 04:46 AM
Quote from: grog on Friday, 12 December  2025, 06:19 PMCar not bike, spent days figuring why intermittent charging, dash light on. Checked everything, turns out today wouldnt start, battery very low wouldnt even test. On charger said fully charged after 10 minutes. Result is bad connection inside battery, good sometimes others not. New battery problem solved.Same for 14, dont chase faults unless totally confident battery is good.

How do you check inside battery, to know. :confused1:
Lick your fingers, touch both terminals & shake it. If you're able to let go of it, then the battery is faulty.
Title: Re: Battery is Heart
Post by: Mr Gee on Saturday, 13 December 2025, 08:37 AM
Lick your fingers, touch both terminals & shake it. If you're able to let go of it, then the battery is faulty.
[/quote]

 :rofl2:  :happy1:  :lol:

Fancy coming down, to show me.   :happy1:  :lol:  :rofl2:
Title: Re: Battery is Heart
Post by: Tony Nitrous on Saturday, 13 December 2025, 01:40 PM
There's a 24v starter conversion for Hayabusa's, mostly aimed at  high compression / big bore builds.

There's a second 12v battery fitted under the side panel.

The bike is still 95% 12v, everything remains factory 12v, the 12v charging system charges both 12v batteries, but when you hit the starter button it feeds 24v to the starter motor.

That seems to really wake them up !

Title: Re: Battery is Heart
Post by: grog on Saturday, 13 December 2025, 04:23 PM
Mr Gee,yeah a bit hard to see inside😂,todays battery testers are clever.
Title: Re: Battery is Heart
Post by: Tony Nitrous on Sunday, 14 December 2025, 06:26 AM
Quote from: grog on Friday, 12 December  2025, 08:41 PMEric, car battery. Went to my old workplace, they sold me new calcium $120, retails over $200. Just shows the mark up in batteries.Never burn bridges, sometimes needed 😎

I changed one of mine recently, it was getting a bit lazy but the fact the sides had bulges in them looked less than ideal!
New battery is a little smaller, but 750 CCA has enough kick for what I need.

(https://i.ibb.co/kjydWpT/IMG-4279.jpg) (https://ibb.co/LmPG2My)
Title: Re: Battery is Heart
Post by: grog on Monday, 15 December 2025, 04:20 PM
Eric, i reckon lithium next change. $161 delivered, same batt for your BMW. Fitted one to Diavel, while back now, was $400 then, worked great, once sat 3 months and no probs.SSB ive got in now, would use again in 14. Keep away from motobatt, i used to sell them,not a fan.
Title: Re: Battery is Heart
Post by: KiwiCol on Monday, 15 December 2025, 04:32 PM
That looks like it's about to spawn a 7ah offspring . . .
Title: Re: Battery is Heart
Post by: Eric GSX1400K3 on Monday, 15 December 2025, 04:36 PM
Yes I've got the ssb lithium in the 14 for a long time now, never needs charging.  When the BMW needs a new one will def go down the same SSB route.Cant fault them.
Title: Re: Battery is Heart
Post by: grog on Monday, 15 December 2025, 04:45 PM
We got that one out ok. Have heard stories where case expanded around frame tubes, wiring plugs and ecu. Had to be cut out. What a mess that would be,explosive gasses,acid on you and bike.Im guessing a water hose on the work,lots of protection on worker. Good luck on compo from motobatt.Good old Yanks.
Title: Re: Battery is Heart
Post by: Hooli on Monday, 15 December 2025, 07:06 PM
I've never liked motobatt because the screw-in terminals come loose even when threadlocked & leave you with no power. Not seen one do that though.
Title: Re: Battery is Heart
Post by: KiwiCol on Monday, 15 December 2025, 07:51 PM
I've had several Motobatt batteries, never an issue with any of them TBH.  Still have 2 of them in the quads.  I looked into SSB here a while ago, dunno what I came up with, but still running the Nano Gel ones in the 14. 
The Triumph still has it's OEM battery.  Some guys have put lithium into them, but the charging system is not set up for lithium like the speed triple is (comes from factory with a lithium) Then you also need a different battery tender (if you're going to use one) SSB may be the go here, being an AGM.
Title: Re: Battery is Heart
Post by: gsxbarmy on Tuesday, 16 December 2025, 08:45 AM
Not a fan of Motobatt. Replaced the battery in my R1250GS last year - uses the same battery as a GSX1400 - fitted the heavy duty Yuasa YTX14H-BS, many GS owners fit them as they give a bit extra punch in cold starts (ok so you guys down under don't have cold like we do in the northern hemisphere), 240CCA compared to 200CCA of the standard battery but its a good battery and certainly a contender cost wise against equivalent lithium batteries. OK, so they are twice the weight but hey what difference does that make on a bike as heavy as a 14?  :whistling:
Title: Re: Battery is Heart
Post by: Irish in Oz on Tuesday, 16 December 2025, 06:43 PM
I'm a Yuasa enthusiast, put the heavier duty in my 1400. Couldn't get one in Oz for my 1983 XJ900 but put in a Century who apparently have connections with Yuasa. All my bikes are lead acid especially the old models. Have had a couple of failures in the past with Motobatt.