12 V itty bitty battery

[keys55]

:-/ I currently have that puny 12V battery and low output generator setup. I have been running it for awhile and I keep waiting for it to crap out. I have been pondering going back to 6V or changing the generator to higher output with a bigger battery. It just doesn't look like it could handle much. Any thoughts?

[panhead]

This issue has been discussed here before. The general conclusion is that a 12 V battery will last one year.

[keys55]

I just started here, so I will probably hit a few topics that have been hit on before. I bet "which oil for my bike" is one of them too. I never got more than 1 year out of those batteries anyway. I was just wondering heavy usage and a lot of miles. Of course I could just pack a spare. You may not believe this but I have actually broken down before while on a bike. Of course I am only 49.

[caschnd1]

I have the same setup you describe. Small 12v battery in horse shoe oil tank, low output generator. I ride a lot... every day ... no other transportation except an old Evo Wide Glide that only comes out when it rains (and it doesn't rain much in Arizona). So far I'm on 13 months since I converted from 6v. No issues at all. Sure, it's a small battery but my panhead doesn't need a lot of power. Headlight, tailight and ignition is all there is in my case. Heat is usually the battery killer here. We'll see if it makes it through a second summer.

-Craig

[keys55]

Thanks. I always like to hear from an actual user on anything I am wondering about.

[mbskeam]

hello,
mine seems to last about 1 year also, I ride from april to early nov.
I think the time it sits over the winter kills them(sulfation). I just replace them in the spring for 20.00$ that way I dont have to worry about it crappin out, when I need it the most......like going on a ride

mbskeam

[57pan]

Keys,

I purchased a 12v, 12a/h, battery for my 57. It's an AGM - totally sealed - no danger of acid leaking out and it will fit in the space of the old 6v battery. The size is 5.96 x 3.88 x 4.02 but since it is sealed you can turn it up on its end to fit inside the horseshoe tank.

I can't report on the longevity of these units because I just put it in last summer.

I've been pretty happy with it - the only drawback is the spade terminal connections on the battery. I had one vibrate off once and the motor died when it dropped down to an idle at a stop.

I bought it locally, but here is a link:
http://www.batterystuff.com/battery/batteries.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Scroll down and look for model ES 12-12.

[chopper]

Same here, little 12 v battery in a horseshoe..New battery when spring comes= No problems

I'm getting really jellous when i read about your weather with no rain Caschnd1
Sorry i cant say the same about our weather here in Sweden..But i can say that if we have a good summer here there are no place i'll rather be...
But maybe i'll go to Arizona in September and go back to Sweden in May again That sure should be nice...

Rikard..

[caschnd1]

57Pan,

I've been looking for a sealed battery for my ride. Since you have a 12a/h battery, I imagine you are also running the high output regulator to charge it. Is that correct? Thanks for posting the info on the battery!

Rikard,

If you found a way to ride in Arizona in the winter and Sweden in the summer, I think you'd have found the best of both worlds.

-Craig

[57pan]

Craig,

I have the 17A alternator with solid state regulator. The combination was on the bike when I got it and I have no idea what regulator it is. I assume that the regulator and alternator came as a kit, but I seem to recall reading somewhere that if you need to replace the regulator to use the one specified for 1980 or something like that.

[gordon]

I'm building a garage for a guy up in the mountains here in california that has an old 55 pan in his barn under a tarp, the interesting thing about this bike is it has two 12v batteries stacked on top of each other wired together in the stock horseshoe oil tank , he sayes it works a lot better than just having one of those little batteries in there. Hey it sounds good to me I think I'll try it on mine.

[Cotten]

Gordon!

If your generator and regulator are proper, the itty bitty 12n-5.5a-3b unit (trusting the # to memory) is sufficient in itself. Unless you like lots of accessory lights, and even then, it only delays an exhausted supply. ( I had eleven headlights on my '65 hack at one time, many of them were halogens. Flipping them all on made the road look like a landing strip,.... for about three miles, and then I was leaning over the tub to switch things off as quick as possible. And that was with an HD-12 battery!)

Besides the indignity of being stranded by a dead battery, a dying one will overheat the generator's armature (except with a CE end-mounted regulator, butt-ugly as it is.)
So replacing a cheap battery every spring is more economical in the long run than spending double or triple just to see how long before you fry a $75 armature with a fancy battery.

[gordon]

Cotten
Thanks for your input , yea having two batteries might be a little overkill , kinda like having eleven headlights!
Man I'm glad I wasen't commin at ya when you flipped on those eleven headlights , I would of had to lay her over in the nearest ditch thinkin I was bein attacted by a UFO !

[Cotten]

I had to try: too many spotlamps laying around.
Spillbar lights just throw a shadow of your front fender. And the ones on the hack bounced so much that it was a distraction!

Now I run the opposite extreme on my Knuck. When the daytime lights-on law became enforced in my state (before the advent of lowvoltage regualtors), I needed to minimize the stress on the dinky battery under hot conditions.
So I poked a hole in the back of the steel reflector of a halogen headlamp, just above the bulb insert, and installed a turnsignal lamp, I then wired the headlamp on a separate switch, so that the small lamp would come on for a weak "day bulb".

This greatly conserves the demand on a small battery.

(Got the idea from Ford "Two-Way" headlamps. Disclaimer: I ain't into Fords.)

[gordon]

Cotten
Fords ain't that bad ,I got 70,000 miles on a f-150 same tires,brakes,batterie,just change oil every 3000 miles add gas and runs like a top! Got a chevy too but its allways breaking down.
Hey good idea you had on that headlight fix!
I'm gettin so close on this panhead I can see a bright light commin my way at the end of this 6 year long dark tunnel.
58 swingarm frame stretched 4 up 2 out 42* rake 10" over glide disc front juice drum rear,s&s motor ,std heads ,malory ign. ce gen.w/ end mount low voltage reg.,taillight w/two red bullit lights on either side (to let em know when i'm breaking)got rear ended once. ONE headlight (halogen) and ONE 12n-5.5a-3b Batterie.