1964 12V Battery Sizing and Solo Seat

[panhead_jim]

I just picked up a 1964 FLH yesterday and I'm ready to get started working on it. Just a little background, it is a one owner bike, fairly stock with about 16000 miles on it. The bike was ridden for about 10 years, then the owner needed more garage space, so he packed it up in boxes and left it alone for 30+ years. Then a couple years ago he decides to get it back together, but after waiting 30+ years, he was getting too old to kick and ride the bike, so I got lucky...

The main upgrade to the bike is a 12V electrical system which runs a pair of high performance VW coils. The owner was a machinist/motor builder for 50+ years, so the bike actually runs great with this set up. The only issue is he needed a larger battery than what was in the bike, so he mounted a remote battery in a tour pack he got off a 72 FLH. I'd like to ditch the tour pack (and the fairing he added) and go back to the stock look. My question is, what size battery fits this bike and what type/brand would you recommend?

The one other change I like to make is to remove the buddy seat and go with a police solo. To make the switch, do I need anything besides the other seat? I'm hoping that all the mounting brackets on the buddy seat will switch over to the solo.

That's all for now, will try to post some pics of the bike soon.

[awander]

Solo seat should mount right up to the buddy seat brackets(assuming they are stock and you have the pogo stick inthere as well)

The 12V batteries that will fit into the oil tank are about the size of the top half of a stock 6V battery. There is a small sheet-metal box spacer that you can buy, to hold it up in position.The conventional wisdom is that you need a special regulator to avoid overcharging them. I used one on my '64 and I would need a new one about every year.

Somu guys have used SLA batteries, usually 2 of them in parallel, that will fit inthe 6V battery space. Search teh archives and you will find some messages about this.

[hplhd]

the little 12v batree is 5 amps. thats what fits in the adapter box but it sure won't spin that starter. take the measurements of the oil bag and go to the batree store to see ifn you can find glass mat or something like that. you can even lay em on there side to get one to fit.

[awander]

The starter on my "fairly stock" '64 gets spun only by my leg, not the "batree".

[59Panman]

Panhead Jim,

Don't skimp on the battery, get a good one. Yuasa YZT14S. Sealed and you can stand it on end.\

Do a search on here for it.

[hplhd]

The starter on my "fairly stock" '64 gets spun only by my leg, not the "batree".

andy, my 64 did the same thing. we musta had a coupla rare models

[panhead_jim]

One YTZ14S set to ship out today. Should have it mid-week. Had to hunt to find one for $140 (free shipping).

[xnoahx]

The YTZ14S is what I run on my 12v 64. Just mounted sideways in the stock location. I cut up some old inner tubes to make a rubber insulator around the battery