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New battery

Posted: Sun May 27, 2007 11:55 pm
by bmwdave52
After five years I have decided to change my Odyssey with my next brake fluid flush. Other than turning the key on and moving the throttle all the way to the stops twice is there anything else I should know?

Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 12:31 am
by Sit
I dont have an answer for you, but I will ask why you are doing anything. Are you suppose to :!: :?:

I have disconnected my battery a few times and just swapped out my BMW battery for an Odyssey, hooked it back up and took off. Is there something I should be doing?

Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 1:18 pm
by VABeachBMW
Depending on how fast you work, may have to reset clock...

Twisiting the throttle with key on and engine off helps Motronic relearn throttle position sensor input.

Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2007 1:03 am
by CycleRob
Speaking about a new battery . . . . It's my turn. My 6 year old WestCo maint free has gotten weak. First indication was that it has been turning barely noticeably slower than before. Then really weak at the Bash when It clacked the solenoid, turned real slow and barely started in the sub 50 degF morning cold. It's time. Last week I checked the cold engine cranking voltage on a 70 degF Georgia morning. It went to 8.1 Volts. It must never be below 10.

I just did an on-line search and found the best deal here:
http://www.lmrbatteries.com/odyssey_PC680.html
$79 + $9.33 UPS ground shipping for the most powerful, longest lasting battery.

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 7:45 pm
by Greybeard
CycleRob wrote: I just did an on-line search and found the best deal here:
http://www.lmrbatteries.com/odyssey_PC680.html
$79 + $9.33 UPS ground shipping for the most powerful, longest lasting battery.
Whoa! :shock:
Did THAT price go up since you posted this!

Do you still like the Odyssey over say a Westco?

Even though my battery is reading 13.22 volts it's apparently not taking a
charge. It's 4 years old now and I can't get a green light on my Battery Tender.

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 8:12 pm
by taosports
Greybeard wrote: Whoa! :shock:
Did THAT price go up since you posted this!
Looks like the price went up in just the last month. I ordered an Odyssey PC-680 from http://www.batterygiant.com/Batteries/Odyssey/ on August 19th. The cost at that time was $75.57 with $13.90 shipping. Now it's $97.11 plus shipping. :shock:

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 10:53 pm
by CycleRob
Wow! What a price change!
Either they were priced wrong before, or the huge demand prompted removing the discount. Who has the best price seems to be a moving target.

My battery came in a box from "Jack's Battery (something something)" which wasn't the same as the seller that took my credit card. Because of that, before the UPS truck left my driveway I had a bad feeling it was returned merchandise or gray market goods. Not so. It was cosmetically A-1 factory new glossy perfect and the voltage was over what it should be.

If you Google "PC-680" you'll get pages of places selling it. My 2nd time searching I went thru 3 pages of links until I found a good deal.

That PC-680 has monsterous cranking power, just like the boisterous advertising says. It spins FAST. With the old WestCo BMW battery my no internal battery RoadMate 300 GPS always rebooted when I started the bike with it already on. With the new PC-680 it not only stays on, it doesn't even flicker. That's no BS, that's serious CCA. (Cold Cranking Amps). Money well spent.

Image

Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 5:58 am
by Boxer
I just bought mine about a year and half ago off ebay and it was like $54 then!

Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 8:04 am
by mcollect
I got mine last year for $80 something including shipping. Now on EBay they are $109 including shipping, same company out of Florida. Probably still the best price.

Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 8:13 am
by GTR350cc
SecurityInfoWatch.com

With lead prices on the rise in 2007, the raw material price increase is hitting manufacturers who use the substance, including battery manufacturers.

Money Week reports that lead prices are up 40 percent for the year, and that there is an expected material deficit equivalent to 50,000 metric tons. Stockpiles, reported Money Week, are under 47,000 tons and have been decreasing over the year. Those stockpiles are equivalent to less than two days of worldwide lead consumption.

Now, because of lead price increases, the cost is being felt in the battery market place.

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 9:55 pm
by towerworker
I have a PC-680 too. Put it in last summer.

I reckon it's ok..................although the durn thing wouldn't crank my r last January when it was 2 degrees above 0. Now it did the day before when it was 7 degrees. What's up with that?????????


Wayne

Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2007 12:22 pm
by chris
I just bought a PC680 but it won't arrive for a week. So the bike is currenly stranded at work in my office with a duff battery for a few days...at least I can strip the tank off and get the old one out while I'm waiting!

Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2007 1:03 pm
by Greybeard
Ditto; I got one from Summit Racing. No price break but I do a lot of business with them so it was easy.
ANyway...it's like connecting welding leads to the starter! Crank & 1/2 and it's lit.

Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 8:08 am
by chris
I got the old one out without taking the tank off, just propped it up, tight but no need to take it all the way off. New battery due to arrive in a week... :cry:

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 11:25 am
by chris
The Odyssey is fitting and working now. Completely forgot about the motronic reset and it fired up straight away. BIG difference, fires a lot quicker than the old one did even when new. No brackets or bolts with it so followed previous examples and made a bracket from copper pipe for the - terminal which has a riveted bolt in it and just fixed the + direct to the battery as it's just a ring connector on my bike.
Nice test for it tomorrow as the temperature is set to plummet!

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 10:18 am
by vexlak
Got mine from Remybattery.com for under $90 in spring. Unfortunately, the battery was faulty and did not charge well. As a result, I got the Odyssey charger and a new starter as well. (FYI yes and did charge the battery initially) I was told that Odyssey makes every retailer list and sells their battery for no less then $119.00. Otherwise they will not supply the battery. Remybattery was nice to deal with and they are replacing the battery free of charge. Hopefully this one will be OK.

Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 1:29 pm
by duckdave
Just to confirm what others have said about battery prices rising. I got an new Odyssey last week from http://www.lmrbatteries.com (as per CycleRobs recommendation); currently the same price at http://www.remybattery.com. The PC680 was $119.52 (incl shipping), but they didn't have any until 2 weeks. Got the PC680MJ (metal jacket; has a metal case) instead for $125 (incl shipping). Arrived in 2 days.

Although the battery arrived "fully charged", i.e. voltage was 12.81 VDC, I still had to charge it up some more to get my RR started. Since then, the bike has been starting, but sometimes with some difficulty. Will probably replace the starter ASAP as starting causes quite a voltage drop, and others agree it sounds like the starter is straining.

Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2007 5:14 am
by allanj255
Have you checked for a slight over fill on engine oil. This caused my 1150R starting problems-due to increased crankcase pressure. Drained to correct level and no problems since. Worth checking before you go to the expense of a new starter.

Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2007 9:25 am
by duckdave
That's a good suggestion, but I already ruled that one out based on another post somewhere here (perhaps yours?).

The prevailing theories are:
1) dropped magnet in starter motor. Apparently this is common.
2) "sounds like a dry bearing". I had the pleasure of meeting CycleRob last weekend and that was his comment.
3) dirty starter

I'm tired of worrying/screwing around with starting and need to ride, so I replaced the starter last night. I got one from http://www.euromotoelectrics.com/ for $189. (If I knew it was just the magnets, you can buy just the "can" for $49, but as I said...).

Now she goes "we-vroom", just like I want. I've not had a chance to take the old starter apart to troubleshoot it but plan to (eventually).

Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2007 12:37 pm
by bmwdave52
This post has come back from the dead. Foolishly I did not replace my battery at this summers brake flush. So of course my battery is now dead. The price on Cycle Rob's link is now up to $119. Will I ever learn?
It is still cheaper than my local dealer.