alternative battery?

GSX250FAcross
Maintenance tips & forum archives

Site online 21 Jan 2002Made in Sydney, Australia

maintenance and tips links disclaimer

contents
1.alternative battery
2.Inox anti-sulphation treatment
3.Battery Charger/Maintainer

Across Battery Tips

before you attempt the first mod see the warning immediately below

WARNING
This could be a dangerous mod

You will need to take great care to make sure that the terminals are secure and well insulated. If you can be confident in that, then I see no reason that it isn't just as good as the original/stock battery; but you need to be mechanically/electrically 'savvy' enough to know that your installation is also good enough. Remember everything on a bike is jarred and vibrated to the max, and that's why batteries usually have big bolt down terminals, not simple spade lugs.

This website cannot and will not be held responsible for anything that goes wrong in your installation:
also see site disclaimer.

TIP #1: A new type of (way cheaper and just as strong) battery

This could potentially save you quite a few bucks next time you need a new battery.

Replacement batteries for the Across vary in cost wildly:
I was quoted as high as $160 for a battery (April 2005).
You can get it for as low as about $60 though (MCA Sydney).

Another even cheaper alternative is this sealed lead acid battery,
meant for electrical applications, which has a similar specification to the OEM part;

This type of Battery's Specifications
7.2 Amp Hour 12V Sealed Lead Acid Battery SLA - Size 151(L) x 65(D) x 101(H)mm - Charge current 720mA for 10-14 hours - Discharge current 20 hr rate 350mA Capacity: - 20hr rate (0.35A) 7.0Ah - 10hr rate (0.67A) 6.7Ah - 5hr rate (1.19A) 5.95Ah - 1hr rate (4.00A) 4.0Ah - Int Resistance: Fully charged (20°C,68°F) 25m Ohm - Max Discharge Current (5 sec):40A - Constant Voltage Charge: Initial charging current < 2.1A Cycle: - Voltage 14.40V~15.00V @ 20°C (68°F) - Temp Coefficient: - 30mV/°C Standby: - Voltage 13.5V~13.80V @ 20°C (68°F) - Temp Coefficient: - 20mV/°C

source
click this word for an external link
to Jaycar Australia website

One problem, as you can see in the picture.
The battery has small 'spade lug' type terminals for connection.

I have recently begun testing this type of battery in my bike,
(after the last OEM one lasted for 2.5 years).

I have made an adapter to run from the battery to the original cables.
I used standard auto electrical (crimp wire end)
spade connectors attached to the battery terminals,
then some heavy gauge electrical cable
runs to another crimp end forked spade terminal.
A nut and bolt attaches the cable that originally
attached to the battery to the forked lug
which runs to the new battery's terminals.

(see majestic artwork below)

There could be some danger with this if the terminal is not
secured properly. You might want to ensure it is a very good
connection all the way with the additional 'adaptor' cable and
it's connectors. The safest way to go is to solder everything,
and make sure that the connection to the new battery's terminals
is very tight/strong and well insulated.

The battery will fit perfectly in length and height. It is less wide,
and this gives you a bit of space to place the new adapter interface
to the old cable terminals (i.e., the bolted bits, on the right of the above pic).
You also need to make sure that everything is very well insulated:
there is little point in setting your bike on fire.

The current retail on this for one unit is about $25 to 36.50 (April 2005).
Try Jaycar (link above), Super Cheap Auto or similar.

It seems to be a more powerful battery, going by the above
specs of 6.7 AH / 10 hr, as compared to the OEM/stock,
spec'ed in the manual at at 6.0/10hr.
( However my last OEM type battery was 7.0 AH.
All pretty similar specs.)

This battery is now installed in my bike
and there seems to be plenty of cranking power from it.

No more flat batteries.

Another idea would be to run adapter cables from the OEM battery into the trunk, and keep a charged battery (of the type above) in the trunk all the time. That way, if you ever run out of the normal battery, you just connect up the one in the trunk and away you go. (Make sure to keep the connections insulated in the trunk, both when in use and when not in use).

Once again, I have nothing to do with jaycar, or super cheap auto,
and the standard disclaimer on home page applies.

TIP #2 Inox

Before you go changing what appears to be a dead battery, have you tried Inox? This stuff is blue fluid that is put into the battery cells, and it removes the sulphur deposits. It might restore a battery that has died from just sitting there or old age or whatever.

A small bottle that would do a bike battery many times can be bought (I got mine from Super Cheap Auto) for about $8.
Heaps cheaper than any battery, and if sulphation is your problem then it will do the job!

TIP #3
Preventing battery discharge while bike is not used;

My pattern of riding the bike is sometimes every day, and sometimes I don't ride it for a couple of weeks for whatever reason... The problem with this and using the LCD clock is that this device constantly draws charge from the battery. If you don't use the bike for prolonged periods you can get to the point where the battery is quite discharged and sulphation begins. So if you are like me, the best thing to do is get a charger/maintainer. I use a 1600 mA unit that is supplied with a cable that you can attach and leave on the bike, so that the bike can be just plugged in easily anytime.

Standard charging rate on the stock suzuki battery is 700mA, and maximum is 3000 mA. I have found that the 1600 charger/maintainer does no harm to the battery, thus far. The price is about AUD $40-50. If the bike sits around for any length of time, it's worth a lot more than that amount--in saving you from repeatedly having to buy batteries before their time should be up. Auto stores and big department stores all have these kinds of low current charger/maintainers.

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