sansnombre Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 Hello all. Wondering what type of battery life you are getting on your motorcycles? I had my FZ07 for 3 years and no battery issues or problems starting - never replaced. I purchased a new Husky Svartpilen and right of the bat had problems with the battery. The computer was throwing all sorts of crazy codes, so I had a difficult time determining what the problem was, and the battery was showing as fully charged. Bump starting would run roughly, then eventually die out. Eventually had to take it into the shop, and they replaced the battery, and that did it. Because the volt drop (the computer didn't sense a voltage/battery issue) but rather something else in sensors/electronics and wouldn't let the bike turn over (locking it out), so it was a difficult diagnoses. It was odd, not to my experience with batteries. Fast forward about a year, and the bike won't turn over again, similar issue. Made sure it's fully charged (was ridden regularly, so shouldn't have been an issue), and still will not turn over. Checked voltage while attempting to turn over and it's dropping to 10.5v or so as it's trying to start. Call the shop, and they say the bike is sensitive to voltage and that is too low. Buy another battery, and it's up and running again. I'm hearing that this bike in particular is very sensitive to voltage drop and has to have a fresh battery, so the question: what battery lifespan are you guys getting on your FZ07 and others? My exp says a year is BS, but what are you guys getting? Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Global Moderator mjh937 Posted November 2, 2020 Global Moderator Share Posted November 2, 2020 I bought my bike in 2014 and am still on the original battery. I do put it on a trickle charger when it is going to sit for a while. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timjh Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 Got 2 years out of a replacement. Arizona heat kills car batteries in 3 years or less. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member DewMan Posted November 2, 2020 Premium Member Share Posted November 2, 2020 1 hour ago, timjh said: Got 2 years out of a replacement. Arizona heat kills car batteries in 3 years or less. Yep, Florida heat isn't much kinder to lead acid batteries. My car has the battery in the trunk under the spare tire so it's further away from the engine bay heat and sun's rays and the OEM AC/Delco battery lasted 10 yrs. But my truck with battery up front in the engine bay wouldn't last more than 3-5 years between needing replacements. DewMan Just shut up and ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbo10 Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 Husky is nearly a KTM innit? There's your problem. Anyway, my 07 battery also original on my 2014. Enjoys sharing tender with my Honda. Just do it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinyribs Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 (edited) Yeah, KTM builds Husqvarna now. Slight difference, but the core of the bike is the same. The more often you ride the longer your battery will last. I've found that factory installed batteries seem to last forever and replacements never seem to do as well. I used to get 4-5 years out of stock batteries on quads ( my dark days, let's not talk about it...) and replacements would last 6 months to a year at best, no matter what I bought. My battery in my 2016 is doing ok, but it does crank a tad slower than usual on cold mornings. I'm not looking forward to replacing it with the luck I've had in the past. Edited November 3, 2020 by shinyribs 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sansnombre Posted November 3, 2020 Author Share Posted November 3, 2020 Yes, the engine is full KTM, the rest is Husky, or so I'm told. In short, very fun bike, but full of problems: fuel tank leak (recall), battery problems (longevity), slave cylinder for clutch blows out (they replace with OEM and is happens multiple times), leaking radiator, false neutral between 5-6, very sensitive to battery voltage. One guy had his engine blow because it was installed with a bolt missing from the cam area. I sold my FZ07 to get this bike, and it's a blast (super light and roughly the same power as the FZ). It accelerates so fast because of the power/weight ratio, brings smiles. The FZ was my favorite bike of all time . . . still is. This one is fun but too many drawbacks to take the #1. But the engineering and the assembly is shiite. I see all sorts of nigglin problems I don't see on Japanese bikes (been wrenching for 40 years). And, not surprising for a big-bore single, it does not like to lug and will not pull from <3000. I put a PCV on it and have plans to get it up to 2WDW for a dyno and tune after break in. I believe that will help. Thanks for the answers. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbo10 Posted November 3, 2020 Share Posted November 3, 2020 Good luck to you. Just do it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinyribs Posted November 3, 2020 Share Posted November 3, 2020 3 hours ago, sansnombre said: Yes, the engine is full KTM, the rest is Husky, or so I'm told. In short, very fun bike, but full of problems: fuel tank leak (recall), battery problems (longevity), slave cylinder for clutch blows out (they replace with OEM and is happens multiple times), leaking radiator, false neutral between 5-6, very sensitive to battery voltage. One guy had his engine blow because it was installed with a bolt missing from the cam area. I sold my FZ07 to get this bike, and it's a blast (super light and roughly the same power as the FZ). It accelerates so fast because of the power/weight ratio, brings smiles. The FZ was my favorite bike of all time . . . still is. This one is fun but too many drawbacks to take the #1. But the engineering and the assembly is shiite. I see all sorts of nigglin problems I don't see on Japanese bikes (been wrenching for 40 years). And, not surprising for a big-bore single, it does not like to lug and will not pull from <3000. I put a PCV on it and have plans to get it up to 2WDW for a dyno and tune after break in. I believe that will help. Thanks for the answers. Cheers. I've got a 2002 KTM 520. The old RFS engines KTM bought from Husaberg (in short). It's a torque factory, even below idle. Seriously, it'll chug so low the cam chain tensioner loses pressure and you can hear the cam chain rattle, yet a flick of the throttle will instantly loft the front tire. And it's better built/designed in every area compared to my XR400 which had legendary status of reliability. I don't like the direction I see the new KTM's going. The late 1990's/ early 2000's was when I think KTM really hit their stride. They'd built some flops, learned some things and made a few bucks. They were in position to start building truly exceptional motorcycles, and they did. You can't beat KTM design for raw performance, but it really feels like they are rushing their products to market with no regards to reliability for their customers. I hate to hear these things about your bike. I'm a big thumper fan and really want to see them make a comeback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted November 4, 2020 Share Posted November 4, 2020 On average 4 years. But I replace all my vehicle batteries at 3 years. Even if they are fine. Nothing worse than being in the middle of no where and getting a flat battery. Heat and running the battery volts down low kills them fast. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarGuy7a Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 (edited) Mine is a 2016 and I got about 4 years on the OEM battery. This summer I noticed when starting the bike it would sound like the battery would struggle to turn the engine over a bit slower cranking than normal. I replaced it with an antigravity Lithium (I got it on sale and it was a few bucks more than OEM replacement and had more cranking amps) and I've been very happy with it. Cranks the bike over very fast. The antigravity battery also has a nice little feature where if the battery drains too low (IE a parasitic power draw), it will internally turn the battery off leaving enough power to start the bike and get where you need to go in an emergency. There is a button on the top of the battery to turn it on if that happens very nice feature. Edited November 6, 2020 by CarGuy7a 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FZWes Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 In my 2017 my battery just went kaput. It was straining for about a week and yesterday I left the key on for about 10 minutes. Living Las Vegas, getting four years out of a battery isn't bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triple Jim Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 The name brand and off brand flooded (conventional) batteries I've bought have the worst lifespans. My current favorites are cheap AGM batteries made for things like UPSs and emergency lighting. My MT is too new to need its battery replaced though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FZ not MT Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 I have a 2016 FZ-07 which is still on the original battery. I bought in October 2016 which means it's 5 years/8 months old and going strong! Crazy part is that I never had it on a battery tender. At this point, I have no intention of charging it as I want to see how long I can make it for bragging rights if nothing else. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triple Jim Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 1 hour ago, FZ not MT said: Crazy part is that I never had it on a battery tender. Under normal circumstances there's no reason to keep a motorcycle battery connected to a charger. Has anyone measured the parasitic drain on an FZ or MT? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 From 2015, the battery tender works! (but just because it prevent it from going dead every time I do not ride for a month or so ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triple Jim Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 1 hour ago, Mad said: From 2015, the battery tender works! (but just because it prevent it from going dead every time I do not ride for a month or so ) That sounds like either the battery is close to completely failing, or you have some excessive parasitic drain when parked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 The second one, the gps tracker/alarm drain A LOT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triple Jim Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 47 minutes ago, Mad said: The second one, the gps tracker/alarm drain A LOT That explains it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 Absolutely, but the battery tender stabilize the battery quite well and avoid any possible damage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
user1 Posted September 30, 2021 Share Posted September 30, 2021 (edited) FROM: the Sellers of Lead-Acid type Motorcycle Batteries. > A battery should be topped off with a charge while not in use. A "smart" battery "maintainer" will maintain the charge and not over-charge or over-heat the battery. > A proper battery should be used to replace a dead battery. Know the kind of technology it used in the new battery; know it's Voltage and Amperage per hour. Discharging a battery can lead to internal damages to the battery. Allowing a discharged battery to go un-attended over time can also cause short life and damages. A battery is always in a state of 'Discharge' unless it is being Charged. Proper Charging is an art of time, when and how much to charge in cycles to support the battery's technology. https://www.continentalbattery.com/news/how-does-a-car-battery-work Edited October 28, 2021 by user1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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