does battery brand matter?

Motorcycling
#1

Hi,

I am looking for new battery for my 1999 R1 and money still a bit tight after xmas so i was looking at the Yusas which i was told is one of the best battery maker but it is £50+ so I looked around and found some other brands for about £30.

So, my question is does brand matter? for me with the money in mind i think the lead-acid battery technology has been for a long time and nothing has been advanced that much. so, it is really worth it to go for a more expensive brand for something that doesn’t really have any difference between them?

cheers guys

#2

go for Motobatt every time, they’re worth the extra. in your case, about £5 more!

they’re gel not acid, so you can even mount them upside down.

#3

Yep, had a MotoBatt in my Ducati for over five years now, still going strong and turns over the big pistons in the 900 twin no problem.

#4

thanks. looked at the motobatt for my R1 and it is even more expensive that the Yusas. i know it is gel battery but im on a bit of a budget here. maybe i should just wait a bit and get the motobatt. for the info tho

cheers

#5

All that’s really happened development-wise is AGM and gel-electrolyte, neither of which are patented (and so are available to everyone), and neither particularly make for a more performant battery (they can increase the size:power rato, though).

So what you’re buying with a more expensive battery is mostly better tolerances everywhere, which means that it’s more likely to do what it says, more likely to carry on doing that, and perhaps they can squeeze an extra couple of plates in there for a little more power. In general. a battery is either good for a high peak current (starting the bike) or for deep discharge (leaving the headlights on) but not both. Better batteries (both in terms of means of construction and just how well it’s done) make better compromises.

So it’s worth getting a better battery if you’re interested in a long life or good recovery from buggering about with it, but you’re not going to damage anything with a cheap one.

#6

MotoBatt here as well, had one in two Triumphs and two Honda’s. No issues and they just work. Good for cold morning starts as well.

#7

If it makes any difference, I’ve bought Bosch, Varta, YUASA and Motobatt batteries and not had any issues. I don’t think you’ll find one that’s issue-causingly bad really, just maybe not as long-lived as it might be.

If you really want to care (and i suggest you probably dont) thrn id look for the ancillary benefits of different brands, since none are actually bad . Motobatt use AGM to make a smaller battery for the same capacity, varta use it for more capacity at the same volume. Burt motobatt are proud of their relatively low (but still sufficient) cranking current at the same power, so you can fit more capacity in than otherwise.