I’ve had a problem now and then with the GS; maybe 1 out of 10 rides it won’t restart. It lights up and attempts to turn over but can’t. Me and the BMW tech who came out to rescue me one day out this down to a duff battery. Attaching a booster to it gets it going (top marks go to Noco and their GB40 boost pack. It’s saved my skin a few times).
So I did some homework and bought a Lithium Ion battery to replace the BMW AGM battery. Super impressive unboxing experience - you’d be forgiven for thinking they’ve forgotten to as the battery to the box, it’s so light.
There’s a four kilo difference between the old AGM, and this new LiON battery. That’s a saving not to be sniffed at!
Fitted it tonight… and it won’t start the bike. Turns on, but same experience as before. It tried to start but can’t quite get going and stops on its own after a second.
I thought I’d done my homework. The specs suggest it is more powerful than the old battery, as far as my understanding of electrics goes.
I’ll contact the battery retailer and ask if I’ve bought the wrong one. Any ideas here on if it should be powerful enough?
The original battery is under powered, the 12Ah is good, the 120 CCA (EN) is poor
The new battery is under powered, the 4Ah is poor, the 240 CCA (EN) is good
I was told by a BMW fella that best practice is to upgrade to a Yuasa YTX 14H-BS (12Ah, 240 CCA) not to be confused with the lesser Yuasa YTX 14-BS (12Ah, 200 CCA). Check dimensions before ordering (L150 mm x W87 mm x H145 mm) to be sure, to be sure.
Thanks fella, that’s incredibly useful advice. I understand the performance metrics now
I also posted on a BMW group and someone said they had issues with their starter motors drawing too many amps sometimes. Sounds like that could potentially be a root cause here. I’ll enquire with the dealer, might still have some warranty.
Failing that, a good old Yuasa seems to be in order.
I think what we have here is the manufacturers efforts to minimise on emissions while maximising on power output. Their solution being weight saving, so amongst other bright ideas we end up with a wide open space for a proper battery padded out with foam inserts to allow the fitting of an under sized and under powered battery.
FYI I’ve had good experience with AGM batteries from Motorcycle Sports. I replaced the woeful original on my '93 Trident 900 with a Vertex 12AH 210 CCA… Lasted years before needing replacing. Parked outside all weathers, never failed to start.
I put a lithium in the CMX1100 immediately after having had one on the XV535 for the past 3 years. It’s a shame that manufacturers aren’t fitting them as standard.
I use NOCO chargers with the installation flyleads for the seldom times I need to charge them.
Claire’s Aprilia RS 660 came with a Lithium Ion battery as standard! I was most impressed. I think I’m heading to the big heavy Yuasa AGM linked earlier. Currently playing message ping pong with an advisor from the retailer. Not enjoying the game tbh.
I’ve got authorisation to send the Li-ion battery back. The customer service I got from the retailer was useless. They ended up recommending the battery I bought in the first place that doesn’t work. Idiots.
Everyone knows from TikTok mechanic videos that Range Rovers are complete garbage to work on and fall apart once you take them more than a mile away from the dealership.
