Sealed Battery equivilent for CL77

[keith]

after wasting a ton of money on flooded wet cell batteries that never lasted for more than a few months, I began my search for a GEL or ASM maintenance free battery for my CL77. Well, they don't make them. So I figured that someone has already done this research and I could just find it on the H305 forum. Well it might be here already but I didn't find anything. But I did find a battery that does have the same footprint, will fit in the cavity, and has the same cranking amps / amp hours as the original 12N5-4B. The only inconsistency is the polarity; + and - are swapped. That would be okay if your wires can stretch. Here's the model that worked for me:

Adventure Power UT5AL-BS Battery (YB5L-B)

only $31 plus shipping and possible tax

Check Apexbattery.com

you administer the acid initially then seal it and charge it. No need to maintain electrolyte level.

[ivancook]

Hey there,

Have you seen or tried this one?
http://www.batterystuff.com/batteries/m ... YTX7E.html

I haven't bought a CB77 yet so I can't test it, but just finished restoring an '82 C70. That brand was the ONLY sealed AGM battery I could find for the C70 that met all the specs. The company had great service and the battery has worked great in the C70.

Might wanna give them a try.

[jensen]

Batteries don't flood for no reason.

No matter what kind of battery you use, if the loading voltage and currents are to high it will always give trouble. So check the voltage and current.

Are you driving with or without lights ?

Jensen

[sotxbill]

bought one from autozone just like that one. sold the bike 6 months later so I cant tell you how long it will last, but was ok up till I sold it... hope to hear how your battery does. thanks, Bill

[e3steve]

Gentlemen, not all maintenance-free batteries are maintenance-free but, in theory, they should be.

• Low maintenance: partially sealed with a breather valve; the electrolyte is free to slop about within each baffled cell. The battery cycles -- charge/discharge/charge..... -- and creates an level of heat. The heat creates a distillation process and condensation forms inside each cell's envelope; it then falls back into the electrolyte which is partially replenished. These cells can be opened and externally topped up.
  
  Gel: partially sealed with a breather valve; the electrolyte is, well, a gel! The battery cycles -- charge/discharge/charge..... -- and creates an level of heat. The heat creates a distillation process and condensation forms inside each cell's envelope; it then falls back into the gel and is absorbed.
  
  AGM: Absorbed Glass Mat; originally designed for the aviation industry. Totally sealed, for use at any angle. The electrolyte is liquid but is suspended within a glass fibre matting, so it's still a flooded battery. The cycles are as for gel, above. Absolutely maintenance-free.

[GG]

Hello E3steve - I live in Costa Rica, and it looks like the gel batteries are finally arriving. Are they recommended for the Superhawk? I remember seeing a discussion about this once, but I can't retrieve it anywhere.

I had an LED tail light in for awhile, and this improved the battery life, since I ride with lights on. But the LED light was not a tight fit, and I got tired of fiddling with it to keep it on, and I put a regular bulb back in. Now my battery goes down faster. It's all city driving.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

GG

[e3steve]

Hola GG,

Yes, absolutely. But why not do the job properly? Go AGM; no question:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HONDA-CA77-CA72 ... es&vxp=mtr

Or, if they won't ship to you in CR, we can get you one from:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Motobatt-AGM- ... 27ce563933

and I'll ship to you. Postage would need to be added from me (UK) to you, plus whatever import duty you may incur, your end.

The battery will only solve part of your problem, though. You need to "save" some consumption by finding an LED taillight bulb that will reliably stay put in the lampholder; and you need to improve your charging by replacing the old selenium rectifier. Those improvements, along with the Motobatt battery, have worked for me. I, like you, ride town (mainly short rides) with my headlight on, dropping onto parking light position -- centre detent between hi & lo beam on the dimmer switch (assuming your bike has that type) -- when stopped at traffic lights, etc. You get used to the habit!