Due to rain this past week, I had not been able to ride the bike. I thought this morning would be good to ride to Sunday School so I backed the bike out of the shop and drove off to church. I noticed enroute that my Power Vision was not on so I tried to turn it on to no avail. When I pulled up to the church, I killed the engine and then turned the ignition switch back on to see if the PV would come on. It did, so I turned the ignition off and went on into the church for the services.

When church was over I went back out to the bike to leave. The bike started to turn over when I hit the start switch but stopped and the odometer blanked out. I wiggled all the switches including the on/off switch and I could not get the engine to turn over. I could not even hear the fuel pump prime up.

After lunch and a few thoughts, I went back to the church and checked the battery voltage. It was 12.6 volts with nothing on and when I turned the ignition switch on for the fuel pump to prime, the voltage dropped to about 5.7 volts under the load. Yep, battery was shot. I carried it to AZ and WM to get them to check it on their load analyzer. Both locations agreed that the battery was bad.

I carried the battery back home and put it on a charger to see to see if it would take a charge so I could at least go crank the bike and bring it to the shop. A 2.0 Amp charge would stay on for about 5 seconds and then charger would say the battery was full.

I carried the battery back to the church and tried to crank the bike. Nothing again. I hooked a not so fully charged jump box to the cables and the fuel pump would prime and the engine would try to turn over but there wasn't enough power to do crank the engine.

After checking out this forum and looking up battery prices online, I found the following:

HD Battery $129.99 1 year warranty DeKa
Autozone $102.99 3 months warranty DeKa
Advance Auto $104.99 3 months warranty DeKa
Walmart $ 95.00 3 months warranty Johnson Controls
Battery Mart $89.95 1 year warranty DeKa
NAPA $95.99 3 Month manfacturer ?
Battery Plus $112.99 2 year warranty Deka
Sears DieHard $95.99 ?????????

After comparing prices and availability, I purchased an AutoCraft battery from Advance Auto using code TRT41 ($40 diiscount) and will pick it up in the store for $70.54 including 7% tax. The battery seems to be the exact ETX20L AGM battery just like the HD battery it just doesn't say HD on the case. I can put a HD logo on the case if I ever get checked by a die hard HD biker. I believe they are the exact same battery, just dressed differently.

The existing battery I had came in the bike when I purchased the bike February 2013. The bike only had 678 miles on it but it was not the OEM stock battery. (See picture below) It seems like the consensus on this forum is to buy the Deka battery without the HD logo for about half the cost. I just wish they would warrant their product for longer than 3 months.

 

It don't say HD because it isn't a HD battery...HD batteries may be overpriced by a few bucks but they are damn good batteries made to stand up to the demands put on them by Harley Davidson motorcycles.

You should think about your scenario...the cheap non HD battery that was installed in your ride by a PO went **** up after 18 months...so you go out and replace it with another cheap battery...you have not learned your lesson yet. What is it they say about doing the same thing expecting different results?

I am not sure how you determined that the general consensus here is to purchase a cheap knock-off battery. What I have read is those who are using HD batteries are more satisfied. They are reliable and they deliver for years. Spend a little more $$$ for the HD battery and know that you have the right part that is made for your ride...and then get out and ride and put some miles on that thing!

 

I never said the general consensus was to purchase a cheap knock off. The general consensus is to purchase the battery from the same manufacturer that produces the HD battery but under a different reseller.The battery I bought is not a cheap knock off. It is made by the company that produces the HD battery and is the same specification as the HD battery except it doesn't have HD logo on the casing. Cheap knock offs would be the Made in China POS that you see advertised. I could not find a HD factory that builds HD batteries but I did find the manufacturer that builds the battery for HD. The battery I purchased was not cheap, I just happened to find a code for $40 off an online purchase.

The OEM HD battery that was in my bike from the factory lasted for 678 miles. The cheap replacement battery installed by the PO lasted over 10,000 miles. I don't know when he installed the battery. I bought the bike 16 months ago. I didn't say the battery was 16 months old. I reckon I will peel the Advance Auto Autocraft Label off the battery and slap the HD logo on the DEKA battery that I just purchased so that will make it last a lot longer.

 

Sharpie, i would like to know where you found the exact specs for the batteries so that you can state they are the exact same battery...except for the logo? I'm not saying you didn't... I'm just asking where?

Did those specs include the physical construction, or just the dimension and volt/amp rating?

 

[quote]"It seems like the consensus on this forum is to buy the Deka battery without the HD logo for about half the cost."[quote]

If it does not have the HD part number, then it is not an HD battery built to HD specs for your ride, therefore, it is not the same battery. If it cost about half as much, then, IMHO, it is a cheap knock-off. There could be many reasons it is cheaper, but most likely it is because it is built cheaper. In the world of electronics, it matters.

 

Deka makes the Harley battery. IIRC Harley has exclusive rights to the full flush terminal mount. The only difference from the Harley branded version and the Deka version is the use of a small spacer for the Deka version. I got mine from Battery Mart and it's the same as the HD version minus the flush terminals. If it makes you feel better go ahead and spend more but don't bash the OP without doing your homework.

 

After today, I am also in need of a battery. The guy who was helping me told me about an Antigravity Lithium Ion battery that inly weight about 4-5 lbs, can last 10 years and holds a charge for up to a year, cost is about $400. Anyone have any experience with these? I am also looking at a standard replacement battery, was just curious about the antigravity battery.

 

For the record the general consensus here @ HDF is to stick to a HD oem battery. They are quite good and can last 5 years.........

 

Right, just get it from Batterymart.

 

OK let me backup a little. I said the batteries were DEKA. I should have said EPM. Deka is the EPM Brand name.

Now to answer your question I did check on more than just the physical size to compare the batteries. East Penn Manufacturing Company (EPM) is the manufacturer of the batteries I've referred to. I had read in this forum as well as other locations that EPM was a major manufacturer of batteries in the USA. I spoke with their technical support (610) 682-6361 and asked the question as was posed by others about the specifications of the various batteries.

EPM said "We make batteries for various retailers including Advanced Auto (Autocraft or Magna Power), AutoZone (Duralast), Big Crank, Deka and HD" they went on further to state that "batteries of the same size are exactly the same with only 2 possible differences, the post bolt pattern and the label." The post on the Autocraft Battery (http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/a...ntent=16940007) that I purchased has poured post that allow you to bolt the cables to the top or side. If used on the side there are two brass washers included with the battery. The HD battery (http://www.harley-davidson.com/store...12-6598997c--1) only comes with the ability to bolt to the front of the battery.

There are marketing differences that I alluded to in my OP concerning the warranty given by the retailer that sales the battery. The battery is not warranted to the consumer by EPM but by the retailer instead.

I have posted the contact info above if you want to contact the manufacturer yourself.

Now 129.95 plus tax for a EPM battery with a HD Label or
or $64.99 plus tax for a EPM battery with a Autocraft label from Advance Auto parts. That's twice the price for the HD label. My money is a little harder to come by than some of the kool-aide drinking wallet bikers money seems to be.

Fastenall sells acorn headed grade 8 bolts for mere cents to no more than a few dollars each. If you go to HD to buy the bolt its probably around $10. is that bolt better than the same bolt that may cost $2 from Fastenall? After all the bolt is made to HD specifications.

I hope I haven't ticked anyone off by my comments on this post as I only intended to explain where forum members could save some hard earned money to spend elsewhere if needed. For those who only shop at HD please keep supporting the local dealer as you are so doing. I am not trying to persuade anyone on how you are to spend your money.

Ride Safe