greeting friends,
would like some help in finding a battery that will last longer than 1 season . 2 seasons would be great, 3 out of this world.
I have a 2002 xl883 sporty. battery I put in last year won't hold a charge.
would like to go to a sealed battery to avoid the boil off problem.

I stored battery in warm garage with a battery tender.

last comment I am on strilke from Caterpillar in joliet , illinois no this time money is tight.

tell me where you got your, sears , autozone, advance autoparts,walmart
interstate battery. what have I forgotten

thanx
casca1

 

I guess it depends on your definition of affordable.. I just picked up a Big Crank AGM battery from battery mart.com for $89 shipped and it's supposed to be the same as the OEM battery which costs $129 I got 4 years out of my OEM battery and probably would have got more had I not left the key on onc and drained it completely!

 

dont know anything about "affordable battery" so i will make a related comment- invest a few bucks in a battery tender once you get your new battery-
imo thats a great investment cause if you use the tender you should never need another battery - i know that some guys have different experiences here, but i have 5 vehicles on tenders (including bikes and tractor)- have never needed a new battery. a tender should keep your battery new pretty much forever if you use it all the time... in my garage now are 2 cages and 2 bikes (the tractor is in the barn!)- all original batteries and all tendered all the time if i am not on the road with them.

 

I think I got mine at a local battery supply place for $60. Had it more than three years and still going strong. Not sure of the brand, but it was a CB-16B, not sure if they still are used.

I understand there are some new ones which are much lighter than the lead/acid, but I'm not entirely familiar with brand or price. Hopefully there are more enlightened folks out there.

John

 

I got 10+ years out of my stock battery with never putting it on a tender, so I purchased a new HD battery about two years ago.

 

I recently got a East Penn manufactured battery from Advance Auto for a damn good price. Looks like your Sporty uses the same battery. Check out this thread https://www.hdforums.com/forum/dyna-...r-battery.html

 

I got 5 years from a stock HD battery with no tender. Don't know how much more I would've gotten because I traded her.

 

I've got 3 years so far on an OEM battery in my '07 and it's still in great shape. I was worried about it for a bit last year, but it tested good on the bench and it turned out to be the main ground getting a bit corroded. Cleaned it off with a wire wheel and protected it with a nice dollop of dielectric grease and she's been fine since. I imagine that the newer bikes with the security system are harder on batteries since there's more parasitic draw.

If you're killing batteries in a single season, check for shorts and to make sure that all the connections are good. On my bike it was the connection where the ground cable connects to the crankcase/transmission housing that needed cleaning.

 

Walmart's AGM 20 series battery for a HD is about $77 + tax. They are made by Yuasa and are great long lasting batteries. No matter where you go in the US you are never far from a Walmart.

I use tenders from the time I park in the garage until I pull out again. I do get 8 + years on a battery but when I do need on off to Wallyworld I go.

Hang in there partner! Former Cat employee here. I was on the strike line in the early eighties. Latter the plant closed in Mt. Joy, Iowa. Had to find new work.