FYI
RG30L-WS Wicked Start 600+ CCA Battery
Amazon $99.50 & I got free shipping
ordered Sunday nite and got it fully charged Thursday AM

my OEM lasted 5 seasons
my Big Crank 400 CCA lasted 3 seasons

all always on a battery tender

 

Wow I got two Big Mac combos for $5.99

 

Again...the fascination with CCA baffles me. We have a 1.5kw starter motor. So, at worst case it would draw 125 amps. Throw in another 10 amps for everything else...and you've got 130 amps.

Screw CCA...look at amp hour capacity.

Oh yeah, and I'll be staying in a Holiday Inn Express in 3 months.

 

I been known to ride in the low 20s. I need a battery that won't barf while trying to spin up in the cold

My factory OEM battery sucks. It chugs barely starting in high 30s and if it hasn't seen a tender for more like a week in warm weather. Of course the dealer said it's fine, and they all do that. BS, my Dual Sport never has an issue in cold weather or even if it's been off a tender for weeks or months.

 

1) BATTERY RATINGS How are batteries rated and what do the ratings mean in battery selection?
ANSWER:
The most common battery rating is the AMP-HOUR RATING. This is a unit of measurement for battery capacity, obtained by multiplying a current flow in amperes by the time in hours of discharge. (Example: A battery which delivers 5 amperes for 20 hours delivers 5 amperes times 20 hours, or 100 ampere-hours.)
Manufacturers use different discharge periods to yield an different Amp-Hr. Rating for the same capacity batteries, therefore, the Amp-Hr. Rating has little significance unless qualified by the number of hours the battery is discharged. For this reason Amp-Hour Ratings are only a general method of evaluating a battery's capacity for selection purposes. The quality of internal components and technical construction within the battery will generate different desired characteristics without effecting its Amp-Hour Rating. For instance, there are 150 Amp-Hour batteries that will not support an electrical load overnight and if called upon to do so repetitively, will fail early in their life. Conversely, there are 150 Amp-Hour batteries that will operate an electrical load for several days before needing recharging and will do so for years. The following ratings must be examined in order to evaluate and select the proper battery for a specific application: COLD CRANKING AMPERAGE and RESERVE CAPACITY are ratings used by the industry to simplify battery selection.


FAQ List
2) COLD CRANKING AMPERAGE: How does the Cold Cranking Amperage rating help me select a battery?

ANSWER:
(CCA) is the maximum amperes that can be continuously removed from a battery for 30 seconds at 0°F before its voltage drops to unusable levels. A 550 CCA battery can supply 550 amperes for 30 seconds at 0°F. This rating is only useful in the selection of engine starting batteries.
NOTE: Do not confuse Cold Cranking Amperage (CCA) with Marine Cranking Amperage (MCA) or Cranking Amperage (CA). MCA and CA is a higher battery rating measured at warmer temperatures.


FAQ List
3) RESERVE CAPACITY What does the Reserve Capacity rating mean and how does it apply to deep cycle batteries?
ANSWER:
Reserve capacity is the number of minutes a battery can maintain a useful voltage under a 25 ampere discharge. The higher the minute rating, the greater the battery's ability to run lights, pumps, inverters, and electronics for a longer period before recharging is necessary. The 25 Amp. Reserve Capacity Rating is more realistic than Amp-Hour or CCA as a measurement of capacity for deep cycle service. Batteries promoted on their high Cold Cranking Ratings are easy and inexpensive to build. The market is flooded with them, however their Reserve Capacity, Cycle Life (the number of discharges and charges the battery can deliver) and Service life are poor. Reserve Capacity is difficult and costly to engineer into a battery and requires higher quality cell materials.
For instance, Rolls, Surrette and Lifeline use thicker lead grids (the plate's skeletal structure) to support additional positive plate oxides which are compressed into a denser form in order to add battery reactive material for greater Reserve Capacity and Cycling Performance. In addition, these plates are separated by indestructible separators. These mats hold the active oxides tightly in place during the cubical plate expansion which occurs during deep discharging, instead of allowing the oxides to shed off and precipitate to the bottom of the battery. Construction materials such as those raise the Reserve Capacity of a battery and increase the battery's Cycle Life.

 

i just happened to stumble across this article while I was looking up the info on old batteries in my core pile. Would you happen to still have it? 2016 was a rough year for me with brother passing and now my childhood friend/lover that I recently rekindled with was just found deceased as well. Mother of my kids stole my custody papers then stole my kids, had the shop and my home robbed while I was on the road hauling a load of cars. If my house wasn't paid off, I'd be homeless at this point. Barely keep the shops bills paid with paying off all my debt I accumulated during the hardships. So haven't gotten to even consider buying a $150 battery for the bike. Poor thing has been sitting since November without a single ride on it. I'm in Ohio so not too far from you. You'd be my hero if you haven't gave it away yet