Wednesday, Aug 25, 2010 [56812 miles]

My bike didn’t start quite as easily as I thought it should on a recent trip. Using the better-safe-than-sorry model I decided to replace the battery. The current battery is 2 1/2 years old and is likely still quite serviceable. It will turn into a bench battery/hot spare.

I’m replacing a YTX14-BS with a YTX14H-BS. It is the exact same form factor, but is rated at 260 CCA instead of 200. It arrived yesteray with the acid pre installed. I put it on the charger over night to bring it to full charge. Purchased from BatteryStuff.com.

Thursday, Aug 26, 2010 [56812 miles]

Today the battery is charged. I installed the hardware after wiping it down with some no-ox before getting the bike ready for the new battery.

I clipped the cable tie holding my fuseblock to the battery holder and moved the fuzeblock out of the way. Then, in order, I removed the ground leads, positive leads, and battery strap. It’s easier to get the battery out of the bike if the battery strap is completely removed.

I can’t help myself. When removing things from the bike I have to clean up areas normally not seen. Here I wiped down the battery tray after blowing out the dirt and dust.

Once the tray was clean I slipped the new battery into the bike and re-attached the strap. With the battery firmly mounted in place I attached the positive leads with a little help from a screwdriver to hold the retaining nut up enough to let the screw grap the threads. Finally the ground lead was attached (yes, there was a slight spark) and I cable tied the Fuzeblock back to the battery strap.

The final step was to turn on the ignition, set the clock, and twist the throttle slowly through its full range a couple of times before turning the ignition off. The bike is ready to ride. The old battery is on the charger getting ready for bench duty. I’ll recycle my previous bench battery, now 5+ years old.

Update:

I really didn’t need a new battery. Details here.