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BigAndrew

BigAndrew

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So from what I've read in all the old posts the Odyssey AGM battery's are the best way to go

My question is are they all the same size for motorcycles or do i need a specific one? Does anyone have the part number? (PC680?)
I have an '82 interstate if it makes a difference :salute:
 
At WalMart they have a battery for 80-83 year Goldwings part number ES50N18LA3 for $50. :laptop:
 
I think ANY AGM is better than a regular (IMO obsolete) wet cell battery and that one of the reasons guys suggest an Odyssey at the top of the list is because their marketing states they have done a lot of research and development to make them reliable.
They are also built to US government standards for durability which says a lot in itself.

My last AGM lasted alittle over a year. I don't know who made it but it went flat one day while cranking the parts bike. A cell or cells shorted, voltage read 7 volts. It said Xtreme on the side.
The Odyssey is just about a year old and seems strong.
I'm certain it gets fully charged during every ride and once I get home it goes on the tender. Time will tell if it does any better.

Odyssey recommends the PC680MJ (Metal Jacket) for our bike.
 
I found this on the Odyssey site, something to consider:

ODYSSEY® Technical Alerts
ODYSSEY SHORT SERVICE LIFE IN CUSTOM V-TWIN MOTORCYCLES

Issue – This notice provides helpful information to the designer, manufacturer, assembler, dealer and bike owner that may have experienced a short service life with the ODYSSEY® Drycell Battery model PC 545MJ installed in Custom V-Twin motorcycles.

The increasing popularity of the custom V-twin motorcycle with its big inch engine and high power starting requirement has introduced a new operational issue. New ODYSSEY batteries and other brands initially provide good starting power, but in a short time of use have no or poor starting power and appear to have prematurely failed.

Factory analysis of warranty returned batteries indicate these batteries have not failed and do not have factory defects. Batteries with this type of performance are at low charge levels only!

Cause - The custom bike requires 2 ½ times the starting power of stock HD engines, but have the same size battery and same 32 amp charging system. The custom bike is generally a short mileage in-town rider, with insufficient driving mileage to recharge the battery. V-twin charging systems only develop enough power to run the motorcycle until engine rpm is above 2,000, when excess power is diverted to charge the battery. Full charged ODYSSEY battery voltage is 12.85 volts. ODYSSEY Batteries with less than 12.40 volts cannot reliably start big inch engines.

Solution – ODYSSEY Batteries are a military grade design and mechanically indestructible. Military design prevents shorted cells and vibration damage. They provide deep-cycle reserve and high starting power. Use a 12V, 6A (OMAX-6A-1B) or 12V, 12A (OMAX-12A-1B) Ultimizer charger with dealer or owner installed quick disconnect harness to maintain ODYSSEY at full charge for maximum performance and life. Always connect the charger to battery first, then plug into the AC wall socket. Always unplug from the AC wall socket before disconnecting from battery. Charger will not over-charge as it switchs to storage charge after recharging. Consistent use of the Ultimizer charger will assure trouble free starting power, with 4-8 years of ODYSSEY service life.

Help - For ODYSSEY technical support call Bruce Essig at 660-429-7506.

Our 1100's could fall into the same category because of the minimal design of the charging system.
 
I found this on an Odyssey battery for $100.00. But I don't know if it is the PJ680MJ. Check it out. https://www.epfguzzi.com/ODYSSEY.HTM

dan filipi":239y5sid said:
I think ANY AGM is better than a regular (IMO obsolete) wet cell battery and that one of the reasons guys suggest an Odyssey at the top of the list is because their marketing states they have done a lot of research and development to make them reliable.
They are also built to US government standards for durability which says a lot in itself.

My last AGM lasted alittle over a year. I don't know who made it but it went flat one day while cranking the parts bike. A cell or cells shorted, voltage read 7 volts. It said Xtreme on the side.
The Odyssey is just about a year old and seems strong.
I'm certain it gets fully charged during every ride and once I get home it goes on the tender. Time will tell if it does any better.

Odyssey recommends the PC680MJ (Metal Jacket) for our bike.
Click to expand...
 
Something else to consider.
According to Odyssey their batteries are suppose to be charged differently than a wet cell and I presume differently than other AGM's because they state their chargers should only be used with an Odyssey AGM.
Here's the approved list of chargers.
My Deltran Battery Tender aint on the list although I WAS told in a phone call to them it's ok to leave connected.
I went ahead and ordered the OMAX 6A-1B and disconnected the Deltran.



image.php
 
dan filipi":3f97nitl said:
I found this on the Odyssey site, something to consider:
Our 1100's could fall into the same category because of the minimal design of the charging system.
Click to expand...
I wonder if the Mosfet conversion on the voltage regulator would solve that problem?
 
mcgovern61":2a99mf0j said:
dan filipi":2a99mf0j said:
I found this on the Odyssey site, something to consider:
Our 1100's could fall into the same category because of the minimal design of the charging system.
Click to expand...
I wonder if the Mosfet conversion on the voltage regulator would solve that problem?
Click to expand...

Possibly.
From what I gather the Odyssey (and maybe all AGM's) are designed to have a automotive type charge of a higher amperage and voltage pumped into them whereas the typical wet cell M/C bats are designed to charge at a lower amperage.
On mine I have no problem because of the external alternator so I can't help much here.
Funny, I wish I had a stock charging system so I could compare the charge state with what Odyssey calls for.

The key here is charging the Odyssey completely.
If you usually make short trips start and stop and lower rpm it won't keep up, no battery will and will be short lived. Longer trips at higher rpm will probably be fine.
A volt meter will tell where it's at.
I'm sure mine gets fully charged after a run. When I park it in the garage the volts read over 12.8 indicating a full charge.
If it's 12.6 or lower then you know the system isn't keeping up.
Odyssey says if the charge is low a battery charger, not a trickle charger or maintainer, should be hooked up to bring it to full charge THEN a maintainer can be hooked up. It must first be brought to a full charge.
 
The reason i want one is because my old battery kept drying out so i would have to take it out and fill it up with distilled water and charge it over night :Awe: (Cheap Wal-Mart Everstart battery)

So i much rather have a sealed bettery so i wont have to do that again

dan filipi":gvg66dnw said:
Something else to consider.
According to Odyssey their batteries are suppose to be charged differently than a wet cell and I presume differently than other AGM's because they state their chargers should only be used with an Odyssey AGM.
Here's the approved list of chargers.
My Deltran Battery Tender aint on the list although I WAS told in a phone call to them it's ok to leave connected.
I went ahead and ordered the OMAX 6A-1B and disconnected the Deltran.
Click to expand...

Well of course they're gonna say to use only their chargers, They want to make as much money off of you as possible :doh: :lol:

I have a wal-mart battery charger / tender, You can charge at 2, 4 or at 6 amps and when the battery is fully charged it will switch over to battery tender mode

Supposedly my friend's friend works at a battery place and can get me a battery for almost half off, I'm crossing my fingers on that one

So the PC680MJ vs PC680 is the MJ has a Metal Jacket? So im assuming it just has a harder shell... Which is probably not necessary, I'll see if i can look into that one
 
Yeah I suppose Deltran is a strong competitor for them but they DO list other chargers which are supported.
At any rate from what I've read AGM's require a higher float voltage than the Deltran and some others put out so I needed one either way.
 
this was my second season with pc 680 batterys in the wings. usually i ride the 1500 wing early in the season so the 1200 sits a lot. then from the end of july until october i ride the 1200 wing. i have never had an issue with the 1200 wing ( or 1500 wing ) keeping the odyssey battery charged. i don't charge the batterys over the winter i just disconnect the neg and pos cables from the battery and reconnect them in the spring. the overall size of a pc680 or pc680mj is smaller than a wet cell battery and you winn need something to fill in the space, i used some styrafoam
 
detdrbuzzard":f6ifl1pr said:
the overall size of a pc680 or pc680mj is smaller than a wet cell battery and you winn need something to fill in the space, i used some styrafoam
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up... I'll have to find somethin to fill in the spaces
 
dan filipi":2l5v8c42 said:
I think ANY AGM is better than a regular (IMO obsolete) wet cell battery and that one of the reasons guys suggest an Odyssey at the top of the list is because their marketing states they have done a lot of research and development to make them reliable.
They are also built to US government standards for durability which says a lot in itself.

My last AGM lasted alittle over a year. I don't know who made it but it went flat one day while cranking the parts bike. A cell or cells shorted, voltage read 7 volts. It said Xtreme on the side.
The Odyssey is just about a year old and seems strong.
I'm certain it gets fully charged during every ride and once I get home it goes on the tender. Time will tell if it does any better.

Odyssey recommends the PC680MJ (Metal Jacket) for our bike.
Click to expand...

I bought my Xtreme from batteries plus.
been good for the rest of this year.. but I noticed the voltmeter( I changed from the digital to a old style round analog) would run lower sometimes... if the trips were short..
now as far as the battery... I had a taillight short out and not blow a fuse, but heat it up alot... heavy draw... and the battery survived in great shape. we had to jumpstart the bike and after we fixed the short, and got some miles on her the battery came right back up to 14volts while rideing, and 12 just before starting. it hasnt hesitated to start the bike unless there was some reason for the battery to run down....
I like to play the radio when I work on the bike sometimes and the 120w amplifier draws the battery down after awhile
currently I dont have a tender, but have been looking into all the choices.
anytime I needed a charge I used my standard battery charger 2/10/55 on 10amp auto mode. it tops the battery up pretty quickly.
the thing is the battery cost around $90
I'm told for that price I could have bought an odysee
at any rate... AGM is the way to go... I took out an old wetcell and wount go back.
 
rkthev":1spgkpr0 said:
I put a Deka AGM in mine about 2.5 years ago, and haven't had any problems with it. My bike has been sitting for about 6 months, and it started right up yesterday.
Click to expand...

After 6 months? Wow thats pretty good
 
:salute: Thanks for the link, I'll get one from there if my friend doesn't pull thru, Supposedly one of his friends works at this place that sells batteries and can get me one with a pretty substantial discount, But i'm not holding my breath on that one :mrgreen:
 
The 6 amp Odyssey charger came last week and I've been testing it out.

Although it works good and does what it's suppose to I highly recommend against buying it for maintaining an Odyssey while in storage.
It has a fan which NEVER turns off even when the battery is at full charge and in the 40's in the garage.
It also has a mechanical relay. It's purpose is to turn on and off current to the battery.
Once the bat is at full charge the relay opens. Once the bat voltage drops to 13.4 the relay closes, bat voltage gets pumped up to 13.7 then the relay opens again. This cycle takes about 10 seconds so the relay is constantly opening and closing.

Very wasteful in it's design.
A simple thermal sensor could control the fan.
Some other form of voltage control besides a mechanical relay could surely be used.

I'm dissatisfied with it but I may keep it for the times I do need to recharge my Odyssey PC 680, but not leave it connected during storage.
Chargers that perform the same 3 step charging are much more $.
 

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