Ducati Monster Forum

Ok all, we had a good run on the OEM battery (~8 years) but it's starting to show lower voltage even after a ride and I don't want to get caught by it.

I'm not really interested in something Lithium.

I'm thinking AGM or Gel.

Yuasa seems to have a decent one, but I'm a Prima Donna and would pay more for a sealed battery that came with the acid in it.

I've filled and charged enough batteries in my life. I don't cut my own grass...I have people for that. When my kids were born I told the OB the same thing when she asked me to cut the friggin cords.

I'll rebuild a bike if I need to, but damnit I just want to buy and install a damn battery!!!

Thoughts (even unkind ones)?

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190330/a024501c1b250a71eb72b98e36b7057e.jpg)

Dunno if you have a Batteries Plus store near you but I picked up a new AGM battery for my 696 there and they offered to fill it up there for me. Told me it’d take 20 min to settle so I went to the bar next door and had a beer and soup. Came back, threw it in my backpack and rode home to install it.

Working great now 👍

(It was struggling to start on cold days after the new battery but I replaced the starter cabling with a Motolectric setup and holy shit it starts in less than 2 seconds now in the low 40s temp, even when sitting for several days not on a tender. I should have done that upgrade a long time ago.)

Thanks for the response.

I noticed the Xtreme AGM from Battery Plus. $89 I think, but only 170 cca which might account for the harder cold starts.

How long have you had it? Otherwise happy?

I should say the 696 is one of my wife's bikes and it doesn't see a lot of use below 60°F 😅 so the 170 cca rating vs the Yuasa 215 cca might not matter as much.

Then again, despite my protestations, if I can get another 8 years out of a replacement maybe filling it with acid is a small price to pay.

I just put the battery in a few months ago. It would hold a charge fine after being charged, but did struggle on the cold mornings to start.

When I rewired everything, I noticed that stock, the battery ground cable is on top of the other electrical ground cable, where they both screw to the engine down near the charcoal canister. When I replaced the cabling I swapped it so the battery had maximum contact with the engine ground. 

Not sure that made a difference or it was just the cabling upgrade, but I feel like I no longer have to keep it on a tender all the time anymore. 

My other 696 (the Scrambler modded one) has the same battery in there it’s had for a few years. AGM, charges and working fine. But I upgraded its cabling as well bc I feel like it’s a weak spot in the 696 design. (Had a lot of time to think about it when it’d take up to 15 minutes to start on my street 696 some days, ugh).

And I *think* that Xtreme is the same battery I picked up.

Yuasa AGM. The best AGM IMO.

AMCJEN, thanks for the info and tips!


That's my instinct.... Maybe I shouldn't fight it.

Yeah, if I had to do it over, I’d get a Yuasa too—just been around so long, I don’t like tempting fate with battery brands.

That's an excellent recommendation right there.

Thank you so much for the needed kick in the ass!

Have you considered a LiFePo4? I have run Shorai in my last 2 bikes and love them. Lightweight, no issues turning over the S2R1000 even after 2 months of sitting with no tender (I had surgery and couldn't ride).
Other than a slight premium in cost, I can't see why not to go with them. Also, Shorai has a 3 year warranty.

Thanks, but as I said in the op, no I'm not really interested in Lithium.

There's no proven advantage for my usage.

But I appreciate the report.

Sorry man, don't know how I missed that.

So given that, yeah, you can't go wrong with the Yuasa AGM.

You got it! I absolutely love the 696s (so much that I ended up with two of ‘em), but forget it if I’m going to make a 10 day ride and be stranded bc not enough electrons can make it from the engine case into the starter motor.  Nobody’s got time for that. 😎

Thanks much...Yuasa ordered.

Ride safe y'all!

Filling the Yuasa is easy and convenient, not like the old days.  A big plus is life starts on day one verses buying a pre-filled battery that has been on a shelf for some time and may already be a bit sulphated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xpg10yp4duo

Copy that!