Which gel battery

I need to replace the battery on my 1981 KZ 1000-C4. :dry: I want to put a maintenance free gel battery in there if I can. Does anyone have any recommendations or suggestions?

dblhdr, if I were you I would do some google searching on AGM batterys vs. gel cells. AGM's have a lot of advantages compared to gel, and the cost is comparable.

Which is to say they are really expensive. When I priced them they were more than double the cost of a standard wet cell battery. Not sure what the love of gel cell is for bikes unless you plan to lay the bike on it's side. Gel cell lead acid technology was actually developed for electronics like VHS camcorders about 30 years ago to get a lot of power density but it had to be gel to be safe since a liquid type would spill if you change the position of the battery. If it's the "maintenance free" thing, there are lots of wet cell lead acids available with that for cars and bikes. I have used gel cells in some designs and never loved them. Compared by size, they seem to have higher internal impedance than standard cells and I have not seen good life spans for them.

I have not worked with AGM but the prices gave me a nosebleed. Based on published info, the AGM's tolerate deeper discharge better than a standard wet cell. That would let you crank the starter longer if your engine won't start or leave the lights on when the car is not running. Sounds like a big plus for a cop car, not so much for me.

I had to mount my battery sideways, since my original battery box would no longer fit my bike. This necessitated a spillproof battery. The AGM that I purchased was $75 and is smaller with more cranking amps than the stock wet cell battery for my KZ1000.

Gel batteries are sensitive to charge profile, and as such, are not ideal for a motorcycle. Say for example, your rectifier dies, and you are charging at full bore 16v. The gel cell battery is not going to tolerate this. I know it's not good for any battery, but gel cells like to be charged slowly. AGM batteries can be charged like normal wet cell batteries. Also, as bountyhunter mentions, gel batteries have higher internal resistance, and are therefore not as efficient as a wet cell or an AGM. Gel batteries need to be bigger to produce the same power.

@ bounty hunter. I don't know what it is you don't like about gel cells. Mine lasted me over five years before I replaced it. I could never say that about an acid cell battery I've owned.
Acid batteries always seem to leak a little or boil over. I have had cells go dry. To me it doesn't make any sense but there is also the one annoying thing that they spill a little acid on the battery box and such. Who needs to worry about that?
AGM I don't know about but will check out.

I just bought a new battery, and after shopping went back to a lead acid type. Looked at some of the maintenance free types, one was about twice as heavy as the replacement I chose. Sure it is made overseas like everything else, but $58 and a full 1 year replacement warranty.
If your battery is boiling you are over charging, and that is why you have acid leaks and short battery life. Always check the charging system when replacing your battery.

Yeah, that was my 80 xs 850 midnight special but when I have laid it down the battery leaked. Now, mind you this was when I was first learning but the longevity of one season two max for me is not acceptable.
I now have a yuasa battery that I don't believe is a gel cell but it is sealed. I just don't like the idea of having a vent hose and when it falls off as has happened many times in the past battery acid gets on the battery holder and eats away at it or worse gets on the frame and eats the paint off.
I think it is much more economical to buy a yuasa battery or high quality battery and maybe spend 20-30 bucks more but get a battery that you won't have to change out every season or two. Besides the fact that it is in some small way more environmentally responsible in that if one battery lasts three-four times longer then that is three batteries less that have to be disposed of.

That would explain why my gel cell took a dump on me then for sure. It was only 120 degrees in the Wyoming "It's A Dry Heat" on our way to Sturgis. Even though I had used it for 5 seasons it was as strong as the first day.
DB I would definitely say AGM. I read up on it and they say it's a hybrid of the gel cell. All the advantages of both types but none of the downsides. For relatively the same price as a gel cell as stated.
I will be checking in to that for my project bike for sure.
Thanks for the heads up Testa

No charge. I am an expert in very little when it comes to motorcycles until I have to spend some of my money on a part. Thats when I start to study. That's why I suggested that dbldheader google it and decide for himself. I have a very rusty original battery box that came with my bike if anyone would like to see what a battery acid leak can do.

saxjonz wrote:

@ bounty hunter. I don't know what it is you don't like about gel cells. Mine lasted me over five years before I replaced it. I could never say that about an acid cell battery I've owned.
Acid batteries always seem to leak a little or boil over.

That means it is being overcharged, hence the short life span.

hahahahahahahahahaha I didn't even realize that my yuasa battery is an agm style battery. Yeah, when I asked for a gel last summer they said they didn't have any so I asked for their best battery they had and voila it is an AGM according to what I just read if I am not mistaken.
I haven't had any problems with it at all so far. Very nice battery as far as batteries go.
Vent hoses are so 70's tech. But to each their own. If a person feels that it is cheaper initially but really in the long run costs more because of the frequency of replacement and they don't care? So be it, more power to them.

saxjonz wrote:

If a person feels that it is cheaper initially but really in the long run costs more because of the frequency of replacement and they don't care? So be it, more power to them.

Any modern bike can increase it's battery life span about 5X with a very simple electrical mod: use relays to disconnect the lights when the starter cranks. All lead acid batteries are sensitive to depth of discharge. Having the 15+ Amps of light load removed while the battery has to crank the starter will increase it's life span dramatically. I was averaging about 18 months life on the first three batteries my bike went through. After the mod, I get 6+ years out of them. same batteries (made in China), same A-hr, standard wet cells.