[ssg]

Is there any maintenance free battery for RE 500 (12V 14AH )? I am thinking to switch over to that.

[Ice]

 Yes there are.  Sealed batteries area  very popular and cost effective upgrade. 

[Blairio]

In February of last year I bought a sealed gel type battery from Hitchcocks to replace the original one which pegged out after just two and a half years:

part no. 146134A   1   BATTERY, GEL (SEALED) 12V 132 X 90 X 168MM ELECTRA + EFI MODELS

This is a straight swap size-wise for the original, and the case is a rather fetching blue. I don't have the amp / hours specification, but when I hit the starter button my Electra's motor wakes up like someone has given its arse a serious skelp.   

[HUdson51]

sealed maintenance free batteries are the way to go. When I bought my 2015 C5 the dealer had already scrapped the battery the bike came with and installed a sealed one. I recommend a battery maintainer be used and this will extend the life of the battery, especially during winter months  when not riding.

[Kevin Mahoney]

Get a good maintenance free or if you are living large a lithium battery.
http://www.classicmotorworks.com/maintenance-free-battery/
Batteries are one of those things that you normally get what you pay for.

The OEM batteries that come with the bikes from the factory are junk right from the box. For years the were "Exide" batteries made in India. I can say that more than 50% failed within the first 30 days if they were even any good out of the box. All of the RE batteries come dry and unlike any battery you have ever seen (unless you are my age) does not even come with an acid pack. The dealer has to buy a gallon container of battery acid which is hazardous as hell and fill each cell. No one does that any more.

They decided that they could not buy a decent made in India battery and went to a FIEM battery made in China. These are somewhat better. If they are filled with acid correctly and charged correctly (almost none are) they will last a bit longer

Batteries are not covered under the RE warranty in any way shape or form but we always covered them because we recognized they were no good. Most dealers would just suck it up and put a good battery in them before they sold it to you.

For a long time we tried to talk RE into just shipping with no batteries and letting us put in good batteries but that was not in the cards.

In short don't rely on the factory battery to get you home.





Here is a good maintenance free battery http://www.classicmotorworks.com/maintenance-free-battery/

[Rattlebattle]

I replaced mine with a Motobatt, mainly as a precautionary measure against acid damage. My original is fine and I keep it for electrical tests on my workbench. The Motobatt comes with more than one fixing option. I screwed my leads directly into the terminal sockets. I bought mine from a supplier on Amazon; there are several on that site. Cranking speed seems to be greater than the standard one and there was no need to charge it before use. The only small downside is that it's bright yellow, so it increases the visibility of my LE Despatch. There is therefore an increased chance of my being shot or taken prisoner, but those who like bling needn't worry on that score. 

[pmanaz1973]

I've been running MotoBatt brand for many years and they have been solid batteries that have given me years of great service.   I'm running a MBTX14AU in my C5 and it's a tight fit, but it fits.  Be sure and run a battery tender or similar tender and you should be good to go.

[barenekd]

I had a Deka battery in mine. It was excellent. It held up to me rewiring parts of the bike (the lights), and generally other mistreatments without ever seeing a charger. It was great and the price was decent.
Bare

[mattsz]

Chrome Battery is another brand, reasonably priced, that some of us have had good luck with.  I've had one of their AGM's for three years, and it's been great.  During riding season, whenever I've plugged in my Battery Tender Jr. charger, it's never taken more than 15 minutes to top up the charge.  And during basement winter storage, I plug it in once a month, and it's never taken more than 3-5 minutes to fully top it back up...

[Ice]

 SSG,
  The acidic vapors from old school vented batteries causes frame rust.

 The enhanced performance that often comes with modern sealed batteries is a by product of the slightly altered chemistry inside. It's a bonus that I think overshadows their biggest asset which is that they do not cause frame rust.

[Guaire]

I had a Deka battery in mine. It was excellent. It held up to me rewiring parts of the bike (the lights), and generally other mistreatments without ever seeing a charger. It was great and the price was decent.
Bare

  I'm running a DEKA. They are a good battery. Interstate has now entered the motorcycle battery market. They are factory charged and ready to go.

[heloego]

Been using an Interstate for a bit over a year now. No problems so far. 

[gremlin]

Chrome battery -same as Matt-

Still working !

[idk]

Has anybody used a battery with the +ve and -ve terminals on the other ends? The reason I ask this is that it seems stupid to have the +ve terminal so extremely close to the frame when there is so much room on the other side. I suspect that back in the days of +ve ground (earth) it made sense to do it that way and then when they changed the polarity nobody bothered changing the battery setup. The cables will reach without problems.

I need a new battery and was going to get one with the terminals the other way around. Am I missing some obvious reason that I should not do this?

[Arizoni]

If it keeps the red + wire away from a possible ground, it sounds like a good idea to me.

The battery in my G5 is installed with the terminals outward from the center of the motorcycle where there is little possibility of them or the wires contacting metal parts.

In the one area where one of the wires comes close to the metal cover, I installed a length of vinyl tubing slit end to end over it to make contact impossible.