guess its battery time...

[Longshot]

Yesterday I rolled out the mgx21 for its first ride of the year. Checked the tire pressures, unplugged the battery tender, which was showing green light (fully charged), hit the starter button and it slowly cranked, tried a couple more times but would never fire up. The look on my girls face was of total dissapointment, lol, she was so excited to get to go for a ride.
This is a 2017, so 5 years on a big cc vtwin loaded with electronics including a factory alarm is decent Im guessing.
It has a yuasa YTX20-BS in it. Yuasa are supposed to be pretty good batteries, correct? I know alot of people pick on battery's plus battery's but to be honest I've used them before on a big twin and had good luck with them.
Does anybody with experience on these 1400's recommend not picking up a battery from batterys plus? Should I just grab another yuasa? What about a lithium ion battery? Any reason why I shouldn't just get a lithium ion?
Thanks in advance for any advice

 

[Moto-Uno]

The others may be different , but Yuasa has set the bar for others to aspire to . Is there a bike shop that doesn't stock Yuasa ?
Peter

 

[GTM®]

Does anybody with experience on these 1400's recommend not picking up a battery from batterys plus? Should I just grab another yuasa? What about a lithium ion battery? Any reason why I shouldn't just get a lithium ion?

If you try a search, you'll see that I state over and over and over again about modern AGM batteries; In short, they fall very short of longevity compared to older ones with more lead content. Lithium (globally), has a solid hold on the market, including new OEM machines (not Guzzi yet of course).
New Yuasa's shipped non-prepped will see 2-3 years of serviceable life. If you purchase a Yuasa, buy one that was prepped by them, they will last longer. They are more expensive, but don't expect much more life from it. Most stores/dealers/shops that prep AGMs rush the process and destroy the battery (24 hrs to 2 weeks of life). Yuasa is still the "wet" battery leader IMO.
Lithiums have gone (for me personally) 9-10 years... I just replaced one in my Stelvio from 2011, and I honestly not once ever plugged it in to a tender. I sell Lithium batteries (the brands I endorse) on the Store tab above.

 

[Longshot]

If you try a search, you'll see that I state over and over and over again about modern AGM batteries; In short, they fall very short of longevity compared to older ones with more lead content. Lithium (globally), has a solid hold on the market, including new OEM machines (not Guzzi yet of course).
New Yuasa's shipped non-prepped will see 2-3 years of serviceable life. If you purchase a Yuasa, buy one that was prepped by them, they will last longer. They are more expensive, but don't expect much more life from it. Most stores/dealers/shops that prep AGMs rush the process and destroy the battery (24 hrs to 2 weeks of life). Yuasa is still the "wet" battery leader IMO.
Lithiums have gone (for me personally) 9-10 years... I just replaced one in my Stelvio from 2011, and I honestly not once ever plugged it in to a tender. I sell Lithium batteries (the brands I endorse) on the Store tab above.

I had one in a 1990 honda cbr1000 and never had a issue with it. I bought a new 2019 africa twin a year ago that came with a oem lithium and its not give me any issue, so if you think I wont have any issue with lithium in my mgx21 then I'll give it a shot. I like the idea of not bothering with a tender but with all the electronics and factory alarm) assuming a small ghost draw when sitting,.. do you recommend a lithium tender during the winter months when it sits? Or just disconnect it? The weather here in missouri during the winter can mean my bikes being winterized up to 4 months sometimes. The only bike I ride year round is my africa twin. I also like the idea of weight savings but I guess with this big of a bike its not something that would really be noticed lol.
Is this the one I need here? The dimensions, + and -, and CCA criteria is all met it looks like
https://gtmotocycles.com/collections/electronics/products/gtm-lithium-battery-20l

 

[Longshot]

The others may be different , but Yuasa has set the bar for others to aspire to . Is there a bike shop that doesn't stock Yuasa ?
Peter

I'm sure the powersports place close to me has them, I've just been using batteries plus since its even closer.

 

[GTM®]

so if you think I wont have any issue with lithium in my mgx21 then I'll give it a shot. I like the idea of not bothering with a tender but with all the electronics and factory alarm) assuming a small ghost draw when sitting,.. do you recommend a lithium tender during the winter months when it sits? Or just disconnect it? The weather here in missouri during the winter can mean my bikes being winterized up to 4 months sometimes. The only bike I ride year round is my africa twin. I also like the idea of weight savings but I guess with this big of a bike its not something that would really be noticed lol.
Is this the one I need here? The dimensions, + and -, and CCA criteria is all met it looks like
https://gtmotocycles.com/collections/electronics/products/gtm-lithium-battery-20l

I feel very good about recommending the above GTM lithium for the 1400, yes. In cold climates, I would remove the battery from the bike and bring it indoors in the Winter, and if you don't yet have a lithium charger, the one I sell for $39 at the bottom of the page on the link above, is a great fit. TIA for the business.

 

[Longshot]

Just bought it. By far the most expensive battery I've ever bought. Here's to hoping it has a nice long life. I already have a lithium charger/maintainer so I'm good there

 

[Moto-Uno]

? $ , just wondering . Peter

 

[roadventure]

Does anybody with experience on these 1400's recommend not picking up a battery from batterys plus? Should I just grab another yuasa? What about a lithium ion battery? Any reason why I shouldn't just get a lithium ion?
Thanks in advance for any advice

You can't go wrong replacing with the same thing that came out.

 

[Longshot]

? $ , just wondering . Peter

$259

You can't go wrong replacing with the same thing that came out.

I definitely agree with you, but I think more than anything I'm just curious to see how a lithium battery will do in a big displacement air cooled vtwin thats loaded with electrical. Theres many reviews out there but this will be a new experience for me. Like I mentioned earlier my only experience with lithiun in a motorcycle was in a older bike (inline 4 and no battery draw when off, as in no clock, computer, etc), and I bought that bike with the lithium in it and sold it three years later and it was still doing great. My one year old africa twin (parallel twin)came factory with a lithium and its doing great.
Certainly going to be alot lighter than the yuasa but thats not really why I'd like to try it. If I get 5 trouble free years out of it I will be happy. If I get 6 or more years I will be very impressed. If somebody reminds me I'll report back here in a year or two or three and comment

 

[Moto-Uno]

Holy Crap ! And that's US dollars , here's hoping it lasts you at least a decade . Thanks , Peter

 

[roadventure]

$259


I definitely agree with you, but I think more than anything I'm just curious to see how a lithium battery will do in a big displacement air cooled vtwin thats loaded with electrical. Theres many reviews out there but this will be a new experience for me. Like I mentioned earlier my only experience with lithiun in a motorcycle was in a older bike (inline 4 and no battery draw when off, as in no clock, computer, etc), and I bought that bike with the lithium in it and sold it three years later and it was still doing great. My one year old africa twin (parallel twin)came factory with a lithium and its doing great.
Certainly going to be alot lighter than the yuasa but thats not really why I'd like to try it. If I get 5 trouble free years out of it I will be happy. If I get 6 or more years I will be very impressed. If somebody reminds me I'll report back here in a year or two or three and comment

If you can justify the initial cost then why not? Sure, it is not what the OEM uses, but if you feel there is little risk (it's really hard to push a 800 lb motorcycle) then do it.

The weight difference IS significant.

 

[Longshot]

If you can justify the initial cost then why not? Sure, it is not what the OEM uses, but if you feel there is little risk (it's really hard to push a 800 lb motorcycle) then do it.

The weight difference IS significant.

True, I suppose if I ever end up having to push it somewhere for any length of distance I'll be thankful for every ounce saved lol

 

[Moto-Uno]

I'm gonna take back everything I previously mentioned about the price of your Lithium battery .
I just got a flyer from a great tool supply chain here in B.C and a 9 Ah battery (18V) for a stinking
battery powered hand tool is marked Down to $249.00 . That's friggin' ludicrous no ? Peter

 

[kiwi dave]

I have no experience with Lithium batteries, the price has always scared me off.

But I understand there's an issue in cold weather, where you have to turn the headlight on to warm the battery up before it will crank the motor. However, on all my bikes, the headlight will only work when the motor is running .....

Is this a typical Catch-22?

 

[Longshot]

My understanding has always been you have to get them warmed up internally to get them up to full power if they've been in below freezing temps. Theres plenty of videos of harleys showing freezing cold lithium starts. Usually cranking a couple times for 5 second intervals or turning lights on for a couple minutes. Im fortunate to be able to keep my bikes inside the house year round so its not going to affect me all that much. Ive rode my africa twin in below freezing temps several times in the last couple months (It has heated grips and I have heated gear), and even when the bike was outside all day at work below freezing I went out and the lithium battery started the engine normal (no slow cranking). But maybe because the starter is probably alot smaller than the typical big starter on harleys that typically have higher compression engines?
And Im just speculating, I don't claim to be any kind of expert or have much knowledge at all about lithium Batts in a motorcycle.
Being I have very little moto guzzi knowledge, I am just assuming the comparison of a big twin harley to a big twin guzzi. Ive never actually owned a harley but Ive rode big twinned indians since 2001

 

[scottmastrocinque]

Although I do not have a GTM Lithium Battery, I do have a Battery Tender brand Lithium battery in my Centauro.

It has been 5 years of trouble-free perfection in all Ohio weather. I am amazed how reliable that little tiny battery has been and continues to be.

The comical thing is that there is more physical volume of space occupied by the bolster foam blocks that help keep it it place in the stock location, than the actual size of the battery!

 

[sir fred]

Not to be a party pooper but my 2014 1400 Custom still has the original battery going strong. I keep all my machines (three MCs, two utvs, two lawn tractors) on Battery Tender jrs. My 2011 Diavel still has the original battery!. All go on a tender when not in use. I ride them, park them and plug them in.
When the time comes, I will replace with an OEM. Bang for the buck!

btw: western NY gets real cold.

 

[GTM®]

Not to be a party pooper but my 2014 1400 Custom still has the original battery going strong. I keep all my machines (three MCs, two utvs, two lawn tractors) on Battery Tender jrs. When the time comes, I will replace with an OEM. Bang for the buck!
btw: western NY gets real cold.

Guys. Please stop with this. The older the AGM, the better it is. For everyone who thinks they know better, I too have been at this a VERY long time, and the words here come from seeing ~one hundred of Guzzis a year at my shop... from the mid-90s to brand new. I install dozens of batteries/year. Newer AGMs are becoming more and more problematic. The newer it is, the worse it is. Everyone here will end up with a Lithium at some point. it is true a well cared for battery will last... regardless of the type.

 

[Raven]

Why are the new AGM batteries so poor? Are they cheaping out on materials and quality to increase profits? If so it's sad. More battery making materials being junked is a bad thing, especially with the increasing use of batteries.
It really pisses me off when companies ruin a good thing in pursuit of the all mighty dollar.