Why do batteries fail after only 9 months.

[CRF Rainbow]

The battery on my CRF lasted only 9 months.
Honda stated the battery only has a 6 month / 5000k warranty.
What gives?

 

[CraigBKK]

Strange you should mention this. Only this morning I was pulling away from a set of lights returning to BKK from Kanchanaburi and the electrics failed on my CRF250L. Turning the ignition to the right, 'On' position produced nothing on the instrument panel. Fortunately I was only 100m from a small motorbike repair shop (and a further 50m away from from a Honda dealer, which I saw after the bike was repaired).

All the fuses were checked, battery recharged for 20 mins and good to go. Put it down to the battery contacts working loose from the rocky trails I was riding yesterday. When I hooked up the Montana GPS mount I may not have secured them as tightly as i should have. Anyway, made it back home OK.

I've had my bike since June, clocked up almost 6K. Never realised the battery's life on this model was 'officially' so short...

 

[bsacbob]

Battery on my CRF-M lasted only 12 months and gave up !!

 

[TB-Racing]

My Ducati MTS original battery is about to give up soon, sounds and acting stressed cranking over, well ~ was somehow expected after 34 month doing heavy duty working a v-twin over, gets replaced with a Ballistic Lithium-Ion Battery = http://www.ballisticparts.com waiting on the parts shelf soon....

 

[bikesncats]

Battery on my CRF-M lasted only 12 months and gave up !!

There are several reasons why batteries fail, many times a combination of these of course but the most common is sulfation. Sulfation is the process where the sulfur, that separates out of the acid as a normal process of a battery discharging, is let to crystallize by a lack of charging. The crystals are not reversible and the process is more accentuated at higher temperatures, as we see here.

Adding accessories such as GPS and radios and phone chargers etc will drain your battery at a higher level...when the bike is used for short distances the battery never really gets to be recharged properly and sitting over time at a lower charge will see sufation happening.

A similar issue is usually stratification (of the electrolyte / sulfuric acid) which will over time as a lack of charging (consistent low voltage and lack of use/cycling) settle at the bottom of the battery. This is reversible by turning the battery upsidedown and shacking it then recharging to a full charge and keep it on the charger for a couple of extra hours.

So before you run out and buy a new one try and see if a shake and charge will do...if not get a new one and since chances are it is a riding issue rather then a battery issue, hook to a trickle charger when you don't use it for a long time...and put a long ride in now and then.

 

[LUFC]

The battery on my CRF lasted only 9 months.
Honda stated the battery only has a 6 month / 5000k warranty.
What gives?

You're basically getting what you pay for.

No need for Honda to put in an expensive long life battery it wouldnt improve sales and would increase costs. It's in-line with the ethos of the rest of the bike, built to a price to sell lots of units.

You could probbaly increase battery life by using a trickle charger every so often.

A month ago I replaced the original battery on my BMW (car) after 9 years and 54,000km...just sayin.

 

[LivinLOS]

I have the same issue with my and my brothers DRZ's.. Legit DRZ battery imported 3 and a half grand.. POS local scooter battery.. 590 baht..

As my brothers bike end up sitting for months at a time.. Just buy the local batteries a few at a time.

 

[Loop]

I bought a small trickle charger back form Oz with me 5-6 years ago and regularly charge bike batteries here with it if they start to sound drained and usually get good life out of them.

My 4 1/2 yr old Honda Click still had the OEM battery in it when i sold it.

 

[TB-Racing]

I bought a small trickle charger back form Oz with me 5-6 years ago and regularly charge bike batteries here with it if they start to sound drained and usually get good life out of them.

Spot on ~ got various types of CTEK chargers www.ctek.com plugged in during storage on all motor vehicles from the Z50's over to motorbikes up to 4x4's, cars, vans, trucks.....

I've put lithium batteries in both my husky and ktm and they have never failed.
I've been using my first shorai lithium battery for about 2 and half years and it never showed any flaws. Of course it's overkill to put one of those in a crf-l but for a high perf bike it's really a must have mod.

Both my Jialing JH600 (solo / sidecar) have Ballistic Lithium-Ion batteries installed, no dramas....

 

[Captain_Slash]

The battery on my CRF lasted only 9 months.
Honda stated the battery only has a 6 month / 5000k warranty.
What gives?

That's more generous than what BMW Thailand give, with them its only 90 days warranty on a battery which is a giant piss take considering their high prices. How much did a new battery for the CRF cost?

 

[2wheels]

My CRF250L was purchased new in June 2012 and now has 14,000 kms on the clock and still has the original battery.
No long trips for too long, many short rides. Run the engine regularly when not on the road (although I'm told this doesn't actually charge the
battery until after about 30 minutes (?)
Must be lucky.
But now I'm worried!
Like the trickle feed idea.

 

[CRF Rainbow]

Local Honda dealer wanted 2200 baht and didn't have 1 in stock.
After giving them a mouthful about that and still not having a bike stand at dealership so they could service my bike properly - they offered the battery for 1500 (but would take 4 days to arrive from Bagkok).
Rode to Phitchet and bought aftermarket 1 for 620 bht.