Parts you regret buying

Odyssey is a great battery, they get ALL the money for them. The battle-ready steel wrapper has seemed like overkill for my motorcycle adventures. Did I see they are now available without the armor?[/quote]

By 'steel wrapper' you don't mean the 'hold down kit' that they sell as an accessory do you?

Mine is only plastic, if it wasn't bright orange it would look like any 'normal' battery !!

Neither of my Odessy batteries are armored.
I use the bright orange PC310 in my injected bike and the large PC625 in my e-start.
The 625 is a snug fit after filing off some of the fins to get it in the original tray but I could jumpstart my car from it if needed. Jim

Ahhhhhh.... I see the metal jackets are now OPTIONAL, as shown in the notes at the bottom of this page: http://www.odysseybattery.com/extreme_b ... specs.aspx

Good move Odyssey!

The metal jacket gives a higher operational temp, 176F up from 113F.
I jus thought it made them physically too big.

Seeley920 said:

andychain said:

As I have said in other posts most dealers only want max profit and unfortunately quality
considerations are low on the list of priorities.



I know a good Triumph guy but not a Norton one.



Andy

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Mick Hemmings

I won't deal with anyone else

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In the UK, probably right. In the US, we have Old Britts, CNW, Rocky Point, and an embarassment of riches in other quality, reliable vendors. C'mon over, the colony is doing fine (in this regard at least...!)

Fast Eddie said:

concours said:

Nater_Potater said:

As a follow-up to the "failed" Wassell stator, after much poking and prodding, it's a failing AGM battery! Open-cell voltage sitting on the bench after a charge is 13.1 (right about where it should be), the system reads around 13.8 @3000 rpm with the headlight on, then, with the headlight on and the engine at idle, all goes to hell. Sure, the charging system won't float everything at idle, but the battery had been carrying it through these low-rpm moments, just as it should. Until now. A load test of the battery shows about zero capacity.

I just replaced the battery in the ol' H***da last week. It was a conventional lead-acid, and the date inscribed on top is 10/08. That's six years of trouble-free operation, and it's electric-start only. I got eight years out of the prior battery!

I'm thinking of putting the Wassell back in, warts and all, and screw the AGM! It's conventional battery next spring for me.

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Like EVERYTHING else today, there are good quality and also low-rent shat. AGM technology is not at fault here. What brand of battery?

Here is a good one: http://www.dekabatteries.com/assets/base/0278.pdf

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Ive had an Oddessey battery fitted to my Vincent for 7 years. Vincents don't charge well at low revs, and they're not exactly a rev monster of a bike, so batteries are 'a topic of conversation'.

I wrote a thread about my Vin a while back, its been a problamatic relationship... In the 7 years since the battery was fiited it has stood idle for long periods and it was even on the bike when it caught fire!

So, the battery is 7 years old... it is (i think) the smallest they did at the time... has only done approx 3,000 miles in all that time... and has NEVER been put on a charger... and is still going strong.

I have a Shoria on the Commando as I like the low weight. If it give me any grief, I'll be using an Oddessey.

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Eddie - I'll be interested in your experience and take on the Shorai. I'm a big fan of LiFePO batteries but have had poor luck with them in my Commando. According to the Ballistic Performance tech I recently spoke to, that's because these batteries don't tolerate positive ground systems well (for reasons I don't purport to understand).

My Odessy just croaked after 7 years of faithful service , Just purchased an ELIMINATOR A.G.M. from Cdn. tire for $ 124.95. Will report back in ? yrs.?

Torontonian said:

My Odessy just croaked after 7 years of faithful service , Just purchased an ELIMINATOR A.G.M. from Cdn. tire for $ 124.95. Will report back in ? yrs.?

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]]&
I'm not happy to hear that, unless you're a much tougher user than I am. I routinely get 7-8 years out of the original lead-acid batteries on my bikes. My only variance from perhaps what others do is that I'm pretty religious on keeping batteries on trickle chargers when in the garage.

BrianK said:

Eddie - I'll be interested in your experience and take on the Shorai. I'm a big fan of LiFePO batteries but have had poor luck with them in my Commando. According to the Ballistic Performance tech I recently spoke to, that's because these batteries don't tolerate positive ground systems well (for reasons I don't purport to understand).

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I would call BS on that one. The battery has no way of knowing if it is connected positive ground or negative ground.

Lifepo batteries are borderline in a Commando because the charging voltage is simply not high enough to keep them fully charged with a 55 watt headlight on. If you use their specific charger between rides they work fine. Jim

I would love to come over to both USA and OZ as there is so much bullshit being spread
about chain.

I regularly send chain overseas and I am amazed that even with postal costs it is sometimes
cheaper than the crap bring offered.

At my age 65 ish, it would not be wise to up sticks and relocate and the rules regarding
working in OZ and USA are a bit strict. My offer of many clubs joining forces to get me over
for a week of chain talks was genuine but to clue somebody up with my 40+ years of
knowledge would be difficult to say the least.

In anycase I am available to help anybody via e-mail and anybody visiting the UK is welcome
to my place to get bored to death on chain.

Andy

andychain said:

I would love to come over to both USA and OZ as there is so much bullshit being spread
about chain.

I regularly send chain overseas and I am amazed that even with postal costs it is sometimes
cheaper than the crap bring offered.

At my age 65 ish, it would not be wise to up sticks and relocate and the rules regarding
working in OZ and USA are a bit strict. My offer of many clubs joining forces to get me over
for a week of chain talks was genuine but to clue somebody up with my 40+ years of
knowledge would be difficult to say the least.

In anycase I am available to help anybody via e-mail and anybody visiting the UK is welcome
to my place to get bored to death on chain.

Andy

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Andy, I thought of you this week, as I worked on this rusted, gummed up pile of junk (Tsubaki made) chain. Do you do much industrial stuff?

Its all industrial based.

Renold only made industrial but it was a bloody good industrial chain, Hans Renold
coined the term precision roller chain, typically 1/3 above DIN. Unfortunately DIN
is met by even the crapiest of product. The iwis I sell is like the old Renold but in
fact better as it has a chromised pin and still has a breaking load about 1/3 above
the norm. As bikes dont break chain thats not much of a pointer but it does prove
the build quality.

Modern industry has driven the price of product down to a point where not only
the base material is low in quality but the general build is also lower.

We should not get sucked in by the DIN specs as it really does not show true quality.

Andy

Care to elaborate on this one?[/quote]
the rings stop the nut from coming off but dont stop the nut from coming loose so it chatters the thread away as you ride ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,baz[/quote]

I noticed that also. I use safety wire instead.[/quote]

IF you mount the lockrings correctly they are as good as lockwire. Tighten the exhaust nuts, then make sure you have one of the tabs wedged hard against the direction you are tightening from, don't just drop the two tabs into convenient slots. It may involve tightening just a little more, just make sure you have to tap that tab in with a small cold chisel. Why should lockwire be superior? Sure ,you twist it up, but once you have done that , there is no "elasticity" if you like, pulling that ring tight. It's a fixed length, and nut can still rattle as the gasket(s) underneath compress. Used the rings as long as I've had the bike, and nary a problem.
Progressive fork springs? A good replacement for my saggy originals in the Mk111, just a matter of getting the right weight of fork oil.

A 13 inch Norvil disc for reasons why read my thread.

New Norvil disc center thinner than old ????

Toppy, You got off lightly..........I've had three of the shite things, with one kept hanging on my garage wall as a reminder not to shop there again ! His belt drive wasn't much better (mk3) with the cheap anodised side plates on the front pulley, where one eventually fails leading to disaster.

ranmar850 said:

Care to elaborate on this one?

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the rings stop the nut from coming off but dont stop the nut from coming loose so it chatters the thread away as you ride ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,baz[/quote]

I noticed that also. I use safety wire instead.[/quote]

IF you mount the lockrings correctly they are as good as lockwire. Tighten the exhaust nuts, then make sure you have one of the tabs wedged hard against the direction you are tightening from, don't just drop the two tabs into convenient slots. It may involve tightening just a little more, just make sure you have to tap that tab in with a small cold chisel. Why should lockwire be superior? Sure ,you twist it up, but once you have done that , there is no "elasticity" if you like, pulling that ring tight. It's a fixed length, and nut can still rattle as the gasket(s) underneath compress. Used the rings as long as I've had the bike, and nary a problem.
Progressive fork springs? A good replacement for my saggy originals in the Mk111, just a matter of getting the right weight of fork oil.[/quote]

Like wise. There is nothing wrong with the lockring. I have heard some complaining about it jingling. That is because it is not fitted right. I put a curve in mine so that when the nuts are tightened, the ring is held firmly before the tabs are bent over [ and bent over just as described above. ]
Dereck