Electronics » BMW Garbage Batteries

2020 R1250RS, 18 months old, 4800 miles. Have the bike on an Optimate charger every few weeks. Went to get gas this morning, Bike started immediately and showed 14.2 volts. I rode 7 miles to the gas station at 60mph. After fueling, the bike would not start. My vehicle showed 11.4 volts.

Luckily I had one of those small battery packs at home which my wife brought out. Easy to jump.

I had the same problem with my S1000rr at about the same time and mileage. So keep battery life in mind. I'm sure my battery is shot so a trip to the dealer for sure.

Are they still fitting the 'mini-me' battery versions that my 1200RS came with?
Bit like children's christmas remote control toys - "small battery is for test purposes only" (aa/aaa battery in a C type battery case)
How are they still allowed to OE an item so 'at the limit' compared to the full size replacement?
Although my mini version from march 2017 did last 4 years but always on the bmw battery tender when locked away, as per owners manual!
Needed a mains connection to stop the alarm from draining the battery

Zitat von Dave H im Beitrag #2

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Are they still fitting the 'mini-me' battery versions that my 1200RS came with?
.... Needed a mains connection to stop the alarm from draining the battery

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Obviously "everyone" with an alarm, as insurance company will confirm, if they are policy recorded then they will be set 'on' when parked?
Never known a bike disappear when 'not alarmed' and a claim filled in as alarm not set, Unless someone knows differently?
I think the bmw alarm runs for about 7 days and then hibernates, either way I keep both bikes on their battery monitors.
One is the bmw, other on the optimate.
Now also run a charge through the car battery every few months due to covid/low mileage last 18 months.

Mini batteries - you will see a plastic spacer underneath the original battery that needs removing so a full size battery will fit.
Not sure you can even order the OE smaller battery but I guess bmw save money on every smaller unit fitted.

Puny batteries are an easy way to save weight on a performance model. At least BMW gives us a styrofoam spacer that allows a larger replacement…

Too bad. That sucks. This seems to be a hot, dinner-conversation topic here.
I'm making a sweeping generalization, but from reading, it's almost like the batteries that get shipped to our UK pals are 4-5-6 year service life as one would expect, but those shipped to the US, at least, are spotty.
Mine gave problems after a year I would say, and then left me stranded at about 2.5 years. My experience is that they can be junk.
I bought an O'Reilly's chain Superstart AGM. I haven't had a problem, and it's going on 2 years, very light riding, lots of sitting and short local trips.

Zitat von basskleff im Beitrag #6

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Too bad. That sucks. This seems to be a hot, dinner-conversation topic here.
I'm making a sweeping generalization, but from reading, it's almost like the batteries that get shipped to our UK pals are 4-5-6 year service life as one would expect, but those shipped to the US, at least, are spotty.
Mine gave problems after a year I would say, and then left me stranded at about 2.5 years. My experience is that they can be junk.
I bought an O'Reilly's chain Superstart AGM. I haven't had a problem, and it's going on 2 years, very light riding, lots of sitting and short local trips.

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Zitat von Grumpy Goat im Beitrag #9

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I guess that must be in the UK market. My bike came with a full size Exide battery, i.e. no spacer. Snugly fits in the space.

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Any of you replacing sealed lead acid with lithium iron phosphate equivalents? Typically 1/3rd the weight, lower discharge when off (1% loss per month vs 15%), and less loss when cold (10% loss vs 50% @ 32 F).

Zitat von wessie im Beitrag #8

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Zitat von basskleff im Beitrag #6

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Too bad. That sucks. This seems to be a hot, dinner-conversation topic here.
I'm making a sweeping generalization, but from reading, it's almost like the batteries that get shipped to our UK pals are 4-5-6 year service life as one would expect, but those shipped to the US, at least, are spotty.
Mine gave problems after a year I would say, and then left me stranded at about 2.5 years. My experience is that they can be junk.
I bought an O'Reilly's chain Superstart AGM. I haven't had a problem, and it's going on 2 years, very light riding, lots of sitting and short local trips.

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maybe bikes are shipped to the USA without a battery due to some sort or import regulation or shipping condition and the US importer buys an inferior battery compared to the, typically, Exide item we get in Europe? My RS battery is 5 years old and my S1000XR battery lasted over 4 years.

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I just replaced another battery for the third time in my 2020 KTM 390 Duke. The first two wouldn't hold a charge after a few months. The original Indian-manufactured Exide battery wasn't charged by the dealer and got charged on the ride home by the bike's charging system. It could be charged to 13.3 volts when connected to my Battery Tender Plus but would drop to only 12.1 volts within 24 hours after being charged. The next battery was a Yuasa brand bought from Battery Stuff and it arrived showing only 12.4 volts, I just replaced it when it started to drop to 11.8 volts within 24 hours after being fully charged. In both cases I believe that the batteries had been sitting on a shelf for too long without being charged. The first one when on its way from India and the second one just sitting around in a warehouse too long. All of my new batteries are first placed on a battery maintainer when I receive them if possible.

I just bought a replacement YTX9-BS AGM battery sourced from ExpertPower off of Amazon for only $29 (free Priority shipping via USPS). It arrived in only 3 days and was showing 13.1 volts. Two days later my voltmeter shows 13.0 volts. That is the highest battery voltage that I have ever seen from a new motorcycle battery at rest. My guess is that I lucked out and got a fresh battery and not one that took a trip on a slow boat from China and then sat in a warehouse for months. Either that or the selling dealer first charges them up before shipping their batteries to the customer.