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Which Battery for my Airhead? Which Battery for my Airhead?
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Photo by Andy Miller, UK,
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  #1  
Old 11 Nov 2003
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Which Battery for my Airhead?
Ok, I need to replace my (stock) BMW battery before my RTW trip. I have to admit that the sealed batteries appeal to me because of the fact that the acid can't leak out in the case of a drop and they don't need regular maintenance. But I don't have any personal experience with these sealed batteries in my airhead.

Has anyone used one of the sealed batteries (e.g., Westco, Panasonic, Oddysey) in their airhead? Which model did you use? How was the fit - is it a direct replacement? How did the battery perform over time, in the cold, etc? Any unexpected problems with hard starts, loss of charge, or dead batteries?

Should I switch to the new AGM technology or stay with the proven BMW lead-acid battery?

Story
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  #2  
Old 11 Nov 2003
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It may depend on which BMW you have. ABS?
On my R100R I have a Westco that I put in on June, 8, 2000. That is 70,000 miles ago.
No problems so far. It is shorter so you may want to put a small block of wood in the tray. It is a little taller, I used hose clamps bolted down to the bottom of the battery tray. I put small sections of the rubber straps where the hose clamps cross the corners of the battery.
The connections are flat so you just twist the cables to make the connection.
John
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Old 11 Nov 2003
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I had a Hawker Odyssey battery fitted to my R100GS and it worked faultlessly. Cranking speed was quicker and starting was improved. I ran auxilliary lighting and other accessories for many hours and still had no problem starting. I have heard that a few people have had problems with these batteries (reports on this site somewhere, I think)

The model for the R100/80GS in the UK is PC545. It takes up alot less space in the battery tray than the original and some form of strap or bracket is needed to hold the battery in place. I used a number of cable ties, which worked fine, then had a bracket made.
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Old 11 Nov 2003
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I have a Hawker too. You forget the bike ever had a battery. Expensive, but worth it.
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Old 11 Nov 2003
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I to have a Odyssey battery (Hawker) in my G/S. Has been excellent. I recently had to run the bike home with no charging (light smashed). The battery ran the bike for almost 10 hours before running out! This sort of deep discharge would kill most batteries, but this one seems to be working fine after a good charging. Highly recommended, particularly for the G/S, which has a smaller battery.
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Old 18 Nov 2003
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Yes, the Hawker is excellent, i never have a problem starting, even on really cold days.

I also know someone who fitted a simialr battery to an R1100RS with an ABS problem. This made the ABS work correctly.
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Old 18 Dec 2003
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I fitted a hawker battery on my GS for my RTW trip. It has just failed 6 months into the trip, leaving me without a battery in mexico, looks like the terminal post had loosened due to the vibration from the bad roads. If your planning to travel save your money and stick with the standard battery.
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Old 23 Dec 2003
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That must be a different battery to the one i've been using, as mine doesn't actually have any terminal posts. Unusually, the leads sit on top of the battery, with a screw going down through them and clamping them in place.

I've been using one of these batteries for over 45,000 miles now - the original BMW battery died at 30,000.
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