Been riding over Christmas, no drama, went to get on the bike tonight and there's nothing, no signs of life, it's on an Optimate when not being used, it's the original battery, I guess I've done alright? Any advice on a replacement.
As you appear to ride all year round, a Yuasa AGM, other makes of AGM batteries are available. An AGM battery is still a lead/acid chemistry but better than wet lead/acid. Your other alternative is a lithium chemistry battery which has weight and cold cranking amps advantages but cold weather drawbacks. Plenty of info on this forum. Andy
The std battery is AGM, at least on the 1260. Though if you're on the original then you've, as you say, done quite well. Halfords is where I got my recent replacement. About £60 with Halfords trade card IIRC.
Yes, I recently got my new Yasua battery in Halfords. It was the best price I could find, £61.99 without a trade card.
Thanks, this morning I thought I'd whip the old battery off and go get a new one, I had left the optimate on last night, two green lights this morning....I wonder? Started up first time, I tried it several times then on the main switch it didn't light up, not the battery at all but a dodgy connection, tried it ten more times and its fine, a squirt of WD40 may save the day, who knows?
If one or both of the battery terminals were loose then that would explain it. Have you owned the bike since new? If not do you know the battery history, i.e. has it been replaced previously. If not, as a 1200 DVT, the battery would be 10-8 years old by now. Replaced mine, after 6 years, early last year as a precaution before a European trip (where I wrote the bike off ). As to dating Yuasa batteries; there is a code on the top of their motorcycle batteries, though this is not logical and needs translating by them to ascertain the date of manufacture. A somewhat veiled move on their part. Apparently if you email Yuasa with a code they will let you know the date.
And always buy a Yuasa regardless of cheaper versions if only because they have captive nuts on the terminals.
Beware when buying batteries from Halfords; the last 2 Yuasas I bought there had been on their shelves for over 12 months. I returned the first one and they swapped it for a 3 month old one, no hassle. When I needed another battery, I checked in the box and IIRC, there’s a date stamp on the inner lid flap - that showed it was also 12+ months old…
It was the battery in the key fob, happy days, I may change the main battery but it appears to be fine, if I dont start the bike for a couple of weeks I'll use the Optimate. The one I took out had a best before 2023 so even that has exceeded expectations. Lets hope thats it.
want to replace my battery soon although I think its fine, just aged but always found Halfords best priced for yuasa too although toying with trying a shido lithium battery for the higher cranking amps and lightness is a bonus too. anyone fitted a lithium with higher cranking amps, has it helped these lazy turning twins!!
If my battery died, I'd be looking at a lithium upgrade, even if you do ride all year round. Unless you intend on leaving the bike out in the snow for days/weeks at a time, it'll be fine. The weight saving alone makes it an obvious choice.
Always rated Yuasa, oem battery was still going strong on my 11 year old 1198SP when I sold it, and still using the original on my, near 8 year old, 1260s. However the oem Yuasa on my V4 PP failed in under than 2 years, causing intermittent not-starting problems, Ducati "kindly" replaced it under warranty. Maybe things just ain't made like they used to be
