Need to install a new battery

Subject motorcycle: VFR 8th gen.

Question: The OEM battery still cranks at 5 years old. I feel like I'm riding in the middle nowhere on borrowed time and don't want to get stranded where there is no help. So, new battery is in order.

Question: When installing a new battery on an 8th gen., can one just take the cables off the old one and install them on the new one or is it necessary to keep electrical power on the bike while in the process of going from old battery to new one? I don't want to lose data from the clock, odometer, and other places and data on the dash.

No, electricity is not something I know or understand well. Thank you.

 

I have gotten 10 years out of a bike battery, and it was still working. Depends on how well it was charged and stored in the off season. I always kept it in the bike, in the garage, on a battery tender.
You will loose the clock when you swap.
Disconnect the - first then the +.
Connect the + first then the -.

 

Just think of all the low mileage cars, trucks, and motos there would be for sale, if the odo reset every time you disconnected the battery. Resetting the clock is a 2 minute process. Always used lithium batteries. Always pull them out to charge, always did it in a place where if it caught on fire, it wouldn't have anything to burn but itself. Just in case.

 

JMO, but if your battery is still showing good voltage, and the bike is outputting good
voltage from the R/R and alternator, then it's unlikely that your battery will strand you
anywhere. OTOH if you're showing less than 12.5 V at rest, engine not running and ignition
off, then a new battery might not be a bad idea.

Even if the battery gets too low to start the bike, you can bump start and ride to the nearest
Wally World and replace it for not that much money. If you're planning a long cross-country
trip, especially out west where the distances between things is farther, then you'd probably
be better off to replace it before you left.

 

Sorry, Thats bad info.

When the battery gets below either 10.5v or 9.7v - can't remember exact number, then the ECU will NOT fire the injectors. At that time all the pushing in the world won't help you.

 

Thanks for the correction.

 

Thanks for all the info.

I will replace it, if for nothing else, for peace of mind. I REALLY ride in the middle of nowhere....like FAR from other people. I ride partially to get away from the insanity in this world. If I'm alone, at most, I'm near only one insane person......