New Battery Price Shock

My mistake, was $296 shipped to my door, but that is with a PP front and PR2 rear. The PR2 front looks like it would add $10 to that total. Their invoicing is a little confusing, the rear price includes the shipping but the front shipping was on a separate line. Either way, under $300 for the PR2/PP combo.

On the batteries, I believe the Westco just uses a different part # scheme, nothing to be concerned over, I have one in my VF and it's working fine. The ST1300 battery, the YTX14-BS, fits in the 5th gen and I think it would fit the 6th gen, it's just a little shorter but has higher CCA and amp-hour rating, at the expense of an additional pound or two of weight. I used a small piece of 1x wood under it to raise it up. Link: Interstate YTX14-BS Battery

 

I bought a GTX9BS from O'Reilly Auto Parts. A local chain here in OK, it was $48.99.

Fits in a 6th Gen great, its about 1/4" shorter than the YTZ12-S. Its the same length and width as the YTZ12-S also. Its a sealed AGM battery too. With the battery tender leads packed on top, it fits in the hole perfectly and the rubber band keeps it snug like it should.

 

Battery Search Update

Thank you to all who replied.For those who are interested I took all the great info from this thread and located a battery. Here's what I found. Hopefully it will save others some time with their search. Especially us deprived Canadians.

Wal-Mart and Sears in Canada don't carry a battery for the 2002+ Vfr. I brought
the part numbers provided here and they didn't know what they meant or how to order them or even give me a price.

The local auto part chains (equivalent to Pep-Boys or Autozone) only list up to 2001.

I found another independent dealer who wanted $150 for a PowerSport battery, made in China battery. Part number PTZ-12s.

Turning State-side

Autozone. They had a listing for the battery. Price $199. Plus the 25% exchange rate on the Canuk dollar.

Pep-Boys. No listing on their computer. He did refer me to a place called Battery Giant.

Battery Giant-Sealed AGM battery(made in China)-$56.83.:thumbsup:Even with the exchange rate I'll be ahead. My wife's visiting family in Michigan Thursday/Friday and I'll ask her to pick one up for me.

Moral of the story. Sometimes I wish I was an American:wink:

 

Michigan is helluva long way to go for a battery! Did you try just finding a battery with the same dimensions and post orientation that fits the bill instead of matching numbers? The Wal-mart you went to had a Tire/Lube place built in it right? If they did, they should have had the battery you need.

 

I've been looking for a battery for my '04 VFR and am looking at the WestCo 12V12A-BS for $82.95 and the Batteries Plus Xtreme Permaseal XTAZ12S for $77.39. The WestCo specs show 10ah and 175 CCA, the Batteries Plus specs are 11ah and 225 CCA. Both have one year warranties. The Batteries Plus model seems to be more powerful but I haven't heard any reviews on their brand. Does anyone have any experience with the Batteries Plus Xtreme Permaseal, good or bad?

Thanks,
Joe

 

This post turned into a rough-draft of my memoirs so I'd like to offer a summary-version here: My Yuasa YTZ14S no longer holds a charge so I bought a replacement. After much research, found a Scorpion YTZ14S from ::BatteryStuff.com:: for $68.00 and free shipping. Ordered yesterday, should be here in a few.

Specifications
DIMS: 6" x 3.44" x 4.38"
WT: 8.4 lbs
AH: 11.2 Amp/Hr
CCA: 230

Also purchased a Battery Tender Plus from ::Amazon.com:: for $40, also with free shipping.

$108 for a replacement YTZ14s and Battery Tender Plus. My checking account says "thank you", even if none of you do :biggrin:

Ok, back to my regularly-scheduled post:

Hello All,

You've heard the story before: After two years, my Yuasa YTZ14S has stopped holding a charge. The biggest difference with my tale is that I'm quite convinced that this failure is due to my own carelessness (used a trickle charger sans a float-charge mode. AGM batteries don't take well to being over-charged...).

My usual attention-to-detail towards my beloved VFR seems to have declined since changing jobs last year, which ended my required daily commute across the Bay Bridge.

Now, however, I'm determined to do better and have been researching the crap out of replacement battery options (and a different battery tender, of course). Naturally, I initially looked at buying another Yuasa but immediately threw my laptop across the room when current pricing showed ~$150. WTF? Sure, lead prices have been gradually increasing these past few months, as seen here, but compared to when I last purchased a Yuasa, it's actually down by 60%! Alas, this isn't a macroeconomics forum so I'll leave it at that.

Enter Option B: Aftermarket / Generic / Chinese battery. I read loads of posts and reviews on replacement Yuasa batteries and came to the conclusion that if the dimensions and specs closely matched my YTZ14S and if I took care to keep the thing correctly charged using a correct charger, I would be fine. Let's all pray (not really) that this is the case.

In the end, my decision was based purely on specs, price, and several positive reviews from other veteran riders. $68 for a Yuasa knock-off and $40 for a genuine Battery Tender Plus was exactly what I wanted. Ordered the battery yesterday and it looks like I should receive it by the end of the week. The tender is coming via Amazon's Super Saver Shipping so I'll probably get that one sometime in June :tongue:

Highs of 79 degrees in San Francisco this week - hope others are enjoying good riding weather.

Regards and apologies for the long post,
Lucien!

 

Batterymart.com is another good place to find batt's.