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[skorch]

Whatever-just sayin' that the 7 Harleys I have had,the life of them was 6-7 years . Do not care who makes them-just go from experience.

You really shouldn't blindly believe what the typical Harley dealership employee says.  Interstate is just a brand name, not a manufacturer.  For instance, Johnson Controls actually manufactures the Interstate branded automotive batteries, along with a gazillion other brand names.  If you can ever finagle an actual tour of one of their plants you will see many different names and labels being applied to the batteries as they roll down the conveyor lines.

Jerry

[grc]

Whatever-just sayin' that the 7 Harleys I have had,the life of them was 6-7 years . Do not care who makes them-just go from experience.

That was my experience as well up until recently, 5-6 years.  The last two from Harley have done much worse, one suffering a complete internal failure after two years, and the next becoming weak enough to be replaced after about 2.5 years.  Based on my results plus all the reports I've been reading over the past couple years, I think the "average" battery life of the Harley battery has been in an inverse relationship to the price they charge.  The price goes up significantly, and the quality goes down.  It's a great way to make more money if you have loyal customers who just keep coming back regardless.

Jerry

[HILLSIDECYCLE.COM]

The guys that really know and don't want to post up.  Don't post up about knowing and how they wont post.  They just don't.

I don't pretend to understand that...........

[Spiderman]

My 07 Road Glide went from delivery in Sept 06 to the spring of 2013 on the OEM battery.
Pretty much every new H-D I've ever bought has been the same. I don't pretend to know all these fancy scientific theories about which battery has less or more of this or that, I am just going on experience. Right now the RG has a battery from a local shop called Ed's Batteries. No idea what the brand is as I think it's a generic. I've had good lukc with Ed's in my boats so being about 1/2 the cost of an OEM I went with Ed's. I know people that love Ed's and people that hate them. Again, no scientific theories from me.

Batteries in general. During a lifetime (60yrs old) of having things that needed batteries to make starters start the motor two stand out. A Diehard battery in a John Deere that is 10 yrs old and going strong. And a cheap $49 WalMart battery my daughter bought for her 93 Explorer in 2006 that is still in the vehicle and starts right up every spring after sitting in a barn in Maine all winter untended. Go figure.

That's all I got

B B

[skreminegul07]

I've had great luck with the HD batteries.  2006 Street Glide, I just replaced with the DEKA after research.  I thought it sounded like it was going to give it up, so I replaced it before getting stuck.  $100 delivered from Amazon.  You can't beat that.
My 2000 Deuce battery lasted over 10 years, the FXR4 lasted 12 years.

[Classic Beast]

6 years on an interstate battery, the stock hd battery on my 2012 died after one year they replaced it under warranty.

[skreminegul07]

I've heard that the recent HD batteries are not as good as they were , so I went another route, albeit maybe the same source only cheaper.

[Aussie]

My Custom Fatboy (std twin cam) battery has died after 8 years, always left on the battery tender.
Now its time for a replacement, I have been told a genuine HD battery has 315 CCA. I can get a non genuine (Super Charge) battery locally with 440 CCA.
Would the extra CCA effect anything electronic or mechanical?

[GMR-PERFORMANCE]

This post is like two years old. So in that time many things have changed. I have since switched over the the Twin power Lithium Ion batterys.

Last longer, weigh less. In a bagger the battery can be a mother to get out. many times the silly strap is broke and the tool to pull them are a bit large to get onto the battery.

High CCA will spin over the largest engine with ease. The bagger version is putting out 625 CCA yes that is not a typo . They have used these batter to start cars with.
Price is the offset but two years on avg for a battery from HD or Deka . they work sure . your choice on cost and replacement times

[Para Bellum]

I can get a non genuine (Super Charge) battery locally with 440 CCA.
Would the extra CCA effect anything electronic or mechanical?

The extra CCA will not cause any problems since the starter just draws the amount of current it needs.  Don't know if the Australian battery manufacturers use the same standards as here in the States (but not all manufacturers in US adhere to the standards anyway), so make sure they're using the same standards as the big-name makers and they're comparing the same size battery--at some point, making more CCAs requires a larger battery.

[SDCVO]

This post is like two years old. So in that time many things have changed. I have since switched over the the Twin power Lithium Ion batterys.

Last longer, weigh less. In a bagger the battery can be a mother to get out. many times the silly strap is broke and the tool to pull them are a bit large to get onto the battery.

High CCA will spin over the largest engine with ease. The bagger version is putting out 625 CCA yes that is not a typo . They have used these batter to start cars with.
Price is the offset but two years on avg for a battery from HD or Deka . they work sure . your choice on cost and replacement times

As I have posted before I got a Antigravity LI battery a couple of years ago for my 124 and I still love it. Turns the motor over insanely fast making it start like a Honda. As soon as I need to replace the stock battery on my new bike (which unfortunately won't take long) I will be putting a LI battery in.

[HarleyStud]

 I ride year round in Iowa and I had to go back to work after my '15 C.V.O. Ultra Limited didn't start in 12* temperature, the guard let me plug in my trickle charger.  After letting it charge for a few hours I went back and it started right up.  I always hook it up to the charger after I get back home.  Suppose to be below zero temps next week and want to ride and not be stranded.  I'm thinking I want the best battery with the most cold cranking amps that is compatible with my bike. What are your recommendation? Thanks,  Chris

[coloradotom]

A word of caution on these lithium batteries. When they fail, you are DONE. Stranded. Stuck. Fd over.

The vibrations do it in, and the bike will 'cut out' hitting bumps and that is your warning. I stopped at a dealer after the cutting out issue on bumps and the bike threw no codes whatsoever. A day later stopped for gas - click click click nothing. So I jumped the bike and as soon as the cables came off, it shut off. Of course it went bad with no HD for a day in any direction in the bustling metropolis of Mattice, Ontario so I wound up having to get a lawnmower battery and had to jump it every gas stop for two days until Montreal.

It is a good thing they weigh so much less because when they screw you over, you can throw them pretty far....

[Joel]

Sounds like you should also put on a block heater.

[ultrafxr]

A word of caution on these lithium batteries. When they fail, you are DONE. Stranded. Stuck. Fd over.

The vibrations do it in, and the bike will 'cut out' hitting bumps and that is your warning. I stopped at a dealer after the cutting out issue on bumps and the bike threw no codes whatsoever. A day later stopped for gas - click click click nothing. So I jumped the bike and as soon as the cables came off, it shut off. Of course it went bad with no HD for a day in any direction in the bustling metropolis of Mattice, Ontario so I wound up having to get a lawnmower battery and had to jump it every gas stop for two days until Montreal.

It is a good thing they weigh so much less because when they screw you over, you can throw them pretty far....

Last year a friend bought a Battery Tender brand LI battery.  Raved about how great it was and how fast it spun the motor for a quick start.  And it was and it did for a couple months then it just died like yours.  BT did replace it but I'm thinking these LI vehicle batteries are not quite ready for prime time.  I'll stick with the old AGM battery for a while.