Well, Im a little irritated. Went to ride to work tonight, 55 degrees out (not that cold). Bike has sat since about 10 days ago. Click, click, click.

I thought its been cranking a little slow lately when sitting overnight. now I know why.

2 weeks ago the Battery voltage indicates 12.2 after sitting all night. right before start up. I was thinking that was a lil low, also. Didn't check it tonight, when it didn't start. No time.

Now I get to find out how hard it is to remove the bodywork, just to get access to plug in a charger. Damn, kinda pissed right now. at least Ill have the oppertunity to wire in my plugin for the battery tender, yay. :( .

Bike was bought may of this year, new 2012 14r with 2200 miles on it now. Anyone know the battery warranty? Should be covered right?

* Last updated by: rod442 on 9/27/2012 @ 10:57 PM *

Also, anyone know if its possible to wire in a connector to the fuse box thats underseat so I can charge the battery w/o removal of all the plastic? Seems like it shoould work ok.

Yes, I installed two female plugs one each at the bottom of the rear of the front fairing, it is almost out of sight, so I can keep a trickle charger plugged in if I am away from the bike for a long period.

I also bought the small lithium battery from Brock and you are supposed to be able to leave it unattended for about 3 months without charging and it will fire the bike right up.

Wire your female connectors directly to your battery, have an in-line fuse in place...direct wiring gives you better direct voltage to the battery without the juice going all around the bike..

Shortest distance between two points is always a straight line..

Something seems amiss here. You may have a drain in your electrical system. Do you have anything connected that might draw small current constantly?

Otherwise, if you are commuting regularly at the rate of maybe 500 miles a month, I would expect the battery to stay charged.

Definitely needs to be sorted by your dealer for possible charging problems or a drain or simply a bad battery, IMO.

Agree with Paul, bought mine in march and 2 out of 6 months of ownership the bike sat untouched
In other words it sat unridden in June and August, no problems starting on either occasions
And again recently sat for 2 weeks, finally was able to ride the other day.. Hit the button again no issues

OK. After getting the bodywork apart, which took 2.5 hours. The tank cover piece would NOT budge and slide forward after the upper covers were off and the bolts out. I should have tried spraying a little sillicone spray (or wd40) around it, so it would slip off; but I was out and didn't want to run to the store. came really close to breaking the damn thing. but I know its probably a 200 dollar piece of plastic, so I slowly worked it loose.

The problem, was the negative battery bolt was not tightened. positive side was nice and tight. Either the factory, or the dealer prep left it loose. I could see little witness marks where it had been arcing to make contact from time to time. This explains why I was getting the tank purge cycle (and hissing noise) when the bike was sitting for hours after riding. I would go outside to put the cover on, or get something from my tank bag and wiggle it enough that it would break connection and cycle the evap can. Thus killing the battery.

Charged it overnight, and this morning if it isn't raining, Ill put it back together. maybe Ill get a little lock washer for it, so it doesn't happen again. and now Ill wire in my pigtail for my tricklecharger, for the wintertime.

as for trying to jump the battery through the fuse panels under the seat, it doesn't work. I made a little wire that I could insert into the fuse panel; and I could get juice to turn the bike guages on, with the key off. But not enough to start it with a jump.

The plot thickens.

can anyone tell me how old this battery is? and is the correct battery for the 2012 a YTX14-BS?

reads RA25AJ-478171

* Last updated by: rod442 on 9/27/2012 @ 5:18 PM *

Contact the manufacturer they will tell you the day it was made.

Someone said this is the stock battery, my bike is brand new so havent looked yet

Ive emailed yuasa. I get to have fun with the dealer tomorrow. not. Funny, I didn't even notice untill I took it off the charger and was gonna put it back in. Now I have to see if its a new equivalent size, or I got screwed.

carabuser, I saw that pic online. I dont have a stock battery in mine. Its got wings.

* Last updated by: rod442 on 9/27/2012 @ 10:56 PM *

Wait, didnt you buy the bike new from the dealer ? if so, why didnt it have the stock battery ? the Yuasa is a good battery, just saying .....

It is possible this is the battery for our bikes. I have a 2010 ZX-14, went and checked my battery today. My battery is also a YTX14-BS. The battery code reads, RA19MH-478171-CH

There are times my bike sits for a week and a half, sometimes two weeks. So far I never had any issues with mine.

Kofla

NINJA ZX-14 MotoVlog

Yes, I bought it new. 2012 14r. under 1 mile on it when I picked it up.

Who puts the battery in when they prep them? dealer, right?

That may be the correct stock size for the older zx14, and yuasa lists it for the 2012. Other people have posted pics of the '12 battery and its a furukawa FTX14-bs like listed above.

But, I BET that kawasaki doesn't buy HONDA batteries to put in their motorcycles. (look closer aT THE FULL PIC OF THE YUASA) nice honda wing, and letters on there.

It may not be that big of a deal. prep guy at the dealer grabbed the wrong battery, or just took whatever was on the charger to use. as long as it meets the specs, and is of appropriate age, so what?

The battery I was given, was made in January of this year. Bike was built in (november?, I want to say) of last fall. So thats OK. and the yuasa is a 14ah vs the 12ah FTX14-bs. What I cant find is the cca rating of the fujukawi. The yuasa is 200 cca's.

The kicker is, the yuasa might be bad. After charging all night, I tested it at work and one machine; that said it was bad (the newer more accurate tester). the other, handheld quick tester; said good low charge. which makes sense, since I had just load tested it. so do I trust it?

Wonder if the dealers gonna believe me if I carry it in, and ask for a new one. I didn't feel like dealing with them today. But a trip down there is in order, saturday.

* Last updated by: rod442 on 9/28/2012 @ 11:51 PM *

According to a Yuasa site, "Yuasa is the preferred original equipment supplier to many of these same markets".

This battery is listed to be used on almost all the other brands. I may be wrong, but I don't think having a Honda, Suzuki, or Yamaha logo on the battery cover means much as long as is a YTX14-BS. It is possible your battery is bad and may need to be replaced.

Kofla

Vehicles that YTX14-BS works in:
Aprilia 1000cc ETV Capo Nord (2002-2003)
Aprilia 1000cc SL 1000 Falco (2000-2003)
Aprilia 750cc Dorsoduro (2009-2011)
Aprilia 750cc Shiver (2009-2011)
Aprilia 850cc MANA850 (2009-2011)
BMW F650 CS, GS, ST, Dakar (2008-2010)
BMW F800ST, GS (2009-2011)
BMW HP2 Sport, Megamoto 2011
BMW K1200R, S (2005-2009)
BMW K1200RS (2006-2009)
BMW K1300R, S (2009-2011)
BMW R1200GS, S, R (2005-2011)
Ducati 1098 early 07 2007
Honda 1100cc CBR1100XX (1997-2000)
Honda 1100cc ST1100, ABS TCS, 1100A (1991-2002)
Honda 1100cc VT1100C, C3, T Shadow (Spirit, Aero, A.C.E. Tourer) (2001-2007)
Honda 1100cc VT1100C2 Shadow Sabre (2000-2007)
Honda 1200cc VFR1200F 2011
Honda 1300cc VT1300C, S Retro (2003-2011)
Honda 1300cc VTX1300C, R, S Retro (2003-2010)
Honda 1500cc GL1500 Valkyrie (1997-2003)
Honda 300cc TRX FW FourTrax 300 4x4 (1988-2000)
Honda 300cc TRX300 FourTrax (1988-2000)
Honda 350cc TRX D FourTrax 4x4 (1986-1989)
Honda 350cc TRX Rancher (2000-2006)
Honda 400cc FL400R Pilot (1989-1990)
Honda 400cc TRX Rancher AT (2004-2006)
Honda 400cc TRX400 FW Foreman (1995-2003)
Honda 420cc TRX420 Fourtrax Rancher 4x4 2011
Honda 420cc TRX420 Rancher 4x4 (2008-2009)
Honda 450cc TRX FourTrax Foreman S, ES (1998-2004)
Honda 500cc TRX500 FE, FM, TM FourTrax Forman ES, 4x4 (2005-2011)
Honda 500cc TRX500FA, FourTrax Rubicon (2001-2011)
Honda 650cc FourTrax Rincon TRX (2003-2005)
Honda 700cc MUV700 Big Red (2008-2011)
Honda 750cc VT750C Shadow (1998-2000)
Honda 750cc VT750CD, CD2 Shadow Deluxe (1998-2002)
Honda 750cc VT750CDA, B, C, D Shadow A. C. E. Deluxe (2002-2003)
Husqvarna 400cc TE410 (2000-2001)
Husqvarna 580cc SM610S 2007
Husqvarna 580cc TE610 (1996-2006)
Husqvarna 580cc TE610, SM610 (2000-2001)
Hyosung GT 250, R (2009-2011)
Hyosung GT650, R, S (2009-2011)
Kawasaki 1100cc ZRX1100 (1999-2000)
Kawasaki 1100cc ZX1100-D Ninja ZX-11 (1995-2001)
Kawasaki 1100cc ZX1100-D Ninja ZX-11 (CN) (1993-1994)
Kawasaki 1100cc ZX1100-E (GPz1100), ABS (1995-1997)
Kawasaki 1200cc ZRX1200R (2001-2005)
Kawasaki 1200cc ZX-12R (2000-2005)
Kawasaki 1200cc ZZR1200 (2002-2005)
Kawasaki 1400cc ZG 1400 Concours (2008-2011)
Kawasaki 1400cc ZX14 Ninja (2006-2011)
Kawasaki 400cc KVF400-C Prairie 400 4x4 (CN) (1999-2002)
Kawasaki 400cc KVF400-D Prairie 400, 4x4 (CN) (1999-2001)
Kawasaki 650cc 4x4 Advantage Classic (2002-2003)
Kawasaki 650cc KVF650 Brute Force (2002-2011)
Kawasaki 650cc W650 (2000-2002)
Kawasaki 700cc KFX700 (2003-2011)
Kawasaki 700cc KFX700 V-Force (2003-2004)
Kawasaki 700cc KSF700-A,B (KFX700) (2004-2008)
Kawasaki 700cc KVF650-A,B,D,E Prairie 650 4x4 (2002-2008)
Kawasaki 700cc KVF700-A,B,D Prairie 700, 4x4 (2004-2006)
Kawasaki 750cc KVF750 Brute Force (2005-2011)
Kawasaki 800cc VN800-A,B,C, E Vulcan, Classic, Drifter (1995-2003)
Kymco 500cc Xciting 500i (2009-2011)
Motocross by Yuasa
Piaggio - Gilera 125cc Runner 125 (2010-2011)
Piaggio - Gilera 300cc Nexus 300ie (2010-2011)
Piaggio 250cc BV250 (2008-2011)
Piaggio 250cc MP3 250 (2008-2011)
Piaggio 400cc MP3 400 (2008-2011)
Piaggio 460cc X9 2009
Piaggio 500cc BV500 (2008-2011)
Piaggio 500cc MP3 500 (2008-2011)
Suzuki 1000cc DL1000 V-Strom (2002-2011)
Suzuki 1000cc SV1000, S (2003-2007)
Suzuki 1100cc GSX1100G (1991-1993)
Suzuki 400cc LT-A400 Eiger 2WD, F Eiger 4WD (2002-2007)
Suzuki 400cc LT-A400 King Quad (2010-2011)
Suzuki 400cc LT-A400F King Quad 2009
Suzuki 400cc LT-F400 Eiger 2WD, F Eiger 4WD (2002-2007)
Suzuki 450cc LT-A450X King Quad (2007-2011)
Suzuki 650cc AN650 Burgman (2003-2011)
Suzuki 700cc LT-V700F Twin Peaks (2004-2005)
Triumph 1200cc Trophy (2000-2004)
Triumph 900cc Tiger (1999-2001)
Triumph 955cc Daytona 955i, Speed Triple, Sprint ST (1999-2004)
Triumph 955cc Sprint RS (2000-2004)
Triumph 955cc Tiger (2002-2006)
Vespa (Piaggio) 250cc BV250 (2008-2009)
Vespa (Piaggio) 250cc GTS250 2010
Vespa (Piaggio) 250cc GTV250 2010
Vespa (Piaggio) 250cc MP3 250 (2008-2009)
Vespa (Piaggio) 300cc GTS300 (2010-2011)
Vespa (Piaggio) 400cc MP3 400 (2008-2009)
Vespa (Piaggio) 460cc X9 2009
Vespa (Piaggio) 500cc BV500 (2008-2009)
Vespa (Piaggio) 500cc MP3 500 (2008-2009)
Yamaha 1000cc Apex (2006-2009)
Yamaha 1000cc FZR1000 (1991-1995)
Yamaha 1000cc GTS1000 (1993-1994)
Yamaha 1000cc YZF1000R 1997
Yamaha 1200cc FJ1200 (1991-1993)
Yamaha 500cc Phazer All Years
Yamaha 500cc Venture Lite All Years
Yamaha 660cc YFM660R Raptor (2001-2005)
Yamaha 998 Apex (2006-2009)

NINJA ZX-14 MotoVlog

* Last updated by: KoflaOlivieri on 9/29/2012 @ 9:11 AM *

Just say screw it, spend $160 and get a 12cell Li-ion battery...no more worries and under 2.5lbs (10lbs lighter than stock). My Ballistic evo has enough CCAs to start my car. Spend a bit more, say goodbye to power worries...

This one ?

* Last updated by: carabuser on 9/29/2012 @ 12:05 PM *

Yep, picked one up a month or so ago...simply amazing!

When its time for a battery, I am getting one, man that thing is like a feather compared to the stock one !

Ballistic Batteries do not require regular maintenance charging and will only lose less than 10% of their total charge over a (12) month period of static use.

* Last updated by: carabuser on 9/29/2012 @ 3:02 PM *

"Just say screw it, spend $160 and get a 12cell Li-ion battery...no more worries and under 2.5lbs (10lbs lighter than stock). My Ballistic evo has enough CCAs to start my car. Spend a bit more, say goodbye to power worries..."

The Li-Ion battery may be superior but I'd say to hell with that! The bike is virtually BRAND NEW so a bad battery is the dealer's problem. rod442 should not spend 1 penny on a replacement IMO.

Agreed, pegscraper. new bike, no way was I paying one red cent for a battery.

1st thing, it wasn't necessarily my dealer's fault. They explained that to get me a blue 14r, it had come from another dealer. So, that dealer had prepped the bike, and put in an acceptable; but not OEM battery. I had forgotten that I had to delay my pickup by a couple days since they were getting this bike ordered in.

AND they took care of me, no questions asked. All I had to do was take the battery down to them (loose), and they replaced it ON THE SPOT. Thats customer service.

Now, the battery they gave me, was the SAME Yuasa YTX14-bs. Which is all they order in that size. They explained that they get better prices on the yuasa's. I have no problem with that. plus its got a bit more reserve, since its a 14ah rating, instead of the 12ah.

So, after a reassembly and only having one extra bolt; shes back together and good to go. Now, where does that bolt go? lol.