Big Battery in Maxim 650

Finally had enough of wondering "will she or won't she start" on mornings where temp was low (under 16C or 60F), foggy conditions or cool and damp. Went to the Yammie dealer and from their stock, eye-balled a battery for fit in the parking lost with the side cover off (never do that again!). There was no direct interchange information on any hi-performance replacements, so I had to go with what was available and I am sure that some of the guys on this forum have found better ways to get better results without going as far as I did. However, for those out there who are like me and have the biggest baddest battery under the hood of their car, here is what I did.

First when I got home, pulled the old one and did a size comparison - that's when I knew I was in trouble. It was way big, would not fit the battery box and would not go into that box in the bike. So, my pea-brain decided that it was going in regardless because I was not going to waste the $114 it cost and get something smaller that may not satisfy.

Out came the battery box and after a lot more eye-balling and trial fitting, a chunk was taken out in the back corner that butts against the plastic fender. The battery was stuffed in and the whole thing crammed into the frame. Had to remove the air box top and filter so some "flexible space" was created (the box would deform to allow the box to clear) and presto, it popped in. The positive connection had to be re-bent to fit a slightly different post position and the connections were coated with dielectric grease. As the battery was so large, there is no way to thread the bottom box bolt so it was replaced with HD zip-ties. The retaining strap will be relocated soon...just made it work with a drilled hole in the box and a heavy wire hook.

One hit of the start button and BAM! it started with more gusto and with an immediacy I have never experienced before today. Even at -1C she starts "right now" and I have had the pleasure of riding in cool weather with confidence, knowing I will never be stranded again. Way cool!

Since I had trouble putting pictures in this post (how do you guys do that?!) check my gallery.

 

DO remember to fully charge the Battery BEFORE installing it.
Not doing so will reduce it's max rated capacity to 80% .. and shorten it's life significantly. Sadly True.. lotsa info available in this.

 

I've run into the same problem. Make sure the horizontal size is no bigger than 500 pixels, I think it is. Resize if necessary.

The error message is there, but it's not blatantly obvious.

 

The dealer fully charged the battery, knowing what I had put myself through. Thanks for the re-size tips. We'll see what can be done.

 

I think when you balance all the work you had to do to make the larger battery fit ... you would have save time and money ... just going over to SEARS and getting the DieHard they make for these Bike's.

Their top of the line ... fits like a glove ... with no hacksaw or parts removal Battery is only around $70.00

Your time was probably worth double that!

 

True that Rick!

 

True Rick...if we had a Sears in the area that did Automotive. The closest one to us is about 900 miles. And the catalogue store won't accept battery orders. Also figure in the US exchange rate at the time, duty, import fees and the hated HST tax and that $70US is no different than what I spent. Only took about 2 hours and an exacto knife...inconvenient but effective and it hasn't failed to fire in a week - 41 starts in a row on the first push, where I didn't get two before.

 

Whatever floats the boat!

Good for you and your ingenuity. A bike that starts-up, first-pop, is what it's all about.

They're no fun unless the wheels are going around on the bike's own power and not being pushed.