Richard's ST2 pages - battery

Information on this page last updated 02/16/02.

After almost two years of commuting on the ST2 (lots of short trips) the original battery was showing signs of wear in that it would not hold a charge very well. While troubleshooting this I went through all of the battery and starter connections and noticed that I had some corrosion, you may want to check that as it could cause both slow charging and low current to the starter. If that is the case then hopefully cleaning up the connections will improve the situation. But in my case a new battery was in order.

The original is a Yuasa YB16AL-A2, a special thin battery common the the ST2/4, 916, and 996 designed to fit under the fairing on the side of the engine. I priced these at local shops and the going rate was just under $90 US so I decided to try a Champion brand replacement from Auto Zone at a more reasonable $50 US. The champion number is 16AL-A2 and is a direct replacement for the Yuasa. As of this writing it has lasted over a year with no problems.

To help it last longer I have started using a Battery Tender, just seems like a good idea for longer battery life. I received positive feedback from several folks on the Battery Tender and MCN ranked it high in their battery charger test as well. Note that the battery is mounted at an angle so it needs to be filled a bit above the fill lines on the battery case. And check it often, mine needs topping up every few months or so.

Motorcycle Consumer News has a great Care and Feeding of Your Pet Battery article online that is definitely worth a read.

After quite a bit of discussion on the ST2 Owner's list I decided to follow the advice of several others and upgrade my battery cables. I used 6ga cable, terminals, and heat shrink from a local marine supply place. All are marine grade and thus should hold up well in their exposed environment. You need three lengths of cable - battery to ground, battery to solenoid, and solenoid to starter. Plus 6 terminals, one for each end of each cable. You might also look for 4 rubber boots to put over the positive terminals. The 6ga cable was a bit fussy to get routed, 8ga would be easier to run and may be sufficient. The 6ga certainly did make a difference, the starter now turns the engine over with quite a bit more enthusiasm.

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