So having just got my V4S back from having the fork seal replaced I decided to nip out for a ride today. After a coffee stop the bike was as dead as a dodo, initially no key error, then nothing, then got to the enter code but as soon as I did the bike died. AA man jumped it for me, the battery was showing under 10V. It was then charging at 14V but died when he initially removed the battery pack. Restarted and left it running and it seems ok. Popped into the dealer and they have put me one on charge to collect tomorrow. The access looks rather tight so before I attempt replace it myself Do you have to lift the tank cover to remove it?
They’re easy to change. FYI, for you and other owners, if the battery voltage drops to 10 or below, the dash and all the control units switch off. The dash can then gothrough a complete reboot when you next try. If the battery has got that low, when using a jump pack to start, as you experienced, the jump pack needs to remain connected for some time until the charging system has built up the charge in the battery again, otherwise, as you experienced, the bike will just die when the jump pack is removed. I know not if it’s sensible leaving the jump pack attached while there’s 14.2V going into the battery from the charging circuit, something tells me no, but there’s no option really.
Same thing happened to me in July. Started with the bike not starting as quickly as normal, after a stop, but thought it was down to high temperatures in Southern Italy. Only a 12 month warranty on OEM battery. New one has 2 year.
Had this with my 2 Monster for years (every 1 or 2 years a new Batt.). Until i've installed a ctek cable to the battery and connected that everytime the bike was in the garage. After that no battery faults, the last one lasted 4 years (still working, sold with the bike) with no problems. If you ride only a few times in a month, your battery will drain rapidly. Multi uses power even while sleeping.
Same problem with my V4 Pikes Peak. 2.5 year old bike and Battery won’t hold charge overnight unless on maintenance charger. Dealer says battery testing ok. I have an Innov camera and Biketrac tracker but both were on my 1260 and all fine. Think it’s time to change the battery. Can anyone recommend what to buy and where from if I want a replacement that has a bit more oomph than the standard OEM version?
I suspect the Biketrac is part of the issue with mine as well. Normally I only put the trickle charger on if I’m not going to be using the bike for a few weeks. I’ll be more careful to use it every time now.
I just bought the same as OEM for my PP, it lasted nearly 3 years and 23k miles, pretty sure it was a Yuasa, £61 I think from Halfords
I’m not aware of anything other than the Yuasa or a BT12B4-SLA from BS batteries that has the correct form factor and has more than 210CCA. Dont be tempted to go Lithium. The position of the battery exposes it to a lot of heat from the rear exhaust manifolds and Ducati specifically advise against fitting a lithium battery to the range (V4/V4S/PP/RS) for that very reason.
Is this a new thing ? No-one gave me that advice when my Pikes Peak was delivered nearly 2 years ago. Andy
Old understanding of technology. Lithium at this point has surpassed all safety concerns over existing acid filled batteries. Let alone the performance, size and weight. EDIT - I can't speak for the V4 after reading the above posts regarding heat. If heat is a concern, I'd just slap some metal tape on the external side of the battery box, might be a PITA to get to, but it would negate the heat concern.
When did Ducati advise that? Had lithium on mine for 4 years now with no issues. Kept on a trickle charger it alleviates the parasitic drain from the BikeTrac
It was contained within a service bulletin earlier this year, at least I read it earlier this year (I can’t recall the date on the bulletin). It said words to the effect, ‘advise customers not to’ and is due to heat concerns. I didn’t phone up Bologna and ask them why. I assume it’s because the battery is in a position where it receives heat from an external source, ie the rear bank exhausts, which take the battery out of its recommended operating heat range which leads to a degradation in performance and life. If a customer asks me about fitting a lithium battery to that model I advise against it. I’ll admit, I was considering fitting one myself to my own V4S about 18 months ago when I needed a new battery but I couldn’t find a supplier of one here in ROI so replaced with another LA battery. When this battery needs replacing I’ll stick with LA.
