Battery life

A

a_muz_ed

contributing rider
Joined
Jul 22, 2025
Messages
18
Location
Belgium
Brand new Vit 801, only 5 months old and the original battery acts strangely.

Due to cold temperatures didn't do drive the last 2 months, but I gave the battery a monthly charge. After a first charge cycle, the battery charger (optimate) shows me an "orange and green" status light, indicating the battery should be checked, but if I leave it a couple of cycles it turns green, which should mean: all ok.

However the battery can't hold it's charge when I turn the key as the charge quickly drops to below 12,2 volt and lower when I leave the contact on even a few seconds without running the engine . On my last ride I also almost couldn't start the bike after a refuelling stop. First attempt resulted in a clicking relay, the second attempt luckily worked. Today, the bike won't start at all.

Is this the normal lifetime of a battery? What's the voltage and how does it lowers on your bikes when you turn the key but don't start the engine yet?

Thanks!
 
That's definitely not normal; last winter the bike was stored from November to April without any problems; every now and then I checked the battery; at all maybe three or four times in the nearly six months; and it was always full or nearly full; I would assume your battery is faulty; it should be replaced under warranty.
 
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Thanks for sharing your experience. I'll contact my dealer to have the battery checked and most probably replaced.

Just to know, if you turn the key and don't start the engine, what voltage is shown on the display? Is it stable or does it start to drop after a couple of seconds?
 
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12.1 V at start-up and stable for the following minutes. Note that I travelled 100 km today. The battery is therefore fully charged.
 
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There are no other electronic things attached. The bike is standard.

Thanks for sharing. So 12,1 V with a fully charged battery when the engine is not running, is quite normal then. However when I try to start the engine, I hear clicking noises (like a relay) and the display start showing alerts about the ABS-system and the brake light is on.

Yesterday I tried jump starting the engine, but I did't succeed. It was my first time, so maybe I did something wrong. I expected the voltage to be close to 14,5 V (because the donor battery was from a running car engine) but i stayed around 12,3V although i ounce showed 13,1V. Anyway, I couldn't start the engine: only clicking noises and warnings about the ABS.

Any suggestions on what I can try how to get the engine running?
 
There are no other electronic things attached. The bike is standard.
a_muz_ed said:
Thanks for sharing. So 12,1 V with a fully charged battery when the engine is not running, is quite normal then. However when I try to start the engine, I hear clicking noises (like a relay) and the display start showing alerts about the ABS-system and the brake light is on.

Yesterday I tried jump starting the engine, but I did't succeed. It was my first time, so maybe I did something wrong. I expected the voltage to be close to 14,5 V (because the donor battery was from a running car engine) but i stayed around 12,3V although i ounce showed 13,1V. Anyway, I couldn't start the engine: only clicking noises and warnings about the ABS.

Any suggestions on what I can try how to get the engine running?
Click to expand...
Sorry, I just realised I wrote my messages in French! How silly of me! Oops!

No, sorry, I must admit I have no problems with mine. It runs like clockwork! It might be best to ask a professional, especially if there are warnings about safety components...
 
From what I've read, the "safety-components" such as ABS, etc. also start to struggle when the battery is faulty.
 
I was able to charge the battery for a couple of hours today and - huray! - the engine started.

So it all boils down to the battery and I will contact my dealer to get it sorted out.

Thanks for all the help!
 
I just replaced the battery on my own after 18 months and 2 failures in the last 15 days (last one I couldn't kickstart it with a starter, front light wouldn't even turn on). Turns out the stock battery is the one in the picture, but the one recommended in the manual has even less capacity (YTX9-BS), so I totally discarded both of them and went for a Yuasa YT12A-BS. Got it on my own since I don't want the dealer just replacing it with the same thing (or, as the manual says, something even worse). We'll see how it goes from now on.
 
My dealer replaced the original Yuasa YTZ10S battery with an Intact Bike power Gel 12-10B-4 battery. So far, all good.

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It's the same capacity as the standard battery. It's a Gel-type instead of an AGM-type battery, it's not the LithiumIon type which has a lighter weight indeed.

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INTACT Bike-Power Gel 12-10B-4 / YT10B-4 12V 8,5 Ah GEL

Kaufen Sie jetzt günstig bei www.ACCU-24.de die leistungsstarken Motorradstarterbatterien der intAct Bike-Power Gel-Serie.
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accu-24.de

YUASA YTZ High Performance YTZ10S 12V 9Ah AGM motorcycle starter batt

Buy the high-performance motorcycle starter batteries from the Yuasa YTZ series now at www.ACCU-24.de.
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Lýkos said:
That's just 6,0Ah? Damn, that looks low in comparison
Click to expand...
From the JMT website:
"Due to their specific properties, lead-acid batteries can only use 30% of their capacity, whereas lithium-ion batteries can use almost 100% of their capacity.
For this reason, the lithium versions of JMT batteries require only 1/3 of the capacity of a comparable lead-acid battery for the same starting power."
 
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I bought a SHIDO LT12A-BS LION lithium battery, very happy with it and it weighs so much less than a lead-acid battery.
It also doesn't need to be maintained like a lead-acid, my bike has been sitting in the garage for a few weeks and the capacity is the same.
 
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