As is my luck, warm weather finally rolls around and my battery has a dead cell in it. Ironically, I have had it on a battery tender for most of the winter in hopes of avoiding any battery related problems, but to no avail.
My question is this, do any of y'all have any recommendations as far as replacement batteries are concerned? I have been looking at the gel battery sold on BikeBandit.com, but the lithium ion alternatives are also looking fairly nice. Are there any performance advantages between the two I should be aware of?

just get the standard yuasa oem replacement. its cheap, it'll last aboot 5 years, and "performs" good.

Megaboost battery from cycle gear lifetime warranty its about $75.

Megaboost battery from cycle gear lifetime warranty its about $75.

Cycle Gear stopped doing lifetime warranties for new customers back in November. Only customers with lifetime warranties now are those who purchased the batteries before the cutoff date. The Megaboost batteries now only carry 1 year warranties for first time buyers.

I would still suggest the Yuasa battery, I "upgraded" mine about a year back to a YZ10S which is a far more powerful battery with the same dimensions as the stock one though and have had no problems even with use as my daily transportation. Cold cranking amps went through the roof.

Cycle Gear stopped doing lifetime warranties for new customers back in November. Only customers with lifetime warranties now are those who purchased the batteries before the cutoff date. The Megaboost batteries now only carry 1 year warranties for first time buyers.

I would still suggest the Yuasa battery, I "upgraded" mine about a year back to a YZ10S which is a far more powerful battery with the same dimensions as the stock one though and have had no problems even with use as my daily transportation. Cold cranking amps went through the roof.

That sux, it was a great buy.

AGM from Advance Auto. For the VN750/EX500 part, it's ~$50 (only about $10 more than the cheap Walmart wet-cell option) after coupon code (http://www.retailmenot.com/view/advanceautoparts.com). Mine's still going strong after several years, including sitting in a dead bike and on the cold garage floor for quite a while. It's cheap, readily available here, and seems to hold up well, so I'm very happy with it.