Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex
It appears to be a sealed design.
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So it
was an AGM (absorbed glass mat) chemistry.
A lot of folks love AGM batteries because they're sealed, they don't vent or spill acid, they're maintenance-free, and because they don't lose about 1% of their charge per day like ordinary old fashioned FLA (flooded lead acid) batteries do. And lots of folks have had them last several years.
There is a down side to them, however. When they die, they do it suddenly: 12+ VDC open circuit voltage; dropping to two volts or less under load of the starter motor. And a lot of people have found they only get one and a half or two years out of them. An old fashioned FLA battery will usually fail gently: you'll go out to start the bike (or car) in October or November and it'll crank over a little slower than it usually does, but it starts and you go on your ride (or drive). The FLA battery just told you, "Time to replace me pretty soon!" AGMs don't do that: worked great yesterday; dead today.
Like all things in life, battery chemistry is a trade-off.