Replacement battery for J-series

[CZroe]

Well, after leaving my bike sitting over a year and RARELY starting it (maybe... twice?), I got stuck working 12+ hours a day, 7 days a week for another year without starting it. Without a battery tender the battery was ruined, of course.

I checked and Kawasaki has changed the battery twice throughout the life of the J-series Ninja 250 (2008 through 2012). Knowing it could fit a larger battery and that they had changed the battery over the years, I decided to check a parts site to compare prices for all the known OEM batteries. Sure enough, some are more than twice the cost of another compatible battery. If you just plug in your model and year you might end up paying WAY too much! That's why I'm starting this thread.

Unlike some early F-series bikes, the J-series has no vent hose so make sure you get a sealed "maintenance-free" replacement. Any 12v 6 amp-hour (and above) powersports battery that fits should technically work but there are some other considerations. For example, the positive and negative terminals probably need to be in the same "positive left" orientation (many are reversed) because the cables might not reach around. For the F-series you could usually just install one of those backwards and the cables could reach but the J-series design is more restrictive and I doubt that would work here. If anyone knows for sure, let me know.

The parts diagram for my 2008 model had YUASA YTX7A-BS,12V 6AH but the dead OEM battery itself just says "YUASA YT7A-12 YC-2." There is a foam spacer in the bottom of the battery box so it can definitely fit a larger battery without the spacer. I measured with the spacer and it can fit a battery a bit over 4" tall with a 3.5" x 6" footprint. The spacer was about a half-inch. The site I checked had the replacement for about $87.

The parts diagram says that they switched to YTX9-BS,12V 8AH in 2009 and 2010. In my research on a particular parts site, this battery was the cheapest at about $53.

The 2011 and 2012 parts diagram says FTX9-BS,12V 8AH, which is also the battery the 2013 and 2014 EX300 uses. By adding it to my cart for each year model I ended up with some that cost $121 and others that cost about $66...for the same battery! Wow. Shop carefully!

I don't know if the sealed EX250F batteries fit or work and mine is likely ruined as well but I will test fit one when I get the chance.




How I determined my battery was bad after sitting for two years:
Jump started off my car and ran both while connected. The old Ethanol-free Seafoam-treated gas smoked a bit but ran seemingly great after a few minutes with no need to clean the carbs. It was on stands so I ran through the gears and the RPM range after it was fully warm and it didn't have a problem. I let them run while connected for the better part of an hour before disconnecting it and it immediately ran rough and eventually quit. I jumped it again and the story repeated itself when I disconnected 20 minutes later. I took it to Autozone and it read 5v instead of 12v. I left it charging with them over night and it actually read 4v the next day! If the voltage drops while it's on charge then I think it's safe to say that it's bad.

[CZroe]

Pulled out from OP and updated with specs:
Ultimately, I bought a Duralast battery from Autozone for $56.99 which I have to fill and charge myself (saves about $10 vs a filled/activated/charged battery). I think that was after the $8 credit for trading in the old battery. It was the same size as the old one+spacer but with better specs. Yes, it does have the correct terminal orientation. I thought I was getting it for $8 cheaper but it looks like the only price they show or talk about is after the $8 "core" trade-in credit. Model was Duralast CTX9-BS FP (CTX9-BSFP) which the manual says cross-references with "GTX9-BS."

http://m.autozone.com/autozone-mobil...8gcxb?id=62068

Part Number:	CTX9-BSFP
Weight:	5.4 lbs
Warranty:	3 MO
Application:	Power Sports
BCI Cold Cranking Amps (CCA):	120
Battery Height:	105 mm - 4 3/16 in
Battery Length:	150 mm - 6 in
Battery Width:	87 mm - 3 7/16 in
Core Charge Applicable:	Yes
Positive Terminal Side:	Left
Power Sport Battery Type:	BTX9-BS
Voltage:	12

I should have kept the nuts and screw posts from the old battery before trading it in. I actually intended to but then left the screwdriver in the car. The new battery includes them but they are easy to lose!

Now I have to buy a battery tender before I install this.

Oh, though it says that the warranty is 3 months, the receipt says that there is a 36-month "free replacement period" for defects which sounds exactly like a thee-year warranty to me.

In retrospect, I wish I had gone with this battery:
http://www.techbatterysolutions.com/...7827_a_7cM2445

Stumbled on it while looking for a replacement petcock on froogle.com, strangely enough.

Edit: Reading up on the charging and activation procedure in the Duralast CTX9-BS FP manual, I noticed that the manual is "Copyright GS Battery USA INC. Subsidiary of GS Yuasa International Ltd." It's definitely store-brand because it references Autozone in the manual repeatedly, but it looks like it's a Yuasa battery after all (just like OEM)!

[Scattcatt]

Personally been rolling with a CTZ10S for quite some time now, same dimensions as the stock battery but way more powerful. Stole my original one from my brother's '04 CBR1000RR Was a bit concerned about the effects it would have on the starter at first, but there is no noticeable difference.

CCA go through the roof though, nearly 200 lol... This thing turns the engine over even when pretty much dead.

Yuasa makes it as the YTZ10S