How To Install an Odyssey PC680 Battery in your 1995-2002 Superbike!

[mpaschetto]

Hi Guys and Gals!

Warm weather is coming, and many of you will be rolling your bikes out of storage to discover a weak or dead battery in your motorcycle.
I did, so I decided to research the Ducati.ms archives for some candidates for a replacement.
The Odyssey PC680 looked good on paper, so I bought one from my local battery retailer and took it home to see if I could get it to work in my stock battery box.

With some subtle modifications, it will work.....here's what I did to make it fit:


My original battery box, with small (post 2001?) battery. You can see that the original battery is resting on a spacer block:



I removed the original battery, the spacer block, and relocated the relay cluster to the outside of the battery box:



Since the Odyssey battery is slightly wider than the OEM unit, I had to cut off the 'hook' at the bottom of the battery box to do a mockup. Here is the Odyssey battery test fit:





Since I removed the existing 'hook' at the bottom of the battery box, I had to fabricate a replacement. I used a scrap of 1/8" thick aluminum, and riveted it to the battery box:





The remainder of the 'extra' room in the battery box was filled in with a piece of 1" square foam gasket material:



The result is a snug fit in all directions:



The top hold-down bracket had to be flattened out to work with the new battery:



The result is a fairly clean installation:




The new battery just barely clears the inside of my fairing! However, my 2002 has the flat sided fairings, so your results may differ.


With the new battery the bike fires right up, coming to life almost instantly!
All in all, a very worthwhile upgrade!

Mike

[tye1138]

Good job with the instructional... nice pix too.

Is there a reason you went with such a big battery?

The idea with replacing motorcycle batteries is to buy smaller ones to lower weight, not increase it. Motowheels has a battery which is 1/2 the size of the stock battery and since its sealed, will last just as long and weighs about 1/2 what the stock battery weighs. It also doesn't require any modifications.

Also; rule 101 when storing a motorcycle. Plug the battery into a tender over the winter or when not in use, you shouldn't have to replace it very often if you do that.

[94CobraR]

Maybe he got the battery for more cranking power? And i disagree with the plugging a tender into it mentality. Seems we Ducati owners have been trained to believe that, while my friends with other models can crank them up after 3 months of no use.

[Kawtipping]

My Kawasaki cranks and starts after sitting all winter in the garage without a tender. The Ducs won't start after a month of sitting. It is more a matter of current draw. The twins take more to turn over than an inline does.

[s4sandro]

nice work! is there any contact with the bodywork though?

[mpaschetto]

Good job with the instructional... nice pix too.

Thanks!

Is there a reason you went with such a big battery?

Yeah, three reasons:

1. Capacity.
2. Capacity!
3. Capacity!!

The idea with replacing motorcycle batteries is to buy smaller ones to lower weight, not increase it. Motowheels has a battery which is 1/2 the size of the stock battery and since its sealed, will last just as long and weighs about 1/2 what the stock battery weighs. It also doesn't require any modifications.

Not necessarily.
This is not a track bike, so the weight penalty (4 lbs?) is a non-issue to me.
I wanted a more robust battery with the ability to supply a lot of cranking power....even though I've got the revised starter motor gear ratio.

The bike now fires up with a revolution or two of the starter!

Also; rule 101 when storing a motorcycle. Plug the battery into a tender over the winter or when not in use, you shouldn't have to replace it very often if you do that.

Hopefully, this dry cell battery will preclude the use of a tender....I've never used one on any of my other bikes.
However, I'll probably try one this winter to protect my $120.00 investment.

[mpaschetto]

Originally Posted by s4sandro

nice work! is there any contact with the bodywork though?

Thanks.

Not in my case. I've got about 1/8" of clearance between the fairing
and the nearest corner of the battery.....but your mileage may vary!

[n8nod9it]

I run a YTX5LBS...about 3lbs and half that size on the street. If its kept on tender it lasted me almost 2 years.

[tye1138]

Have one of the mods throw this upgrade in the Hall of Wisdom, its worth being there.

Originally Posted by mpaschetto

I wanted a more robust battery with the ability to supply a lot of cranking power....even though I've got the revised starter motor gear ratio.

So what problems where you suffering from with the old battery? would it just take a long time to start, cranking over and over again? If you've got a sec, post what problems you had in the past. I've never had issues starting either one of my bikes and I'd like to learn more about these issues. The 848 doesn't wanna start if you just push the button, it cranks and cranks. You've gotta crack the throttle open and then start it. For some reason, over night, the throttle bodies settle and don't allow the air/fuel mixture to get past them. The 748 doesn't have that problem, but its still interesting.

If your battery kept on dying, you could have a bad rectifier or generator unit and that means your battery isn't charging. My 1st battery wasn't charging due to the infamous generator cable connector issue and it ran flawlessly for a month before the battery died!

[94CobraR]

Interesting about the 848, Tye. I know I like bustin' your chops, but in all seriousness, the 848 that I test drove on Monday was cranked up when i first got there and taken off of the truck and it cranked up with no problems.
I still don't believe that a battery should have to be charged if it's only been sitting for a couple of months. It's not a motorcycle 101 thing, I think it's a old wive's tale that Ducati people have fallen for.