Battery acid on my engine - (bad, DNA, bad) - Page 21 - Ducati Monster Forums: Ducati Monster Motorcycle Forum

mdozier · 07-15-2003, 10:38 AM

S4Ninja:
if your S4 has a GS battery - get that bastard out asap! - don't trust it for one more minute.

i parked my bike till i could get a yuasa thinking it was safe as long as it was off and i didn't turn the key - WRONG! - i waited one day to long - the bike was sitting home in the garage and the battery just started leaking - the little rotten bastard got me anyway.

mho

Alan_Kohler · 07-15-2003, 11:09 AM

Actually that picture of the Yuasa vent is incorrect, the "keyhole" looking area that is circled is where the terminals are burned on to the internal part of the battery.
The vent is located in the center (between the terminals) right behind that recessed area.

S4Ninja77 · 07-15-2003, 11:13 AM

I'm not taking any chances! I just ordered a YUASA battery from Motostrano.

mdozier · 07-15-2003, 11:15 AM

Alan,
thanks for the help.

is there any benefit/danger to epoxy-ing or otherwise sealing the cover cap/strip you put on after you fill the battery? i was curious in an overly cautious/anal sort of way - (having experienced a previous leak w/ the gs)

tx-matt

07-15-2003, 11:18 AM

ditto on the odessey comments... i was at a local battery retailer to replace the one on my truck (don't even ask) and was able to check it out... odessey needs to make something smaller for us monster owners, especially in light of the info you got out of the folks at DNA.

well it seems the plot thickens once again... well public perception can be a funky thing. not like ducati has a good name in the area of reliability, i actually feel bad about ever defending their name. can't imagine having a exploding/leaking battery problem will add much to it especially when you consider the whiz bang idea of DNA stiffing the poor guy/gal that just spent a couple grand on a new machine. sounds like the entire new ST derived monster lineup from the S4 all the way down to the 2003 monster is going to have a good chance of experiencing this. i never thought of myself as a sucker but the truth hurts.

you know as much as i like this marque ,the longer i see how business is done, the less i like it. there's a pretty long history at delivering a shoddy product at ducati.... cracked swing-arms, snapped cylinder studs, oil galley plugs backing out, fried wiring harnesses, flywheel nuts backing off, frame cracks from fatigue, rockergate, and now the pissing battery along with a oil burping testerratta motor... but hey you look good because you're now a ducati person; they have jackets, sunglasses, helmets, t-shirts, pants, pens, bags, hats, and plenty of go fast goodies but your bike will spend a lot of down time waiting on parts... good show ducati, i know i'm really impressed, especially how you deal with your customers. something tells me less money should have been spent on marketing and more on product development... well at least from a customer perspective and not a money-hungry-steal-the-shirt-off-your-back-corporate perspective.

well the age old lesson that i've relearned in life is to never buy a new ducati... give it a few years for it to break down and work out the bugs first. buying my 900ss used later in the model cycle was just about the smartest thing i ever did with respect to motorcycles... i had no expectations, was fairly aware of all the problems associated with, and knew how to correct those issues. thanks to DNA for teaching me that lesson... i just wish it could have been cheaper than 12k and a couple grand in accessories though.

Speeddog · 07-15-2003, 11:20 AM

Quote:

At Laguna Seca this weekend, I met and talked to the "Ducati After Sales" representative for DNA, Adam Fausett, about our/their battery problem. -------------------------- ----------------
that I received a clear sense, through Mr. Faucett, of Ducati's fear the scope of the problem.
---------------------------------------------------------------

The second thing I learned, which confirms my suspicions that virtually

*****ALL NEW MONSTERS WILL SUFFER THIS PROBLEM*****

While I was talking to the "Director of Marketing" for DNA, John Porter, he offhandedly referred to this as "the problem with batteries in the ST Frame based bikes".....

...which includes, I'm pretty sure, all 2003 Monsters.

------------------------------------------------------------------

To the best of my knowledge, the "ST Frame based" bikes comprise all S4 and all '02 and after Monsters. The S4R has it's own frame, slightly different, but I have little doubt that the battery is in the same orientation.

I am virtually certain that all '01 and prior (non S4) Monsters have the battery mounted vertically. This doesn't by itself eliminate the potential problem, but it seems the only acid escaping from the batteries of "Early Model" Monsters has been from vent hose issues. There might have been an early one that popped the battery and was noted on this thread, but I'm not sure. This ball'o'twine is getting very large..............

Tom / Infoage1 - Is this John Porter in his late 40's/Early 50's, smoker, about 6'3" and 200 lbs? I may have worked with him........let me know. If it's the same guy, it may help our cause.

Speeddog · 07-15-2003, 11:52 AM

Went back and corrected the photo of the Yuasa YT12B-BS, incorporating what I now understand the vents to be.

Photo is in my post on page 15.

Thanks to Al Kohler @ Yuasa for his post pointing out the error.

S4Ninja77 · 07-15-2003, 12:04 PM

I just ordered one but maybe Joe wants to repond here and extend a helping hand by giving a pity discount??

Thanks Joe!

chukeeee · 07-15-2003, 04:14 PM

Add me to the list. '02 foggy, battery leaked, some damage to head, battery tray hardware, plug wire. Dealer replaced battery with a yuasa, is working on getting dna to take care of the rest. And the pompone legend grows.

ciscoguy · 07-15-2003, 05:36 PM

My GS battery was a replacement, so on my 2000 M900 it sits upright. Still leaks though. Tonight, my bike died, the battery only had 10 volts. Checking the charging, I got nothing, I think possibly the battery screwed up the regulator or something. Will check that out in a couple of days. But it was working fine when I checked it last week.

Anybody got a good link, URL for part numbers, microfiche layout etc. I used to have one, but I can't find the link. I think that Salt Lake City Ducati had it, but I am tired after having to trailer the bike home, and screwing up everybodys ride tonight.