Battery

I have a 08 WRR with about 16,000 miles,,my question is , should I replace my battery as preventative maintenance?? about how long can I expect to get out of the stock battery,,I've always kept it charged..,,,,does it make sense to up-grade to a better battery or stay with one like the stock one,,,,,,,,,,thanks for any info.......Jason

My self. I have always gone with the therory that I dont replace the battery until it gives me problems. I have done that with every bike and car owned so far. Now that said I do usually replace with a better one if it is possible. Also I do not ride into such remote places that I couldn't get a boost or a push to get it started either. I have found that as long as you keep a battery tender on when not using the bike for long periods of time, and you do t go out to start the bike up weekly for 30secs all winter long, that most of the time I can get 5 yrs easily out of a stock battery then they become shop 12v sources for another couple years before I recycle them.

I bought a leftover '08 last year from a dealer with 16 miles on it. That battery didn't last me very long.

in response to that, i would say a lot has to do with how it was initialized, how long the battery sat on the showroom floor and how much use it got..
it's nice to run your bike all 12 months but in the snow belt, you have to store that battery...somehow.
if you don't rely on your bike for serious stuff, don't sweat the preventative, like sewerat says, drive it till it gives you problems, then change it...
i have mine (the original 2010 battery) in the bike, no battery tender, on a stand in the unheated garage for its second winter...i'll let you know in a couple of weeks....haha
can't wait

If you end up needing a spare OEM battery, I've got one. I replaced mine with a lightweight battery. The OEM came out at about 4k miles.

I have an '08 that's ridden at least 3 days a week, usually 5-6 days a week. Just over 12K miles... I have had no reason to suspect the battery won't last forever. Still hold a charge fine if I leave town for two weeks on business and always cranks over fast and easy.

My battery had been sitting on dealers floor for about a year (disconnected of course) and has now been *connected* to my bike over the winter in the garage. All I did was turn the bike on once every 2 weeks or so and drive around the block. Storing temp of 2-3 C.

Still no problems. Turns on at first turnover.

Thanks for all the info,,,my battery is good right now,,I thought I read somewhere that bike batteries only lasted about 3 years....I sometimes go overboard with maintenance..I never want to get stranded in the middle of nowhere,,,especially if it could have been prevented....I ride by myself, far from home...................hey PBNUT,,what did you pay for your lightweight battery??

I put a SHORIA lfx14L2-bs12 battery in a friends 08 wrr last aug. before we went on the western TAT as he did wish to have any issues with the battery that came with it. The 08 battery remains on my bench ingood serviceable condition (about 12.8 volts +-). Ther new one is very light (less then a pound) has worked well and cost about 130 dollars. Have been going to get one for mine but the orignal one just keeps working like new (it is also an 08). so I guess I will keep using it for a while. Berwyn