Battery position

[Fred H.]

Does anybody know why Yamaha put the battery forward and high in the bike? It just makes no sense to me as it looks like there is room under the seat for it.

Has anyone moved the battery to under the seat? I am thinking of moving it to get more of the weight lower in the bike, but it appears to offset the coolant reservoir which is also mounted high and forward in the left side of the bike.

I just don't understand why Yamaha didn't put the coolant tank down at the bottom of the bike and the battery under the seat. Is there any logical reason for them being where they are?

 

[madmike2]

I just don't understand why Yamaha didn't put the coolant tank down at the bottom of the bike and the battery under the seat. Is there any logical reason for them being where they are?

Nope!

IIRC, there was someone who was going to remove the tool tray of and '04 or '05 and placing the battery there. Possibly it was a non-ABS bike so there was more room.

 

[mech 1 twa]

Is your bike ABS?

ABS takes up most of the room under there. Cheaper to make all bikes the same, than to have different wire harnesses.

I agree though, would be better under seat.

 

[slapnpop]

Wouldn't the bike currently be balanced to accomodate the off-center battery?

Wouldn't a battery re-location involve balancing out the weight you shift to center?

 

[twowheelnut]

Does anybody know why Yamaha put the battery forward and high in the bike? It just makes no sense to me as it looks like there is room under the seat for it.

I Googled your question and found this 2004 memo floating in the ethers:

Hope that helps! :grin:

 

[mdisher]

I specifically recall at it's introduction, articles about it being out of balance because of the battery being mounted high and to the right.

But the bottom line was it wasn't enough for most mere mortals to notice. Meaning, someone like Rossi might feel it, but we wouldn't was their reasoning. :glare:

Or some such **** like that.

 

[SkooterG]

I specifically recall at it's introduction, articles about it being out of balance because of the battery being mounted high and to the right.

I am calling you on that one. Produce said articles please.

 

[Bounce]

I just don't understand why Yamaha didn't put the coolant tank down at the bottom of the bike

so it can be punctured by road debris like the oem GL1800's without the addition of an aftermarket shield?

and the battery under the seat. Is there any logical reason for them being where they are?

My one guess would be heat or in anticipation of the ABS system.

I specifically recall at it's introduction, articles about it being out of balance because of the battery being mounted high and to the right.
But the bottom line was it wasn't enough for most mere mortals to notice. Meaning, someone like Rossi might feel it, but we wouldn't was their reasoning. :glare:

Or some such **** like that.

nope. the articles mentioned that it was there and strange. iirc no one said anything substantive about "being out of balance". if you can provide a link to that thread, i'll gladly revise this statement.

 

[Constant Mesh]

The battery weighs about 8.5 lbs. The fuel load ranges from 41 lbs. down to 6 lbs. or less. Filled to the max line the coolant reservoir weighs 1.25 lbs.

Maintenance of the battery at that location is not an issue. I've had my '04 for almost 3 years and I've not heard one peep from the battery. The terminals stay nice and clean -- it's a sealed no-maintenance battery. In its up-top location it stays as cool as possible.

I've not heard anyone say that their battery became a flying projectile when they applied max braking or were in an accident.

At first thought I'd like to have the fuses in a more accessible location. But, in my 3 years of use I've not had to look at the fuses once. No maintenance here either. Yet, the location and accessibility of the fuses in the '06 is an improvement from earlier models.

Relocating the battery would rank very low on my wish list.

 

[nusman68]

Does anybody know why Yamaha put the battery forward and high in the bike? It just makes no sense to me as it looks like there is room under the seat for it.
Has anyone moved the battery to under the seat? I am thinking of moving it to get more of the weight lower in the bike, but it appears to offset the coolant reservoir which is also mounted high and forward in the left side of the bike.

I just don't understand why Yamaha didn't put the coolant tank down at the bottom of the bike and the battery under the seat. Is there any logical reason for them being where they are?

C'mon Fred....you, of all people, know the reason for that. During prototype testing, Yamaha found that having the battery under the seat, with its electrons eminating through an atmosphere comprised of 21% oxygen, could adversely affect the time-space continuum of the throttle pulley during certain lunar orbits occuring once every 514 years. Originally engineers thought that a shield, comprised of rare earth elements might be in order to reroute the aforementioned electrons, but in the end, (upon advice from their corporate liability lawyers) they just decided to keep the battery in its present location and redesign the pulley's radius as a precaution....

 

[TheAxeman]

Does anybody know why Yamaha put the battery forward and high in the bike? It just makes no sense to me as it looks like there is room under the seat for it.

I Googled your question and found this 2004 memo floating in the ethers:

Hope that helps! :grin:

I'm sorry for not contributing to this conversation but that there is some funny ****.....

 

[mdisher]

I clearly remember one article where the magazine whined about feeling a handling difference in right vs left handed cornering and they attributed it to the location of the battery.

Now, keep in mind this was a *magazine*, and nobody else really ******* about it. It didn't stop me or apparently anyone else from buying one.

It was at least 3 years ago and I'll do my best to find said article.

The reality is I probaby have more weight differential in my side bags since I use one for all my moto-gear and one for my traveling clothes which is normally empty. While it isn't mounted up high and above the front wheel, it too is an unbalanced situation.

-MD

 

[mdisher]

OK, it might have been this article...

These fellers thought some handling anomolies were possibly the result of the batteries location:

https://www.motorcycledaily.com/03may02yamaha2003fjr1300.html

The FJR did not feel as "planted" or sure of itself as we had expected, however. Chassis flex could be to blame, because, at times, we felt an oscillation travel from the steering head area back through the frame. Although noticeable with a light fuel load, this problem seemed more pronounced with a full tank of gas.With the frame design by Yamaha appearing very stout, both Willy and I were puzzled by this. We were still puzzled until, by chance, we noted the location of the FJR's battery, and began to investigate the location of FJR components that significantly affect centralization of mass and polar moment (see definition in the automobile context here and here). The illustration at right provided by Yamaha shows the location of key components, and the story it tells about center of gravity, and the location of dense/heavy components, is perhaps the reason for our handling concerns.

 

[Bounce]

OK, it might have been this article...
These fellers thought some handling anomolies were possibly the result of the batteries location:

https://www.motorcycledaily.com/03may02yamaha2003fjr1300.html

The FJR did not feel as "planted" or sure of itself as we had expected, however. Chassis flex could be to blame, because, at times, we felt an oscillation travel from the steering head area back through the frame. Although noticeable with a light fuel load, this problem seemed more pronounced with a full tank of gas.

With the frame design by Yamaha appearing very stout, both Willy and I were puzzled by this. We were still puzzled until, by chance, we noted the location of the FJR's battery, and began to investigate the location of FJR components that significantly affect centralization of mass and polar moment (see definition in the automobile context here and here). The illustration at right provided by Yamaha shows the location of key components, and the story it tells about center of gravity, and the location of dense/heavy components, is perhaps the reason for our handling concerns.

no wonder no one rememvered it. one mag reference. no corroboration. all couched in clearly speculative terms. no apparent effort to sort out the suspension. readers blew it off as an attempt to justify their jobs.

but thanks for the link.

 

[mdisher]

I never said it was a quality magazine or article Only that I had read that once before in the past It was years ago

-MD

 

[Afast03nNJ]

I Googled your question and found this 2004 memo floating in the ethers:

Hope that helps! :grin:

LMFAO :lol: You have wayyyy to much free time on your hands.

 

[FJRottie]

You have wayyyy to much free time on your hands.

Free time....that is his time, his occupation and his purpose. TWN is the class clown.

...and ya, that was some funny **** thar he did !!

 

[twowheelnut]

You have wayyyy to much free time on your hands.

Free time....that is his time, his occupation and his purpose. TWN is the class clown.

...and ya, that was some funny **** thar he did !!

Actually, it took more time for photobucket to upload it than it did to think about and type it. Really. :blink:

 

[RonBB]

I think there were a couple of reasons for the battery not being located under the seat:

First, the heat generated by the 1300 cc engine in that location & it's effect on a battery:

This Lead Acid Battery Capacity Chart shows the capacity as related to temperature.

For reference:

5 degrees C is 41 degrees F

25 degrees C is 77 degrees F

55 degrees C is 131 degrees F

The chart is from The Standard Handbook for Electrical Engineers 11th Edition, edited by Zink

Second, Some models have the ABS components there.

Personally I'm glad it's not located under the seat. I do agree it is located in a unique location & a bit odd. I also acknowledge that it is a maintence free battery which may have slightly different characteristics from a standard Lead Acid Battery. I just don't have access to a similar chart for that type of battery. I suspect it is similar. I post this chart to show the general effect of temperature on battery capacity. It is a different size battery than our FJR battery.