Battery dudd or broken on new SR2

Hi All,
I had a problem yesterday with my battery on my 2005 Ducati Monster SR2, I just bought it two weeks ago. Its now up to about 900km on the clock having taken it on a run from Canberra, Australia (where I live) to Sydney (Australia), just up the road, well, about 300km up the road.

The bike just died on me. The speedometer started going from 100km per hour to 260km/hr with out a speed change, it happened a few times so I stopped on the motorway and after a few minutes restarted the bike and the speedo AND the rev counter started playing up too. Then the electrics just failed to come on.

I found this article intro on a Ducati owners website, and unfortunately the website was dead, I wondered if anyone had the full article.

"Leaking battery
Some owners of newer monsters have reported problems with leaking batteries. The acid can damage the engine finish and other parts it comes into contact with. This can happen within the first 600 miles. Changing to a Yuasa battery (from a GS) seems to solve the problem, but for the full story read this thread (here it was linked). It seems like Ducati North America (DNA) is finally starting to address the issue, and the battery swap may be covered by your dealer."

I emailed Ducati North America and all they said was talk to your dealer, we handle the US market.... so much for showing interest in the problem....

Also I saw this on another website:
"Voltage regulators are the biggest problem, usually they will short out and stop charging the battery."

I talked to the mechanic over this, this morning and he said that the bike already had a Yuasa as new.... unfortunately they had never seen this happen before... they connected a charger to the battery and all was fine, they then took off the charger and the problem I pointed out was there again...

They are going to replace the battery of course and run some tests, hopefully it will be ready for the next run in a few days.... down the coast.

Anyone else have this problem....
cheers
Alec

Geez mate, sorry to hear about your problem. As I have had mine 2.5 weeks I would be interested to know your outcome. Taking it in on Friday for its 1000km service. Just put some Staintune mufflers on it last night. ($1100.00)
Keep your chin up and stay safe. Steve; Brisbane

Thanks Steve, I'll post what happens when I get it back, likely Friday or Monday next.
I was thinking about the stayintunes too, my friend in Sydney has some on hers too, this was the first Ducati I rode... very noisy (baffles out) good for letting people know you're there.
Mine was on 900km so they asked me if I wanted the service for 1000k while it was in... I thought it was a good idea. But no problems with replacement of battery, just have to wait for the ordered part to arrive.
I'll let you know what happens.
Cheers
Alec

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by alece &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Hi All,

I found this article intro on a Ducati owners website, and unfortunately the website was dead, I wondered if anyone had the full article.

"Leaking battery
Some owners of newer monsters have reported problems with leaking batteries. The acid can damage the engine finish and other parts it comes into contact with. This can happen within the first 600 miles. Changing to a Yuasa battery (from a GS) seems to solve the problem, but for the full story read this thread (here it was linked). It seems like Ducati North America (DNA) is finally starting to address the issue, and the battery swap may be covered by your dealer."

I emailed Ducati North America and all they said was talk to your dealer, we handle the US market.... so much for showing interest in the problem....

</TD></TR></TABLE>

Not sure if this is the "article" you're looking for, but there should be enough reading to keep you busy for a while. Not to mention, it will give you some idea just how "interested" Ducati North America is in "our" problems...

http://www.ducatimonster.org/s....html

Hi Tom, its not the article but its alot more scary!!! Thanks for that, I've downloaded it for my dealer's info. Yeah... the interest from DNA matches my experience... ho hum.
My dealer seems OK for now... I liked the professionalism they showed me, without any question.
Cheers
Alec


Modified by alece at 12:17 AM 6/5/2005

Hey all -

I did a search, and this was the best thread I found on the battery issue with teh Monsters.

I also have a battery issue with my '02 S4 - I was wondering whether Ducati North America ever stepped up to the plate and replaced these for free.

If not, and I have to buy a Yuasa, what model is the right one? My dealer wanted to sell me the GS, and didn't know about any recall or service bulletins.

As I understand it, the original GS had the vent holes on the wrong side (bottom) of the top plate; the newer ones have it nigher to avoid the leaking issue.

Any assist is appreciated!

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by spezjag &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Hey all -

I did a search, and this was the best thread I found on the battery issue with teh Monsters.

I also have a battery issue with my '02 S4 - I was wondering whether Ducati North America ever stepped up to the plate and replaced these for free.

If not, and I have to buy a Yuasa, what model is the right one? My dealer wanted to sell me the GS, and didn't know about any recall or service bulletins.

As I understand it, the original GS had the vent holes on the wrong side (bottom) of the top plate; the newer ones have it nigher to avoid the leaking issue.

Any assist is appreciated!</TD></TR></TABLE>

No, Ducati North America never stepped up to the plate. As is their fashion, they are hiding under it

Meaning, if you ask DNA, they still claim ignorance; but if you badger your dealer, DNA lets the dealer replace the batterys. (Note that, the better dealers acknowledge the problem and do this without the badgering.)

The recommeded battery is the Yuasa YT12B-BS. Even though GS recently bought Yuasa, I would not put a GS or a FIAMM in my bike, no matter where the vents holes are located.

btw, besides completing the repair work to my satisfaction, DNA gave me also gave me $300 DP credit (at my insistence).

http://www.yuasabatteries.com/...h.asp

http://www.ducatimonster.org/s....html




Modified by infoage1 at 11:25 AM 8/23/2005

[spezjag]

Info -

Thanks! I greatly appreciate the info!

Am I thinking of something else, or did Die Hard start making bike batteries a while back? If so, are they any good? Are they sealed?

Thanks!

[infoage1]

I have not heard of a Die Hard replacement. Wouldn't suprise me. But not having had a problem with the Yuasa, I have not looked for a replacement. Plus, I'd be reluctant to experiment at this point. Other than a smaller Yuasa

http://www.ducatimonster.org/smf/ind...ic,1769.0.html

[doughboy_748r]

GS batteries are a pile of crap. ive had bikes that used gs as the OE batts and all of them leaked. changed all to yuasa.