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Good morning all! I'd love any advice y'all may have regarding batteries. I have a 1987 Yamaha Virago XV 535TC. The spec page says I need a 12 V/12 A/h. Went to Wal-mart last night to buy one and they sell something called ES 12 but it had some other alphabets (N E or something like that). Where can I buy a relatively cheap but good battery? The bike didn't have one in it when I bought it. Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

RozStar wrote:Good morning all! I'd love any advice y'all may have regarding batteries. I have a 1987 Yamaha Virago XV 535TC. The spec page says I need a 12 V/12 A/h. Went to Wal-mart last night to buy one and they sell something called ES 12 but it had some other alphabets (N E or something like that). Where can I buy a relatively cheap but good battery? The bike didn't have one in it when I bought it. Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

Hey that's the bike I have! In fact, I just replaced the battery too. I had a bad regulator/rectifier and ran the thing down to nothing one too many times.

I called around my local bike shops. One of them wanted about $70 for the battery, but another wanted $36, filled and charged. I wasn't able to find the battery at Wal-Mart.

The model you need is YB12AL-A2 or equivalent. This is an unsealed, low-maintenance battery, meaning it needs to be filled with acid and water before being used. The shop should do this for you. Initial charging can take a few hours.

While in use, it should be periodically checked for electrolyte level. The case of the battery is translucent and there are "min" and "max" lines on the outside. If the level is getting to the "min" line, you have to open six little screws on the top of the battery and fill it with distilled water. Check at every oil change.

Installing is pretty easy, but you may be confused by the clear plastic tube that comes with the battery. It's a battery vent tube. There's a slot down the right hand side of the battery compartment you need to feed this tube through. It routes alongside some other cables through a little metal hoop. You want the end of it pointing down below the bike. The battery has a little nipple on that side that the tube attaches to.

You can also get the battery from JPCycles for $25+shipping, but you will need to add the acid and water yourself, as well as do the initial charge.

Just call up the local bike shop.

If you don't have the service manual yet, get it:
eBay link

Wow! Thanks Jonnythan! I kept looking at that darn battery when I had it in my shopping cart and knew it was the wrong one. Have you had any problems with your bike other than battery? Mine only has 11,000 miles on it and seems to be in relatively good condition. Once I get the battery and change out the ignition switch, I'll be ready to ride. What do you use on your chrome? I have a few spots -- some are dirt and a little rust -- I want to make her shine real purty like she was new. Thanks again for your help.

RozStar wrote:Wow! Thanks Jonnythan! I kept looking at that darn battery when I had it in my shopping cart and knew it was the wrong one. Have you had any problems with your bike other than battery? Mine only has 11,000 miles on it and seems to be in relatively good condition. Once I get the battery and change out the ignition switch, I'll be ready to ride. What do you use on your chrome? I have a few spots -- some are dirt and a little rust -- I want to make her shine real purty like she was new. Thanks again for your help.

That's really funny.. my bike had 9,400 miles on it when I picked it up, and now I'm at about 10,300. It's in amazing condition for a 20 year old bike. No problems at all. The previous owner had to change the ignition switch.

I've added some saddle bags and moved the turn signals back with a license plate bracket to make room for them. Two weeks ago I also changed the oil and changed the super-squeaky front brake pads (super easy.. just had to remove one bolt).

I've been too busy to really get down to cleaning it well. There are a couple of surface rust spots on the chrome parts and plenty of tarnish and so forth on the wheels and engine parts. I want to give it a really good cleaning in the next 2-3 weeks before I have to put it away for winter. I figured I'd just look in the auto section of Wal Mart and find some kind of chrome and/or aluminum cleaner/polish.

You are the bomb! I check most of the local shops and they're on crack or something, saying they could order it in 3-5 days. One shop tried to charge me $80! Anyway, I kept at it and finally found a Yurasu at NAPA for $55. They're even gonna order it from another store and I can pick it up at 7am when they open. I think I'll try Wal-mart for the chrome polish also. thanks again!