Z1OwnersClub GB

hi all,
I have a 1977, Z1000 A1.
is it possible to change the lead acid battery to a newer style gel battery without changing the battery charging system.
if not, what needs to be changed to use a gel battery, which parts have you used and was it worth doing.
thanks in advance.
Dave.

The charging system will handle a battery change to GEL so long as it is working okay.

I'd go to GEL over lead just for safety; no more acid spillage.

Change to a Lithium may require a specific "trickle charger" as they do need a higher rate than lead or gel, but I ran one on my Harris Zed for +12 months with no issues.

Why not just stick with your Yuasa YBL14-A2, whIch the bike was designed to run with, and hook it up to an optimate, that is all it needs.

A gel battery is a lead acid battery, but the fluid isn't very fluid and doesn't need to breathe, so no vents and no spillage. A gel battery of the right specifcation will be a straight swap for a 'wet' lead acid battery.

They are more 'fit and forget' than wet batteries as you don't have to worry about electrolyte levels. They don't require any specific battery charging kit either. That said, they seem slightly less tolerant of abuse and cold weather than wet batteries and don't seem to have quite the same 'zap' as a good wet battery.

Ive got motobatt batteries on all of my bikes because they aren't too expensive and do the job quite reliably, though I did have one go feeble for no apparent reason.

Lithium batteries are a different thing altogether. They are expensive but amazingly light weight. They have something going on internally that enables them to take a charge from a 14v DC supply, but need a special trickle charger which isn't cheap either. Probably not worth bothering with on a fairly standard bike.

If you did want to loose weight you could consider using a smaller gel battery than standard, as the Z batteries are massively oversized in comparison to the ones used on more modern bikes of a similar CC.

Olly

hi all.
I would like to thank every one for there reply to my question.
I think i will stay with my lead/acid battery for now and consider a gel battery when it needs changing.
thanks again
David Watson.