harleyKmodel

Hey ya'll, I am ready to kick over my KHK for first time since 1978. However, I cannot find a "stock" battery. I see the battery section in the technical but I have a couple questions. First, anyone know of an exact copy of the period correct Harley H3 battery? What amperage on that, or the original, is standard or recommended? Any alternative batteries and solutions for the battery box I may want to consider?

I did see on a Harley Hummer site, they recommended a kids toy 6v battery...to which I thought REALLY? Seemed a bit hokey, but batteries have come a long way I guess...

Thanks,

Mayday

I believe most of the info you desire is here.

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=645&hilit=battery+box

I bought one of the Asian H-3 replica batteries off of ebay and have about 9 months of use on it on my '61 XLH. Once on a while, perhaps if I have not ridden the H for a week or so, I will find the battery dead. About an hour on a 6V battery tender revives it. In preparation for its demise, I have bought one Duane Taylor's replica battery boxes which is probably the way to go.

I put 2 small sealed batteries inside my original battery came close to original spec's after I gutted it and it worked fine = no spill to ruin anything and it is very easy and inexpensive to do and replace when necessary. 53 K ran it fine for over 4 years and sold the bike with them in it still fully charged. I always kept them on a Battery tender jr when not in use.

Mayday53 wrote:I did see on a Harley Hummer site, they recommended a kids toy 6v battery...to which I thought REALLY?

The small sealed PowerSonic PS-640F1 batteries were designed for stationary applications - like EXIT signs and electric fence chargers*. When they die, they seem to die suddenly with no forewarning. So, using two of them in parallel with spade terminals gives you the ability to quickly disconnect one of them should one die. Two of them will fit in one of the fake battery cases. There are other brands of the same size battery. I also found some 5.5 amp-hour batteries of the same size, but they are hard-to-find and more expensive.

Most people ride their Hummers on short lower-speed trips, so we're not talking major vibration here. I have used two batteries (the 5.5ah) in my Henderson, and got a couple years of before one died. And that was NOT short low speed rides. The Hen has magneto ignition, but battery-operated lights. Since I don't ride it at night, battery death is not a big concern. Tom (Lisa) says he used them in his K for 4 years. So they seem to be pretty reliable.

I don't know anyone who has used the Power Wheels battery. They don't fit in the fake battery case, so they're ugly.

V-Twin has imported the repro H-3s for 20 or 30 years. They had a bad reputation back then of only lasting about 1 year - and at a cost of $100. Maybe they've improved since then. Perhaps Raleypc can let us know when his battery finally dies. In contrast, the genuine Harley batteries were very high quality. The big-twin H-2 batteries would last up to 10 years.

In my 1954 KH, I use a Duane Taylor fake battery case with a Yuasa 6N6-3B lead-acid battery inside.

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* Solar electric fence charger - my lawnmower is a 1954 Ford NAA which is still 6 volts. The solar electric fence charger I used to keep deer out of my garden has a PowerSonic PS-640F1 in it. Solar power slowly charges the battery. The battery is connected to a coil - like the ignition coil in your motorcycle. The coil is connected to the fence wire and to a ground rod. When a deer standing on the ground touches the fence wire, he/she gets the same jolt as you get when you touch a spark plug wire. Ouch!

If you remove the battery from the solar charger, and hook wires (I used Romex) to the battery connections of the charger (NOT the fence terminals), add some battery clips to the end of the wire, and Presto - you now have a solar-powered tractor 6v battery trickle charger which you can leave connected all winter long.

I am using a battery shell from www.HarleyHummer.com that I stuffed with acid glass mat cells hooked in parallel. I do not bother putting my bikes on tenders any more and the batteries still fire the Harley and Indians whether they have been sitting for months or for years. I now use Cycle Electric voltage regulators to avoid over charging and overheating the AGM cells. A shell housing limits heat transfer from a battery. For that reason, one should be especially careful not to overcharge an encased energy cell.

For years, my Chief used an old Volkswagen Bosch generator and regulator with no problems with the AGM cells. My other Indian still uses the charging system put on during the War 77 years ago. My point is: While it is good not to overcharge AGM cells, they have held up well with old fashioned charging systems. The reason I upgraded my KHK system to a CE solid state regulator is because I had real problems with the old regulator and lead acid battery. Now I have none. While I prefer to keep original, what I really prefer is to have fun on my motorcycles. They tend to be more fun when they run reliably.