Odyssey Battery Warning

[Perazzimx14]

Ive bought a couple bikes that had LION batteries in them and if and when they needed replaced I went back to Duracell AGM's from Batteries Plus.

1. Putting a lightweight battery in a 600+/-lb bike to save weight is like throwing a deck chair off the Titanic hoping it would sink slower
2. Like others I do not like the potential fire hazzard they present
3. Cost
4. They have tons of CCA but some do not have the Amp Hour rating to support reliable starting
5. Specialized chargers

When these batteries need replaced I have been going to Batterys Plus and buying Duracel AGM replaments as they can be had very reasonably priced (there are always 15 or 20 percent off coupons). I just bought one a few weeks back for $119.00 and the Duracel come with a two year warranty that is not proraited. So f it dies in 23 months and 29 days, full replacment. I also do not need a specialized charger.

I also like dealing with a bricks and motar store for batteries as I can swap batteries out right then and there and take care of core charges. Also shipping is out of the equasion which is alwaysa good thing when it comes to batteries.

[Dirk_S]

Based off my cursory research, there are multiple lithium type batteries, and Lithium IRON batteries offer a much safer alternative to Lithium ION. The ones that tend to explode undesirably are typically the lithium ion batteries.

1. Putting a lightweight battery in a 600+/-lb bike to save weight is like throwing a deck chaor off the Titanic hoping it would sink slower

A 600 lb bike? Sure. But a 450 lb bike? I feel the difference when I lose 10 lb, and I feel the difference when I’ve shaved weight off both my V7s. But then again, I’m doing a little more terrain than what most folks do on their street bikes, especially if that street bike is 600 lb.

The rest of your points are totally valid, although many chargers and tenders are offered with the ability to charge BOTH lead-acid and lithium batteries. However, some of those versatile chargers don’t do the job of topping up each individual cell of a lithium battery.

[DoubleGuzzi]

Confusingly, there is a brand called LION batteries!   
As per Dirk_S only ever use LiFePO4 (Lithium Iron Phosphate) type or better (egs. hybrid/sodium). Hybrid gets around the low capacity albeit at a price.

Just for info., Odyssey PC680 is the most highly recommended battery for the Laverda 750 range of bikes, from around 1998-2001. We used the Lucas golf cart AGM equivalent 'cos three of them cost the same as the Odyssey and when attached to an Optimate, lasted 5 years, or so.

[Dr. Enzo Toma]

Interesting to see other perspectives. Other than 6V bikes where I run either AGM or flooded lead acid, anytime a 12V motorcycle is due for a battery replacement I go with Lithium. Weight savings (most of my motorcycles are lighter than the V7 850 but also have smaller/lighter OEM batteries), I haven't had issue with any of them yet (Shorai, Anti-Gravity, ELIIY, and Fire Power Featherweight), better cold starting contrary to popular belief (as they warm up it'll crank harder on subsequent starter engagement), and most important to me they are extremely low maintenance due to the low self-discharge rate where as long as there isn't parasitic draw I've left them untouched for 6+ months on bikes in storage without issue using the electric start right after. As for a charger, it's true you can't safely leave a "dumb" trickle charger connected, but all of my 12V chargers (CTek, OptiMate, NOCO) support lithium batteries. Again though, unless there is parasitic draw or you're storing a bike for longer than the winter, there isn't much need to trickle charge one unless you've done something else to drain it. They can be very safe depending on design and the BMS. Honda use ELIIY lithium batteries as original equipment on a few of their motorcycles and they tend to be regarded as the "safest" ones on the market for motorcycles, but with the disadvantage of them also being "fragile" in that the BMS will blow the integrated fuse (not user serviceable) and completely disable the battery in situations where that is not desirable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSCxnMCNhCc

[blackcat]

That could equally mean they've never had a problem but we're willing to stand behind their policy because that's what they do and it's less likely for them to receive pushback since defects will sometimes occur.

Look I don't blame you for being missed with Odyssey and I'm not happy with their attitude, but I don't think your conclusion is proven.

Actually it could also be the retailer that is eating this and not Odyssey.

Amazon’s stated policy for this product is 30 days return to them and after that the item should be returned to the manufacturer. I owned this battery for 8 months so under their policy, this was my problem. According to Odyssey, this battery was bought from them in 2024 and it has a two year warranty so maybe Amazon sends the battery back to them as they are the ones who purchased it from Odyssey?  Obviously, Odyssey knows that Amazon, not exactly a small business is buying their product and have probably encountered this problem before, so why not include them as an authorized dealer? Can’t be cost as what I paid for the battery and what it cost directly from Odyssey is a minimal difference and had I known this was an issue I would have bought one from them or NAPA,etc.

Anyway it’s a done deal.

[Kev m]

Amazon’s stated policy for this product is 30 days return to them and after that the item should be returned to the manufacturer. I owned this battery for 8 months so under their policy, this was my problem. According to Odyssey, this battery was bought from them in 2024 and it has a two year warranty so maybe Amazon sends the battery back to them as they are the ones who purchased it from Odyssey?  Obviously, Odyssey knows that Amazon, not exactly a small business is buying their product and have probably encountered this problem before, so why not include them as an authorized dealer? Can’t be cost as what I paid for the battery and what it cost directly from Odyssey is a minimal difference and had I known this was an issue I would have bought one from them or NAPA,etc.

Anyway it’s a done deal.

With your certainty you're missing everything I'm trying to tell you from having been an OEM in this industry.

Trust me, your conclusions aren't certain as they rely on too many assumptions, that's all.

But you're right it's over so we can move on.

[Turin]

Amazon is great for toilet paper, and cat litter. God knows what happened to that battery between amazon, their shippers, or their warehouse. The thing coulda been damaged. Lot's of reasons not to buy imortant things there.
I buy my AGM batteries at Batteries and Bulbs. I try to buy and return locally. B&B provides replacements after 2 years if there is a defect.

Odysseys last me 4 years here in Arizona. I did had one develop a crack and a leak.