Batteries rant

<rant>
To my great annoyance I've just discovered that Manbat, previously
preferred supplier of all things battery-ish have shut their trade
counters, and now only sell through distributors. Their Web site is full
of stuff about how wonderful they are, but nowhere does it mention that
they don't want me as a customer any more.

Having just wasted 3/4 hour trying to get through to their Bristol
branch only to be told this (head office redirected the call but
couldn't be bothered to mention it), that's another company off the
list. I won't be dealing with them again if I can help it, nor their
resellers.

Life is quite expensive enough without (a) paying a markup to someone
who just pockets it for no purpose, and (b) being prevented from talking
to people who know their stuff.
</rant>

Which comes back to an immediate need for a dirty great big Varta
battery for the R80. Can anyone suggest a decent distributor, pref. in
the Bristol area? Someone who doesn't mind people paying money for
stuff, and answering sensible technical questions...

Still fuming (as is the old battery!).

 

They had a factory in Crewkerne which isn't so far from Bristol.

A quick google produced: VARTA LTD 01460 73366 - may be worth a quick
call.

 

I think they still do, but perhaps a 140-mile round trip is a bit OTT
for a battery).

Varta are good, I agree, but Bristol Batteries apparently now stock the
R80s huge thing (they didn't before), and a slightly smaller alternative
too, so they're on the list for tomorrow. Nice people: I get pro-
Duracells from them for work.

Cheers,

S.

PS: what is it about the battery industry though - it seems trapped in
the 19th century as far as distribution is concerned.

 

Bristol Batteries are a Varta dealer, so should be able to get anything
next day if they don't stock the one you want.

--
Krusty

'03 Tiger 955i
'02 MV Senna (for sale) '96 Tiger (for sale)
'79 Fantic Hiro 250 (for sale) '81 Corvette (for sale)

 

Ah... Ignore my other post then.

It must just be you - I've never had any trouble getting them next day,
either ordered in by a shop (CAF or Motorsave), or mail order.

--
Krusty

'03 Tiger 955i
'02 MV Senna (for sale) '96 Tiger (for sale)
'79 Fantic Hiro 250 (for sale) '81 Corvette (for sale)

 

Stopped steaming; bought Varta this afternoon at a decent price from
Bristol Batteries. 'Twas still expensive, but the 'equivalent' unit was
a frustrating 7mm taller* (but half the price, grr).

Anyway, got one, balanced the electrolyte and it's been on top-up this
evening. Will drop it in the bike sometime over the next couple of days
to see if everything hackles...

.... which only leaves forks, brake line replacement, tank refurb, carb
stripdown, exhaust welding (again!) oil changes and a general bit of
tarting up before the MOT.

And fixing the small crack in the screen, whenigetamo.

<sigh>


*There's only 5mm between the top of the Varta and the bottom of the
tool tray. Less if I fit the tool tray properly. But *nobody* fits the
b***dy tool tray properly... <wanders off, muttering>

 

Remind me again why I gave up owning old BMWs...

 

Sorry, didn't quite catch that. I was out trying to get that flamin'
tool tray to fit in the proper place...

 

Reliant Robin battery fitted the /7 R80 - it was taller, but you leave
the tool tray out.
Bloke at battery specialist sucked his teeth and said the bike vibration
would kill a car battery, but he was talking bollocks. What the **** did
he think it was, a shite old parallel twin or something?

 

Oh _that's_ what it was then!

I guess the one they offered me at Bristol Batteries was for a Reliant.
They said it was a cheaper substitute, and I was wondering who'd be daft
enough to make a battery that ever-so-nearly fitted but not quite.

But I likes me tool tray, even if I never can get the mountings to fit
properly over the rubber lugs at the back. Would feel undressed without
it...

 

FWIW, you can get away with a battery quite a bit smaller - mine has a
reduced battery tray on account of the shock being where the original/tool
tray/airbox etc were.

http://www.roman-road.co.uk/ddol-las/boxer/

The battery's about half as big, but if in decent nick, it'll still start it
on the electric boot.

 

I see what you mean. The mudguard takes up a fair bit of that space on
mine, thobut.

Anyway, have now sold my soul (and several offspring) to buy Varta -
just a single battery mind, not the whole outfit.

 

that got truncated to put a shock unit there...

I may say, for a hacked together prototype, it works amazingly well. Spring
rate is a tad too high except for lardarses like me, but that would be
easily remedied.

I suppose one day I ought to get around to doing a better-looking one.

 

It's fine.

You just need to get the frame bits powder-coated to one matching
colour

Seriously, if that hadn't been BMW's "classical look is good' period, I
think they'd have done something similar. But they'd have done the paint
thing too I guess...

 

Well, functionally, I like it better than BM's monoshock, which I think
looks ugly.

The concept of course is far from original - mine is more or less the same
layout to a series D Vincent, and in more recent terms, the RD yams had
something similar, I believe. and in fact, that quadrant shock unit on it
is RD350 spec, IIRC - when it was first designed (the one on the boxer) I
did some back-of-a-fag-packet calcualtions on spring rates and unit lengths,
and, when the other chap contacted quadrant, the bloke said "that's as near
as dammit to an RD" so that is what was bought.

The main thing which could do with attention is the lower shock mounting
bracket, which is rather crude.