Relocating Battery- Pictures

[Pipeless416]

Well everybody, I decided to move my battery to the front of my quad to get it out of the airbox. i have been running two different custom airboxes for a while, and while everything is nice and neat in there, it was time to change for several reasons.

1. the wires were close to being severed from pulling too tight.

2. i couldn't get the K&N out to clean it without taking everything apart.

3. i don't want to run a K&N anymore, but having the battery in the box didn't allow the longer UNI.

4. the voltage regular and the relay didn't really have a place to mount properly.

5. while nice looking, the better fitting steel airbox is pretty heavy.

6. i want to be able to run an airbox lid every once in a great while.

7. i was bored and my dual stock pipes is going to take a little longer than expected.

Cons
the airboxes i made were built long enough for the 450r carb and there will be the weight of a hayabusa battery in the front now.

anyway, here's the pictures of the progress so far.

this is after i shortened the wiring harness and taped it all up.

[Pipeless416]

by moving the wiring harness i'll get to use the switch and ignition mount i made a while ago. i haven't used it since i got an extended stem and the wires wouldn't reach.

[Pipeless416]

tomorrow's plans include making a new "strap" much like the piece that holds the battery in place in the box in the stock location. i need a new one since the 'busa battery is about 3/4" taller than stock. that's also why i had to cut the top of the battery box. the relay will be mounted to the top of the new strap.

[Pipeless416]

the red wire is going back to the starter motor which is currently out and taken apart. it needs new brushes which i have already ordered. i'm trying to make use of as many stock mounting points as i can, hence running the wire down the right side. i don't even remember what used to go there..:confused:

[Pipeless416]

^that picture is disgusting and i need to have my stem re-powdercoated.. red to match the a arms or chrome.

this is what the back will include now.. just the tail light, exhaust, and the simple stock airbox setup.

[Pipeless416]

here's a shot showing how the cdi will mount. i'm going to have it on the inside of the plastic mount though. i'll simply take the box out and flip it over so the wires are going the other way. it's actually a very snug fit. the regulator is bolted to the back of the battery box. don't mind the harness shoved down there. i was just checking plastic clearance.

[Pipeless416]

overall shot of the project.

[Pipeless416]

it should be all bolted back together as soon as i make the new battery stay and i get the new starter motor brushes. i just have to install my new heated grips then. :p here's a shot of all the happenings in the garage right now. we're going out on the lakes again tomorrow. i'll take my brothers quad, he'll take his snowmobile, and my dad will take his Z. that's all for now!

[slightlybent47]

If I may ask, what was the reason for moving the battery?

[Pipeless416]

Originally posted by slightlybent47
If I may ask, what was the reason for moving the battery?

first post..they're even numbered. :blah: :p

[trailrider894]

Originally posted by Pipeless416
first post..they're even numbered. :blah: :p

totally agree with everything you said... thats exactly why i haven't done this mod yet...

[Pipeless416]

Originally posted by trailrider894
totally agree with everything you said... thats exactly why i haven't done this mod yet...

relocating the battery? do you have yours in the airbox?

[trailrider894]

Originally posted by Pipeless416
relocating the battery? do you have yours in the airbox?

Yep, i bought the airbox to do it, and i started lining everything up and realized what was gonna happen, so i sent the airbox back and saved myself the pain of it all... I would relocate to the front, but i am not that die-hard on moving the battery. I don't mind the stock position.

[Pipeless416]

Originally posted by trailrider894
Yep, i bought the airbox to do it, and i started lining everything up and realized what was gonna happen, so i sent the airbox back and saved myself the pain of it all... I would relocate to the front, but i am not that die-hard on moving the battery. I don't mind the stock position.

yes, it is a pain having it in the airbox, but some (CFM i believe) have it rotated 90 degrees so the long sides face the front and back. i wish i would have done that. mine never would have changed from the mounting area, but i kind of took on a project that required changing the location..;)

[trailrider894]

Originally posted by Pipeless416
yes, it is a pain having it in the airbox, but some (CFM i believe) have it rotated 90 degrees so the long sides face the front and back. i wish i would have done that. mine never would have changed from the mounting area, but i kind of took on a project that required changing the location..;)

lol i know.

[CJM]

I want to find out what battery my boost box uses. It is quite small and if it will jumpstart a car it should start the atv lol..

[tri5ron]

Mike, so far, I'm liking the idea and the project. Subscribing to this thread to follow the progress.

As you proceed, (and progress),please think to also list any obstacles and hurdles that you will surely have to deal with as they develop.

I'm curious as to the reason for running the ground wire all the way down to the lower bumper mount bolt. Is this just a temporary connection point? seems to me that the shorter the ground wire could be would be a prefferable choice.
(Or maybe I'm missing some reasoning here ?)

I'm confident this will be another one of your interesting builds.
I'll be watching/following with intrest. :D

[Scro]

I did something similar on my 450r, except I had two batteries. I would definitely ground it somewhere besides the front bumper. On the 450r's, you actually have to ground it to the bolt on the starter. The starter won't work otherwise. Not sure if it's that way with the 400ex or not.

Both of my batteries and the electrical components weighed about 15 pounds. Doesn't seem like much, but that is a 30 pound redistribution of weight. It was noticeable enough to make my front end dive more in the corners. If I hadn't have parted the bike out shortly there after, I was going to have to respring/revalve the suspension. It effected jumping as well. It seemed like it wanted to nose dive easier with them up there, partly because of the suspension. It did help keep the front end down on hillclimbs, which I liked.

[Pipeless416]

Originally posted by tri5ron
Mike, so far, I'm liking the idea and the project. Subscribing to this thread to follow the progress.

As you proceed, (and progress),please think to also list any obstacles and hurdles that you will surely have to deal with as they develop.

I'm curious as to the reason for running the ground wire all the way down to the lower bumper mount bolt. Is this just a temporary connection point? seems to me that the shorter the ground wire could be would be a prefferable choice.
(Or maybe I'm missing some reasoning here ?)

I'm confident this will be another one of your interesting builds.
I'll be watching/following with intrest. :D

thanks, the relocation is almost done, just have to figure out exactly where to put all the wires and i need to finish hooking up the tail light. as for the ground wire, i stuck it on there to make sure everything functions. i'm not exactly sure where i'll be connecting it permanently though..

Scro- the stock ground actually attaches right to the subframe next to the original battery location. i completely understand the pushing in corners, because my shocks are definitely not set up right in the front as it is. this battery is ~13 lbs i believe, so it will definitely be noticeable, however jumping is not really my thing. the only thing that concerns me is the ability to float the front end in a set of whoops. we shall see!

[beags86]

it's hard for me to see in your pics, but it seams like your blocking your stock oil cooler... not a concern for you with a spal fan and the (four stroke tech?) aftermarket oil cooler, but something i thought i would point out for someone else that might want to follow this thread for their build.

side note: when i installed my kill switch on my 05. i needed a ground. i drilled a hole in the top of the bent channel
(that the shocks mount to) and installed a nutsert for the ground. worked good for me. or maybe just a bolt and nut.

might work well for what you want.... just throwing it out there.

[Pipeless416]

Originally posted by beags86
it's hard for me to see in your pics, but it seams like your blocking your stock oil cooler... not a concern for you with a spal fan and the (four stroke tech?) aftermarket oil cooler, but something i thought i would point out for someone else that might want to follow this thread for their build.

side note: when i installed my kill switch on my 05. i needed a ground. i drilled a hole in the top of the bent channel
(that the shocks mount to) and installed a nutsert for the ground. worked good for me. or maybe just a bolt and nut.

might work well for what you want.... just throwing it out there.

thanks for the concerns and ideas. i may look into that for the ground. the oil cooler may be blocked a little more, but i don't really have any heat concerns. im only 11:1 CR and i took the Sparks key out. i always run synthetic and the extra cooling more than makes up for the mods and the blocked flow. im thinking about possibly putting a 5.2 inch fan on the FST cooler someday.. i eventually want a bigger stator though too.

heres an update as to what i've done today:

while i was tearing everything down anyway, i decided to figure out why my starter was having major problems. i found that it was a broken wire going to the brushes, so i rebuilt that end of the starter. this is what you'll find if you open it up. i also cleaned up all the junk that was in there.. lots of power now with the 'busa battery:blah:

[Pipeless416]

here's the battery hold down in progress.

[Pipeless416]

and here it is in place.

edit: after looking at it, the battery sits pretty far above where the stock oil cooler mounts, so i don't think it will really be constricting air flow too much.

[tri5ron]

Excellent job.

You are one of the very few of us on here, that I would expect to see that from.
99% of the members here, would either drop their bike off at the dealer, or at best,... just R&R the starter with a new one.
(then post a thread to complain about the cost of the starter, LOL!)
You are an impressive guy Mike,
keep on with your keepin' on !

[Pipeless416]

this is how the relay will be mounted up.

i still have a lot of work to do as far as getting the harness situated so it's not bouncing all over. i'll make sure to take finalized pictures.

[Pipeless416]

Originally posted by tri5ron
Excellent job.

You are one of the very few of us on here, that I would expect to see that from.
99% of the members here, would either drop their bike off at the dealer, or at best,... just R&R the starter with a new one.
(then post a thread to complain about the cost of the starter, LOL!)
You are an impressive guy Mike,
keep on with your keepin' on !

lol thanks Ron.. i just like to think that i'm "frugal." MSRP on a starter is $330 and service honda wants like $165. after doing some research, i found that they can be rebuilt for about $28. good as new!

edit: i'd also like to say that this is kind of how i do things.. one project turns into 5 others!! :rolleyes: :devil:

[tri5ron]

Haha,
Frugal is a good thing, always has been.
examples-

“No free government, or the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue; and by a frequent recurrence to fundamental principles”
-Patrick Henry

“Waste neither time nor money, but make the best use of both. Without industry and frugality, nothing will do, and with them everything.”
-Benjamin Franklin

“Without frugality none can be rich, and with it very few would be poor.”
-Samuel Johnson

So basically,
by my interpretation, you've still got a few hundred extra "Frugals" in your pocket,...
than the average "Shmo" would.

[beags86]

Originally posted by Pipeless416
.. lots of power now with the 'busa battery:blah:

whats the deal with the 'busa batt?

i realize that a street bike batt is prob going to have more cca, is that all?

what am i missing here? why so many guys running one of these?

[CJM]

Originally posted by beags86
whats the deal with the 'busa batt?

i realize that a street bike batt is prob going to have more cca, is that all?

what am i missing here? why so many guys running one of these?

A bit more cranking power is pretty much it, price is pretty much the same too.

Whats the model # your running pipeless YT12-bs or something similar?

[NacsMXer]

Originally posted by CJM
A bit more cranking power is pretty much it, price is pretty much the same too.

Whats the model # your running pipeless YT12-bs or something similar?

I'm running a Yuasa YT12A-BS I got through Pappy. He beat all the prices I found on the net. It definitely cranks harder/faster than the stock battery. My stocker lasted 9 years before it gave up the ghost so I stuck with the Yuasa brand. You can also buy an Interstate YT12A-BS which is a genuine Yuasa, just rebranded.

Here's the specs on the Busa battery vs. stock if anyone was curious:

YT12AB-S 175 CCA Yuasa
Dimensions: 150mm x 87mm x 105mm, weight: 6.3 lbs

Stock 120 CCA
Dimensions: 150mm x 87mm x 105mm, weight 5.4 lbs


And great job on the relocate Pipeless! Let us know how it works out with the whole weight transfer issue. I'd be willing to bet you could even it back out a good bit in the future if you ever went to an aftermarket steel swingarm. There's a big difference in weight over the stock aluminum swinger.

[honda400ex2003]

subscribed to check in on this all the time. very cool project, only seen it done once or twice and they used the stocker. very cool using the busa one. steve

[dustin_j]

Subscribed as well. I've also wanted to do this for awhile; please report back after riding it. Thanks.

[Pipeless416]

Originally posted by dustin_j
Subscribed as well. I've also wanted to do this for awhile; please report back after riding it. Thanks.

unfortunately i won't really be putting it through it's paces for a while. i go to school and i won't be home in the summer because i'll be taking graduate classes. hopefully spring break will be the next ride. i will be riding the lakes on January 30th, so i should be able to tell you something about how it corners and what not.


CJM- correct on why people use the battery.

NacsMxer- thanks for the compliments. I'm not sure on the exact model number, but i have a slightly different battery that is actually about half an inch taller. I was in a bind before a trip and my battery was dead, so that's what I ended up with.