OttawaPat

Thanks for the info. I'll continue to do more research on the Lithium Ion stuff.

That’s what we get for battery life in cold Canada—around 6 years. I’m the only person who trickle charges my batteries winter and summer so i always get more life than my other motorcycle instructor colleagues. Two batteries in a row lasted eight years on the VFR but some of these small dirt bike batteries only last three years. I’ve never gotten more than 7 years out of a car battery. My brand new Nissan car battery crapped out after two years (defect...). My brother-in-law got nine seasons out of a mc battery—-he completely ignored it. Rode the bike only twice a year and never charged the thing ever. And i mean ever. They broke the mold after they made that battery. Life isn’t fair.... I also label each battery with the bike type and the date they were purchased so i’m not guessing as to how many years it lasted. Is your data correct? Ten years is really good for you on lead acid batteries. It just doesn’t happen around here.

There was an excellent interview on AdventureRider Radio podcast about pads. They interviewed a motorcycle brake pad scientist (I think from DP Brakes but not 100% sure). It's the Aug 27, 2020 episode "Choosing Motorcycle Brake Pads--What is Brake Fade". Very good episode. Check it out. I changed my rear pads last year (about 55,000 kms then) and left the caliper attached to the bike. I remember it being awkward. The manual said something about making sure that spring stays in place. I had to really look to find the spring. No problem, I thought, I won't touch it then all of a sudden PTWAAANNNNGGG as it flew across the garage!! It took me half an hour to find it...then another half an hour to figure out how to put it back in place...ugghh...

Apologies if this is a duplicate post. I did a search and could only find the topic referenced for the Gen 8. I bought my 2005 new (in 07) and I'm now about to buy my third battery for the bike. I'll complain a bit about longevity (I have a lot of bikes so I'm always buying a battery every year for something!) but I realize they only last 6 years plus or minus. I'm interested in these new fangled lithium ion batteries. They're supposed to last longer (maybe 9 or 10 years?) but apparently they're quite a bit lighter. I find the VFR a heavy bike anyways but, as luck would have it, I accidentally found out my racebike battery fits in the VFR (it powered the VFR all of 2020 when the VFR battery gave up the ghost) so I'm also interested in the lighter weight. Any experience with these new batteries in the Gen 6? Thanks in advance.

Thanks for all this info! I also have been running just one low beam bulb on my 05 for years and replacing the burned out one has been on my list. The LEDs weren't around in 2005 and have got to be a substantial improvement over stock.