Battery terminal covers - 09 RT, PC 680

[Trojan]

Morning guys. I swapped out my BMW gel batter for an Odyssey PC 680. Put a piece of rubber tube under the bracket, she's nice and snug.

Question: The old battery had pretty good rubber shields for the terminals, and they won't fit or adapt to the new PC 680. For those who are using the PC 680 (or similar), what are you using for terminal covers?

Thanks so much.

John

[jaherbst]

Not using anything. Probably should.

Jack

[32232]

You only need to cover the positive terminal, since the negative is grounded to all the other metal bits already.

It's not elegant, but duct tape will do for the positive side.

[racer7]

A few layers of duct tape is adequate but a hunk of rubber gasket material would be better.

Accidental shorts of the positive to ground could lead to a fire so don't skip it. That oem cover is there for a reason, not decoration.

[Alfred02]

A few layers of duct tape is adequate but a hunk of rubber gasket material would be better.

Accidental shorts of the positive to ground could lead to a fire so don't skip it. That oem cover is there for a reason, not decoration.

I generally would agree with your above comments, but not in the case of at least my 05 1200RT.
I even have proper rubber boots in various sizes to cover battery terminals, just not needed in this case.
If you have routed the positive along it's original path, then there is no way of the positive terminal/cable to ever come close to ground or any metal parts of the bike that are connected to the frame.
The seat itself is plastic and as any part connected to the seat are attached to the plastic parts of the seat, again no possible path to ground.

BMW seems to use the same Gel Battery for multiple models, so the cap might be more required on other models.
As they wouldn't bother to make all different batteries for various models (cost) you end up with the cover even if on your particular model it might not be required, since it hardly is going to hurt anything.
There is also the possibility that some country's legislation requires positive terminals to be covered, no matter what the circumstances.

But personally, I question Odyssey's decision "not" to provide a positive terminal cover and the 90 degree bracket as standard for such an expensive battery.

[RoboRider]

Can you guys explain to me why you even bother with the battery brackets? I took mine off and connected directly to the battery. It is neater and cleaner, no problem at all doing it. I didn't cover my positive but I suppose a piece of duct tape would do a fine job, especially since the area to cover is very small and flat when you don't use brackets.

[racer7]

Nothing wrong with going directly to the battery without using the L bracket.
But can't say I'm a fan of that nest of unloomed wires. At least they're fused....

FWIW, all car tech inspections at the track requires covers on the + terminal and some types require battery boxes.. Batteries can be pitched out of brackets in an impact yet still be connected. Can't say I've personally seen one start a car fire but I've seen a bunch end up in the fan or some other location they didn't belong.