Industrial Power for Consumer Use
By: Jason Giacchino

The Facts

Batteries have become a staple of ATV experience. Whereas once riders divided starting duty across pulling a recoil cord, kicking a lever, or popping the clutch on the largest hill they could find, these days push-button electric starting rules the roost. With the advent of electronic fuel injection, we expect this trend to certainly continue.

Batteries however, whether in your ATV, cell phone or children’s toys have a finite life span and eventual replacement is inevitable.

The Product

We here at ATV Connection are no strangers to replacing dead batteries (in a cruel twist of fate this article is being written while the temperature outside is an honest 16-degrees below zero). When the time to replace the acid-box in our trusty but rusty Suzuki KingQuad 300, we had essentially two choices based on our local dealer stock: the OEM replacement or the 9 EnerSys Odyssey.

Considering we could nearly purchase three stocker replacements for the asking price of a single Odyssey, we were naturally curious as to the benefits of the more-expensive unit. In a world where money talks, we knew the only way to be sure was to sink the extra coin on the Odyssey to find out for ourselves. Mother Nature, always happy to be of assistance in these sorts of matters, did what she could to help our testing by making it the coldest winter on record in over thirty years.

Claimed Benefits

The Odyssey actually makes some pretty impressive boasts. First off they are touted as lasting three times longer while putting out twice the cranking power of a conventional battery. These claims beg the question, what about the Odyssey would be considered unconventional then? The answer lies in its construction, specifically use of Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) tech. What this means to you and I is rather than a box full of liquid acid and electrolyte, the Odyssey makes use of mat plates (dry cells) that absorb all of the acid content. Since these mats make direct contact with the plates inside, there is little concern over rough terrain sloshing the acid around/ interrupting connection. Also it results in 15% more plate surface area that allegedly translates to more power.

EnerSys also states that since their plates are constructed of 99.99% pure virgin lead (opposed to lead alloy in most batteries), cranking output remains consistent.

Other claims include a battery that will remain charged for two years when disconnected (compare this to the six week average of most batteries we’ve encountered and the benefits become clear). Additionally the company’s reputation as a supplier of batteries for military and commercial applications and the magnitude of our own curiosity becomes clear.

Installation

Because the Odyssey doesn’t contain liquid within, the directions state that it can be mounted just about any way possible (save for completely upside down). Considering it was roughly the same dimensions of the battery it replaced, we didn’t have a reason to test such claims. It fit soundly in our test ATV’s battery box and the top mounted posts made for simple cable connection.

Test

Our Odyssey came fully charged and fired up the ATV with authority right off the bat. It has been equally authoritative (and hitch free) in the two months following despite temps that are (no exaggeration) commonly found in the Antarctic.

We even had an opportunity to jump-start another nearby ATV when its battery “gave up the ghost” one particularly cold night. Not only did the Odyssey handle the task, the running KingQuad’s lighting never so much as dimmed as a result of the shared voltage.

The only area we can’t speak intelligently upon is the battery’s claims of longevity (as it’s only been nearly 3-months since we purchased and installed it). The battery came with a two-year full replacement warranty. The other replacement unit we were considering came with none.

Conclusion

We’ll come right out with it: We suspected, at the time of purchase, that it would be pretty difficult to justify the increased asking price of the Odyssey over the much cheaper OEM replacement, but our short time with the product has already managed to impress (and we are extremely optimistic about the company’s claims of design life to last 8-12 years and a service life of 3 to 10 years).

Added bonuses such as no risk of external leakage or corrosion and a charged shelf life of 2 years really seal the deal for us.

It’s easy to recommend the Odyssey to all battery-equipped ATV riders but even more so to those who find themselves in extreme climates.

Contact

For more information or to view the brand’s application guide, head to their official site:

http://www.odysseybattery.com/

Do you think this battery is worth the price of admission? Discuss it here!