Stock TaoTao TBR7 and Hawk 250 Battery Any Good? – FAQ

Often you find questions in the Chonda forums or FB Groups, Is the stock TaoTao TBR7 battery any good? Or, Is the stock Hawk 250 Battery any good? You will get mixed results, depending on the type of battery you get with your motorcycle. Based on my findings and opinion, here we go.

Stock TBR7 And Hawk 250 Motorcycle Battery – Mixed Results.

Based on my findings, if you get a battery from the manufacturer where the electrolyte and battery are sent separately, there are concerns.

The electrolyte bottle is manufactured so you can open it and pour all the contents into every motorcycle battery cell without spilling a drop. In theory, this works.

What Could Go Wrong?

I did not receive the ‘some assembly required’ stock battery with my TBR7 motorcycle, but I have seen enough YT and read enough Chinese motorcycle forum complaints to observe a problem.

Often the electrolyte is spilled onto the floor. Glad I wear safety glasses when doing motorcycle work (URL). This accident not only under fills battery cells but also uneven fills battery cells. 

Less electrolyte is in contact with cell electrodes causing localized heating and less power, with causes other batter cells to work harder and stresses their capacity.

So… Mixed Results from the stock motorcycle batteries when not correctly filled.  

I have noticed no one seems to complain when they take their time and slowly pour the electrolyte bottle, not spilling a drop and adequately sealing off each cell. Stock battery longevity appears to be based on how you initially treat the stock battery.

So, with a non-sealed factory battery, they last longer if they are initially taken care of. Leading me to say:

The Factory Non-Sealed Stock Battery Is A Good Motorcycle Battery.

Now the sealed stock TaoTao TBR7 Battery and Hawk 250 Battery.

There seem to be fewer complaints from TBR7 and Hawk 250 owners about their batteries failing early when they receive a factory-sealed motorcycle battery. As one person put it: the battery life expectancy is one riding season, but from my count, ten months.  

The non-sealed stock Hawk 250 and TBR7 stock motorcycle battery typically lasts up to 10 months, based on my findings.

The Factory Sealed Stock Battery Is A Good Motorcycle Battery.

I’ve heard so few complaints about the factory-sealed motorcycle battery, so I understand this battery is good.

However, like all motorcycle batteries, this can change based on how you treat your motorcycle battery. Don’t abuse your Hawk 250 or TBR7 motorcycle battery, and it will last longer.

What To Do If You Want The Stock Battery to Last Longer?

I learned these steps decades ago while driving a car with a bad carburetor.

1.- Don’t Crank The Starter For Long.

If your motorcycle isn’t starting, fix that reason. As you crank the starter, the starter heats up, causing more electrical resistance and forcing the battery to work harder as you crank it. You are limiting the life expectancy of any motorcycle batter. 

2.- Battery’s Like To Only Operate Near Full Charge.

This point is essential since the typical lead-acid battery for a motorcycle is used only to start the engine. So the battery only likes to operate to the step where the bike is started, and the motorcycle’s charging system is recharging the battery back to full.

So don’t leave your motorcycle’s electrical loads on when the engine isn’t running. This process drains the battery and turns almost any typical good battery into a bad battery since it might never fully recharge back to factory specs after a deep drain.

3.- Batteries Lose Charge Over Time.

Lead-acid batteries rely on chemical energy to create electrical power. Over time, inside the battery, from lack of use, the battery loses stored electrical energy.

This drop in charge is a concern since I mentioned that typical lead-acid batteries like to only operate at full charge. If the charge drops over time, the battery might not work initially, and even when fully recharged, it might never return to factory spec power.

This concern means you should be charging your battery occasionally. 

Charging in warm months is easy. We go and ride, and the motorcycle’s charging system will recharge the battery and get it back to full power while we are riding.

During the colder/wetter months, charging the battery while riding might be a problem. We might ride less often or not at all. In this case, a battery tender ( My TaoTao TBR7 One Year Motorcycle Review! )might be your friend.

My TaoTao TBR7 Stock Battery Is A Good Battery.

After doing upgrades, I’ve ridden my bike, abused my stock battery with frequent cranks, and had long periods of not riding the TBR7 motorcycle due to Pennsylvania winter days.

However, my battery is still going strong. I use a Battery Tender ( Do I Need A Trickle Battery Charger/Tender For My Motorcycle? ), and every time I go for a regular ride on my TBR7 motorcycle, the bike starts right up.

Note: After some upgrades, I had hard starts, but that’s part of abusing my stock battery, and I didn’t initially fix the starting problem. I instead beat the battery with more prolonged than expected cranking. :/

So, in summary, the stock battery is good if you take care of the battery.

• If you have a non-factory sealed stock battery, take your time filling the cells and not spilling the battery electrolyte.
• Don’t over-crank your battery to compensate for a starting problem.
• Don’t drain your motorcycle battery.
• Charge your battery either by riding often or get a battery tender ( What A Motorcycle Battery Tender For Means For Me. ) as I have. Batter tenders work well for winterizing your bike.

I hope this FAQ helps you ride more often, fix less frequently, or, more importantly, spend less money on maintenance. 😀

My Stock TaoTao TBR7 Battery Update:

I am still running my TaoTao TBR7 motorcycle with its stock battery (Updated: 24th May 2022). 

I plan to update this FAQ until the stock TBR7 battery finally ‘dies.’ So I can personally respond to the question, is the TBR7 battery any good? The same type of factory sealed battery the Hawk 250 comes with.

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Click To See My Recommended
TBR7 Upgrades

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Additional Reading Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead%E2%80%93acid_battery