I have to admit, I have been very hesitant to write this article and have delayed doing so for several years. My deferment in writing was essentially a giant rationalization to ‘protect’ this motorcycle battery brand (and I guess us as well) from unnecessary blow-back. Compromising thoughts like “it’s not really hurting anyone since the battery is actually pretty good” or “it’s not my place to shake the apple cart” or “so many high profile racing teams use their batteries so that has to speak for something” kept me from raising my concern sooner. In all honesty, what we are about to share regarding this certain battery brand may impact our sales negatively and sour our relationship with the manufacturer. Nonetheless, we feel the questions raised have not been satisfactorily answered. Believe me when I tell you, it is not easy sticking your neck out. Frankly, it is down right uncomfortable. But I refuse to be beholden to the allure of profits and to serve the mighty dollar. We serve the Almighty and He is not an author of confusion and asks us to seek so we can find (Biblical scholars I am aware of the loose theology used to make that 'seek and find' point). Allow me to present the case that questions if this automotive and power sport battery brand may be stretching the truth when it comes to publishing the highest CCA rating.

Let me start out by making this abundantly clear: This battery brand is NOT terrible! The product in question comes from a well-known American factory with a great track record. There simply has been some things said or published that has helped to create some mystique and fanned some questions. This perceived mis-information coupled with some rational extrapolation is what we would like to highlight and then let you decide. Seriously, we want you to weigh in and share your thoughts (kindly and rationally).

The motorcycle battery company in the crosshairs today is Braille.

History and Background to Our Braille Story

In 2014, Grafoid Inc. (a graphene research, development and investment company) became the parent company of Braille, LLC who’s roots stretch back to 2002. Braille lithium, AGM and carbon fiber batteries are popular with NASCAR, drag racing, Formula 1, Indycar and many other racing venues. It is a great franchise with many high profile supporters!

Braille has many sizes of batteries. We tend to work with the smaller ones that are sized for motorcycles and other powersport applications. Braille also markets these batteries towards general automotive situations by including threaded automotive terminals in the box. The Lightweight AGM series is where our point of contention resides. These batteries include the following part numbers: B106, B129, B14115, B2015, B2317, B2317RP, B2618, and B3121.

These batteries may look familiar to you if you have been riding a bike for a while, even if you have never heard of the Braille Battery brand before. That is because they are made in the same East Penn DEKA factory that produces the Harley Davidson OEM motorcycle battery. In the aftermarket the corresponding batteries to what I just listed in the previous paragraph are known by the following part numbers: ETX9, ETX12, ETX14, ETX20L, ETX16, ETX16L, ETX18L, and ETX30L.

East Penn DEKA Motorcycle Battery TerminalThis particular battery has a very distinct look and feel. For the trained and perhaps even the untrained eye, this makes them easy to identify. The solid lead terminal with threaded front and top mount holes is the telltale sign. The rough matted case is the second mark that gives it away. Many private labels and Big Box stores use this power sport battery and most utilize the ETX part number system. The only other physical characteristic that stands out as different is that Braille includes a set of auto posts that thread onto the terminal pictured.

The one consistent measure between all the private labels, including the factories own Magna Power, DEKA and MK labels is the listed Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) and Amp Hour (AH) rating. That is all except for Braille. Back in the day, our Braille rep said their numbers were higher because they have these specially made. On the surface, many of us can live with that, and for the longest time, we did as well. But it began to bug me! Something just didn’t feel right. So I began to investigate and now feel compelled to share and write about what I have unearthed and air my concerns with this theory.

For comparison sake, let’s just take a quick look at one particular JIS group sizing familiar that the B2015 is a part of. The YTX20L / YTX20HL battery is used in many of the larger motorcycles ATVs and sleds. I find a side-by-side comparison helps paint the picture.

BRAND SKU CCA AH LBS
Yuasa MotoCross YTX20L 270 18 13.9
Yuasa MotoCross YTX20HL 310 18 15.1
Yuasa MotoCross GYZ20HL 310 21 15.3
MotoBatt MBTX20U 310 21 15.0
East Penn ETX20L 310 17 15.0
Braille B2015 425 21 15.0

Many of you recognize the Motocross Yuasa name and understand that Yuasa Battery Inc is the largest OEM powersport battery manufacturer in the world. They set the standard for these batteries. MotoBatt is a leading aftermarket manufacturer that really focuses on AH and creating an all-around power balanced battery. For the longest time, before Yuasa came out with the GYZ series, MotoBatt had the edge on Yuasa’s YTX20HL maximizing the AH while sustaining the CCA.

Expounding on my suspicion

Did you notice the tight range of specifications listed from the best of the best? There is one that seems to be an outlier. It raises the question, is this really possible?

Have you ever thought about the relationship between CCA and AH. Let me help you understand this relationship. If you fell asleep in physics class here is the abridged refresher: internal resistance cannot be avoided and plays a key role within battery mechanics. Generally speaking, when sticking within a defined space, as AH goes up CCA must decline or at the very least remain the same. Lowering internal resistance will raise CCA. One way to do this is by removing some of the active material (lead) or making the plates really thin.

Buyers Tip: If you want the best battery for your bike focus on the one that has the highest AH and the highest CCA. It is sure to not disappoint! Buy a Motorcycle Battery today.

Increasing the thickness and amount of lead will increase AH (think deep cycle battery). Advanced AGM batteries and pure lead AGM batteries have been able to increase AH and maintain the CCA achieved at lower AH levels. These are loosely referred to as dual purpose or power balanced batteries.

The Thorn in My Side Concerning the Highest CCA Battery

Now the part that has bugged me for such a long time is the aspect of defined or confined space. There is only so much space available inside the predefined 20L JIS battery case. The sizing is standardized the world over. Three of the world’s top producers—Yuasa, East Penn and MotoBatt—have not been able to increase the CCA past 310 cold cranking amps. When this battery size first came to market it was only 270 CCA. There is no physical space left to optimize to allow for higher returns! You can play games and entirely rob capacity to beef up crank, but I can promise you, you won’t like the long term result. The battery manufacturers don’t like the end result either—warranties.

The original amp hour capacity for this grouping was 17 or 18 AH. Now on the newer higher output versions you will see 20 or 21 AH. To keep things really simple, the factories had to add more lead to achieve this higher rating. We know this because the physical weight went up from a hair under 14lbs to slightly over 15lbs. Lead is heavy.

But notice that the CCA was only able to increase to 310 CCA from 270 CCA. The first changes increased CCA why keeping AH at 18. The later versions were able to increase the AH to 21 but could not increase the CCA any higher. It remained at 310 CCA. This was done impart by compressing the AGM lead material into the battery case, reworking the plate grid format and the design of the internal bus bar for example.

Getting Back to the Braille Motorcycle Battery

The Braille B2015 also states it is 21AH which could or should be believable since several other brands indicate the same thing. However, the other batteries that appear identical and come from the same factory list them as 17 AH. In the instance of the cold cranking amp, these same ETX batteries coming from the same factory, peak out at 310 CCA while Braille says theirs reach 425 CCA! Now remember we were told they have the factory makes these special for them…so that sounds like a plausible statement. Heck, the vast price difference between the ETX and the Braille would sure seem to support this notion.

Unfortunately, knowing what we just shared about CCA and AH this just raised more questions.
How in the world can they boast the highest CCA for a lead acid based motorcycle battery by such a large margin? How is this physically possible? Why hasn’t any other battery company been able to replicate this achievement? Or even come close? Better yet, why would the manufacturer of the Harley OEM battery not exploit this technological advancement and implement it into their battery line? Wouldn’t they want to be known for this? Do we really think the factory will stop production, retool and entirely change how they make this battery for only one small customer? Braille is by no means the largest battery brand. Well connected, yes. Used by high profile clients, yes. Deep distribution, not from what we can tell.
I would propose to you today, the claim Braille is making is not accurate and is near impossible to achieve. I believe these batteries are no different than the ETX line and merely have a different sticker placed on them like every other private label.

Below is the physical evidence that was considered.Braille PowerSport Battery w/ Highest CCA

Amp Hour (and Weight)

When I weighed the Braille B2015 it weighed the same as the ETX20L. At first glance, interestingly enough, their weight suggested they should be a 20 or 21AH battery similar to Yuasa’s YTX20HL or MotoBatt’s MBTX20U. But then when you consider they have giant lead terminals on top, you realize some of that weight is outside the battery and not used in storing or generating energy. The factories 17 AH specification then seems more accurate.

CCA

Using an off the shelf tester, the latest being the 390PT by PulseTech, we arrive at virtually the same result. The ETX batteries test much higher than the stated CCA and the Braille batteries lower than their stated CCA. But again, the numbers between the two are nearly identical!

Physical Characteristics

We already talked about the distinct terminal style being the same and the grey case having the same look and feel. But one thing I bet many people have not done is peel the front label off a Braille battery. If this is done, one will find the same QR code found on the ETX batteries. Of course all these things are external and by no means indicate the internal aspect has not been altered.

Conclusion

Now, if you take these attributes as a whole: same weight, same test results, same look and feel they seem to provide a convincing argument that they very well may be identical. Or am I the only one that has this suspicion? The factory that produces the battery does not even sell, under any other label, a battery that matches or comes close to Braille’s stated Specs. Does anyone have knowledge to the contrary? If so please present it because I have not found it and think it is something they would be proud to share.

If what I have presented holds true (in the sense that no new evidence arises to remove the remaining questions) then why not buy non-Braille branded East Penn batteries for nearly half the price? If you get the same output, isn't worth saving the cash?

Are stickers really that important? In my experience, not so much, unless you are a certain type of Amazon [troll] shopper. When you have a chance to chat with a buyer most recognize and understand what's going on. They recognize the factory and the reliability of the factory and understand they make private labels. If you ran out of stock on ETX battery 'A' then they are perfectly happy to receive ETX battery 'B' instead. In most cases they even have the same UPC codes!

So is the Braille sticker and threaded auto post they include worth an extra $99? Are you paying for prestige or a special feeling? I am more inclined to believe you are paying for performance.  The battery will definitely perform well, but it doesn't perform any better than the East Penn DEKA Magna Power stickers which are nearly half the price!