Hi Pete , only just seen your post as I'm afraid I do not bother to visit the forum very often these days . I have had a couple of Optima batteries over a period of years . I put one on my WC54 after I got fed up with the standard having insufficient guts to get it started . I now have a pair on my jeep after the originals died during the period of all my electrical problems , they have been there for a couple of years doing sterling service . I also had one of the larger ones which ended up in the Snow Trac when I sold that . They have all been good . If they stand around for ages they will loose charge eventually . I actually have a dead one in the garage which I bought to fit in my Triumph Vitesse . Due to various plans coming unstuck I've not got that back on the road again as I had promised myself I would . That battery has sat unused for quite some time , it's been abused for various jobs and left without being recharged , I've not looked after it properly and , unsurprisingly , it has expired but that's through my neglect rather than anything else . Yes they are a bit more expensive but I've come to believe that they are worth it .