The gell may have kept the electrolyte from leaking out.

If the battery still works, I would epoxy the hole closed and fix whatever it was that allowed the battery to move around and get a hole in it....then keep using the battery until it stops.

If you are planning any long trips in the Russian wilderness....maybe it is time to buy a spare battery that does not yet have the acid placed in the battery (dry)...and keep it in your saddlebag/back pack for an emergency.

This is true on any battery, gel or water based.

If you store your bike outside in freezing weather, remove the battery if possible and leave it set inside at least 24 hours before charging.

But at least trickle charge it, if you cannot get it inside after spending time out in the freezing cold.

thumperclone wrote on 02/09/15 at 19:23:39:

you over charged

I will tell you one thing I have learned about the AGM or glass matt sealed batteries.....they give you no warning when they are going to fail.  I was riding my 2000 Honda ST1100 last year, I bought the bike used and the battery was working fine.  About 6 months after buying the bike I rode up to the hardware store, it fired right up like usual and the ride was about 5 miles.  I left the hardware store and rode about a mile down the street to fill up the fuel tank.  When I went to start the bike...nothing.  When I turned the key on you could just barely see the neutral light glow....barely.  I took the Tupperware off and checked all the fuses and the battery connections and everything was fine.  I got a jump to the battery from a car (make sure the car is never running when jumping a motorcycle from a car as it can ruin the charging circuit on the motorcycle).  Then I rode for 30 minutes to try and charge the battery...and when I got home and shut the bike off...the battery was dead.  I then tried to charge it without success.

It turned out that it was the original Yuasa battery from the Honda factory and was 14 years old!  The dealer told me the replacement battery would never last as long as the original battery, and others have told me to be sure to get a Japanese made battery if I wanted to get the battery to last as long as possible.

So....never assume that just because the battery worked fine yesterday it should work today - the AGM batteries can go bad in a 1 mile trip between the hardware store and gas station...it did for me!  There was absolutely no warning previously...the bike always started just fine.