Battery replacement

[dcarver]

hmmm

 

[midnight rider]

My vote Is for a Shorai lithium. I’ve had one in the feejer for roughly 5 years and it has performed fabulously. In the winter when I don’t ride much, it has sat for as much as 6 weeks with no “tender” on it, and it fires the bike up easily, even after that long a nap.

Pricey yes, but well worth it.....

Biknflyfisher

I too have that brand. it is much lighter than the factory one. sadly am probably due for a new one mine is now over 3 years old but I have had no issues with it yet.Not sure it will make it to march.

 

[Speedy23]

I too have that brand. it is much lighter than the factory one. sadly am probably due for a new one mine is now over 3 years old but I have had no issues with it yet.Not sure it will make it to march.

If you have had no issues with it, why do you think you will need another one by March?

 

[RBEmerson]

What Speedy23 said. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

In general, part of the value in these batteries is a very good service life. Unless it was drained to zero, and left alone repeatedly (which no battery copes with well), nothing to worry about. Even a wet battery should hold on for about five years if it's maintained (kept wet, kept charged with a trickle charger when not riding).

 

[RossKean]

Even a wet battery should hold on for about five years if it's maintained (kept wet, kept charged with a trickle charger when not riding).

I have always managed a very long service life with AGM batteries. 10 years plus with the OEM batteries on both the '07 and '11. No trickle charger or battery tender ever - just a couple of top-off charges during a four month winter layoff.

I certainly wouldn't expect to replace any battery (AGM or Lithium) after three years unless it had been abused by overcharging, charging at too high a rate or deep discharge.

 

[roger dodger]

FJRs like to have a fully charged battery for cranking it awake ... especially in the cold.

If you want to keep your FJR a long time, put in a Yuasa replacement.

If you want to trade in the next year or 2, put in a cheaper aftermarket AGM. It should be ok. YMMV

 

[dcarver]

 

[dcarver]

 

[RossKean]

In terms of longevity, resistance to abuse, being maintenance-free, low self-discharge rate, cold weather performance, tolerance to upset, leak-free, vibration resistant etc., my choice is AGM. Maybe not the best in all categories, but the best overall performance for motorsport (starting) applications. IMHO. Wouldn't use one to power my cell phone but also wouldn't choose a chain saw for brain surgery.

 

[SkooterG]

Shorai Li batteries suck.

1. If totally discharged, the battery is dead, gone, finito, permanently damaged kiss your $$$ good bye (AntiGravity supposedly has a 'disconnect' chip to 'protect' from total discharge.) So if you leave the key on, adios Li...
2. As stated above, a 3Ah is sold as 9 Ah meaning if your FJR doesn't fire right the phuck up, there is very little amperage (current) available to spin the motor. They trick here is to order the largest Li that will fit in battery compartment, get as much as current capacity as possible, and the battery will still be lighter.
3. How much of a selling point is light weight? Most of us could loose belly fat and have better power to weight ratios than spending $200+ on a Li battery.
4. Very slow, laborious cranking on my 06 and 13 FJR's. I feel for that poor starter motor. I mean, barely turning over, almost stalling out. Very hard on brushes, windings. Have you priced new FJR starter motors lately?

How much do I not like them? I removed both of them, installed new Yuasa's, and am GIVING them away for free to my bud who has good luck with Li's in smaller displacement single cylinder motobikes.

Seriously. You must live on another planet than I. Physics must be different there. And as usual, you are trying to overthink things. I have been running Li batteries on my several bikes for 8+ years now. Frankly, they perform awesome. Granted, I don't have the extreme cold temperatures to deal with other than on very rare occasion. But, these batteries spin the starter faster than any traditional battery I have ever had, and my FJR's start sooner than with traditional batteries. A fellow FJR rider was having issues with his '14 FJR starting and occasionally stalling with his original OEM Yuasa a couple years ago. He thought there was something wrong with the ECU or electronics or whatever. I talked him into buying an Antigravity Li battery and he was shocked at the increase in starting performance. He now also sings the praises of the Antigravity Li battery.

I now have them in 3 of my FJRs and my BMW R1200 GSA and I couldn't be happier. I'm never going back to traditional batteries.

 

[yanktar]

Since people are discussing batteries, particularly LI ones, I'd like to get your thoughts on a battery for my OTHER bike, a 2002 FZ1.
Circumstances:
1) The FZ1 lives in our beach house in Abaco, in the Bahamas. (Yes, I know...It's heaven there.) It's hot, with lots of sand and salty air. And it's taken a toll on the bike.
2) The frame and engine are showing signs where the salt air have attacked them, but still mostly cosmetic, except....
3) It ate a small hole in the gas tank. I was able to patch it with JB Weld Tank Repair and it's not visible.
4) The starter relay failed. I couldn't figure out why it wouldn't even crank nor what was going on but my local (NJ) Yamaha shop had some suggestions and I brought down 2 relays.
5) The front brake light switch isn't working. I don't know if it's the switch or the wiring to the circuit, but if the bike can't run, then....
6) Now all ready to fire up the bike, both batteries were stone dead and wouldn't hold even the tiniest charge. One had been on Duracell version of a battery tender, but still died. Unfortunately, following Dorian, the Cat5+ hurricane of Sept 2019, the island has been rebuilding and once-available resources are scarce. So getting an appropriate battery to Abaco is an expensive pain in the butt, where, before, there were reasonable alternatives to the OEM Yuasa.
7) Since I can't bring in even a sealed lead-acid or AGM battery by air, it IS possible to bring in a lithium ion in the passenger compartment of certain private lines. So I'm looking for the best 12 volt 12 amp-hour LI to bring down.

Any thoughts?

 

[mcatrophy]

6) Now all ready to fire up the bike, both batteries were stone dead and wouldn't hold even the tiniest charge. One had been on Duracell version of a battery tender, but still died.

If your tender isn't intelligent, designed for long-term motorcycle battery conditioning, it will kill the battery. You need something like an Optimate (there are other makes).
(Click on image for larger view)


If yours is intelligent and is designed for motorcycle batteries, please ignore this post.

 

[FJR30FAN]

Seriously. You must live on another planet than I. Physics must be different there. And as usual, you are trying to overthink things. I have been running Li batteries on my several bikes for 8+ years now. Frankly, they perform awesome. Granted, I don't have the extreme cold temperatures to deal with other than on very rare occasion. But, these batteries spin the starter faster than any traditional battery I have ever had, and my FJR's start sooner than with traditional batteries. A fellow FJR rider was having issues with his '14 FJR starting and occasionally stalling with his original OEM Yuasa a couple years ago. He thought there was something wrong with the ECU or electronics or whatever. I talked him into buying an Antigravity Li battery and he was shocked at the increase in starting performance. He now also sings the praises of the Antigravity Li battery.

I now have them in 3 of my FJRs and my BMW R1200 GSA and I couldn't be happier. I'm never going back to traditional batteries.

Did you go with the 480 cca or a higher capacity model? Ebay has a variety of antigravity li batteries

 

[yanktar]

If your tender isn't intelligent, designed for long-term motorcycle battery conditioning, it will kill the battery. You need something like an Optimate (there are other makes).
(Click on image for larger view)


If yours is intelligent and is designed for motorcycle batteries, please ignore this post.

Duracells are SUPPOSED to be intelligent and usually, for me, work better than Battery Tenders But I gather that there are better ones like CTEC as well.

Still, I've found that if there is something pulling from the battery that's too much for the battery, that battery will still be killed.

 

[Oldjeep]

Seriously. You must live on another planet than I. Physics must be different there. And as usual, you are trying to overthink things. I have been running Li batteries on my several bikes for 8+ years now. Frankly, they perform awesome. Granted, I don't have the extreme cold temperatures to deal with other than on very rare occasion. But, these batteries spin the starter faster than any traditional battery I have ever had, and my FJR's start sooner than with traditional batteries. A fellow FJR rider was having issues with his '14 FJR starting and occasionally stalling with his original OEM Yuasa a couple years ago. He thought there was something wrong with the ECU or electronics or whatever. I talked him into buying an Antigravity Li battery and he was shocked at the increase in starting performance. He now also sings the praises of the Antigravity Li battery.

I now have them in 3 of my FJRs and my BMW R1200 GSA and I couldn't be happier. I'm never going back to traditional batteries.

I'm with you. I run Shorai lithium's in both of my bikes (FZ1 and FJR) No issues with either one. While I will admit that it is rare that either one is parked outside for more than a few hours when the temp is below freezing, I have had 0 isssues with them and they start way easier than any lead acid I have had. You do need to make sure that you use either a "dumb" tender or the shorai one. I just use cheap Battery tender Jr's on the bikes over the winter - periodically. Some of the smart ones can damage a lithium battery.

 

[norcal rider]

I'm with you. I run Shorai lithium's in both of my bikes (FZ1 and FJR) No issues with either one. While I will admit that it is rare that either one is parked outside for more than a few hours when the temp is below freezing, I have had 0 isssues with them and they start way easier than any lead acid I have had. You do need to make sure that you use either a "dumb" tender or the shorai one. I just use cheap Battery tender Jr's on the bikes over the winter - periodically. Some of the smart ones can damage a lithium battery.

My 2003 has a Shorai, installed by the previous owner. The only problem, if you want to call it a problem, is it is very finicky to temperature extremes. Doesn't like too hot or too cold. Battery placement almost directly over the engine results in the battery overheating when the bike is turned off. Unless the battery/engine cools totally down, takes multiple starter hits to fire the engine. Same with too cold. Have to turn the ignition on and let sit with multiple starter hits before firing. If I'm riding with a group I have to plan ahead if it's too cold. Gotta get out there before everyone else to get the bike started and ready to go when everyone else is ready to go. Sweet spot for this battery seems to be about 50 to 90 degrees. Any temps above or below results in sluggish starting.

 

[dcarver]

Either Shorai has a QC problem or some peeps are just lucky. When my FJR barely turns over at 50F I'm done. Across two FJR's too. Like I posted earlier, I'm giving these POS's away to a bud who swears by them. Let him have the 'fun' Li...

 

[MRPa]

Either Shorai has a QC problem or some peeps are just lucky. When my FJR barely turns over at 50F I'm done. Across two FJR's too. Like I posted earlier, I'm giving these POS's away to a bud who swears by them. Let him have the 'fun' Li...

Having worked for YUASA for 12 years before retiring I have heard this debate go on for some time. Li technology definitely is great in the right application. I don't believe a sport touring machine is one of those applications. I am obviously bias but when I need a battery for my FJR or Super Tenere I know what my money will go for.

 

[Oldjeep]

Either Shorai has a QC problem or some peeps are just lucky. When my FJR barely turns over at 50F I'm done. Across two FJR's too. Like I posted earlier, I'm giving these POS's away to a bud who swears by them. Let him have the 'fun' Li...

That is crazy. I had my FJR out for a last trip of the year and it was 30F-40F at night and it fired right up each morning. The battery in my FJR is only 9 months old, but the one in the FJR is at least 4 years old - don't know for sure since the PO installed it.

 

[Oldjeep]

My 2003 has a Shorai, installed by the previous owner. The only problem, if you want to call it a problem, is it is very finicky to temperature extremes. Doesn't like too hot or too cold. Battery placement almost directly over the engine results in the battery overheating when the bike is turned off. Unless the battery/engine cools totally down, takes multiple starter hits to fire the engine. Same with too cold. Have to turn the ignition on and let sit with multiple starter hits before firing. If I'm riding with a group I have to plan ahead if it's too cold. Gotta get out there before everyone else to get the bike started and ready to go when everyone else is ready to go. Sweet spot for this battery seems to be about 50 to 90 degrees. Any temps above or below results in sluggish starting.

Have not experienced that let. The battery in the FZ1 is under the seat and it was my touring bike before I bought the FJR. Never had an issue starting it back up after a fuel stop - in terms of heat. Definitely never had a cold issue, but in general the bike lives in a garage and is only subjected to freezing temps a couple nights a year.