Battery Tender Lithium battery?

[RichDoyle]

You guys know that the only thing a battery does is start the bike...Right? They're not magical, won't make you go faster...$219 for a battery...
I know, "But the new batteries are way lighter."...

It shouldn't bug me cuz it's not my money. It does bug me though because I can't believe people are so foolish...

Ya know, I'd think a feller could take one of those whiz-bang LiFe batteries and put 'er under the seat and repurpose all that space in the fairing. Or, leave the old fashion PbSO4 in the faring and add a LiFe under the seat or in the tail as a secondary electrical system or supplemental electrical system. If'in ya got a whiz-bang newfangled gizmo ya havta learn how to play with it. Imagineering is priceless.

Hm, Take lots of rewiring, but maybe ...

Nope - I'm too lazy. A man's gotta know his limitations

Still happy with my MotoBatt i bought a couple years ago. The battery competition is a good thing for us. I'm not opposed to trying new stuff. It keeps the joy of tinkering on the bike fun!
So, Someone buy this thing, And give us a report back in a couple years!

That's basically the plan.

You're welcome.

 

[BigOgre]

You guys know that the only thing a battery does is start the bike...Right? They're not magical, won't make you go faster, won't make girls like you more and won't make you a better lover, . . .

Um, I'm gonna let you dwell on this for a bit.

 

[HotRodZilla]

You guys know that the only thing a battery does is start the bike...Right? They're not magical, won't make you go faster, won't make girls like you more and won't make you a better lover, . . .

Um, I'm gonna let you dwell on this for a bit.

Not that kind of battery you jackass. Hell, a well charged MC battery could kill a person. Haha...

 

[gbrmksmith]

Just bought this one for my 2014. Will let you know what I think once installed.

 

[RadioHowie]

You guys know that the only thing a battery does is start the bike...Right? They're not magical, won't make you go faster, won't make girls like you more and won't make you a better lover, . . .

Um, I'm gonna let you dwell on this for a bit.

Not that kind of battery you jackass. Hell, a well charged MC battery could kill a person. Haha...

Oooohhhhhh..... can I get one for MissusHowie????

 

[MrZappo]

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="RichDoyle" data-cid="1129473" data-time="1393787961"><p>

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="HotRodZilla" data-cid="1129465" data-time="1393785675"><p>You guys know that the only thing a battery does is start the bike...Right? ... It shouldn't bug me cuz it's not my money. It does bug me though because I can't believe people are so foolish. Makes me wonder sometimes. </p></blockquote>

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Actually, not true. Two failures I had with those $99.00 "proven" batteries:<br />

<ul class='bbcol decimal'><li>The battery (old-style vented lead acid) in my '75 Gold Wing would drive the water out of the electrolyte at a rapid rate when driven in ambient temperatures above 80 degF. This would start to expose the tops of the plates. A combination of factors caused this, but what would happen is the bike would still start fine, but the gas mileage dropped from its normal 40 MPG to like 32, and the bike lost power so severely that it wouldn't go over 80 MPH. I'd have to stop, get some distilled water, refill the cells and all would be well. If driven all day like this I'd have to fill sometime during the day and then again that evening after shutting down.<br />

</li><li>My ST1100 battery (sealed - 3 years old) failed while I was driving in downtown Seattle. While I was driving the bike just flat quit. I thought it had to be the charging system, but that wasn't it. Just replacing the battery cured the problem.</li></ul>

One other data point: My SL350 K1 didn't have an electric starter. You kick-started it. I had the bright idea to simply remove the battery, since I did a fair amount of dirt-riding with it and it got dropped from time to time. Without the battery installed I could start it, but it wouldn't rev. So the battery was required for proper functioning of the ignition system, primitive as it was.<br />

<br />

And it is my money. Get over it. I also own an airplane. The battery for that airplane costs $600.00 and isn't expected be useful beyond 5 years, even though it's the same "proven technology" as the $99.00 bike battery. I'm perfectly willing to be an early adopter. I used to actually be derided by some for owning 4-stroke motorcycles, since they were "so complicated" compared to 2-strokes.</p></blockquote>

1) your regulator was shot and was boiling your electrolyte.

2) you had a bad battery. Not unheard of but way more common on the lithium.

I'm with you on the 4 stroke thing. But the 2 strokers are still fun.

What plane battery is $600? Holy crap. What do you own a jet? 28 volt gel maybe? Inquiring minds wanna know! .

 

[RichDoyle]

1) Regulator was mismatched to the battery, basically. That particular model Honda ran at too high a voltage in hot weather. A recognized problem with certain model Hondas. But the wet-cell batteries common for many decades in almost all automotive uses had to be fed water at fairly regular intervals, as nobody put temperature compensation in the voltage-regulation circuit.

2) You see plenty of reports here on this forum of early-death "proven" batteries. May be (or have been) more common in lithium right now, but all new technologies take time to mature. Anyway the point of my statement is that, even though the battery starts your bike, it could fail while you're riding it. It has to continue to function thereafter.

3) Yes, it's a 28 volt AGM. Unlike a car, in an airplane like mine it has to be able to provide power after alternator failure in IMC for enough time to be able to communicate and navigate to the ground. The ability to start the engine is not deemed sufficient proof of its current state of capability. So I get the best one I can.

As an update, I'm now into the second cold-weather season with the EarthX. Started the bike just fine a week or so back at 26 DegF.

 

[MrZappo]

1) Regulator was mismatched to the battery, basically. That particular model Honda ran at too high a voltage in hot weather. A recognized problem with certain model Hondas. But the wet-cell batteries common for many decades in almost all automotive uses had to be fed water at fairly regular intervals, as nobody put temperature compensation in the voltage-regulation circuit.2) You see plenty of reports here on this forum of early-death "proven" batteries. May be (or have been) more common in lithium right now, but all new technologies take time to mature. Anyway the point of my statement is that, even though the battery starts your bike, it could fail while you're riding it. It has to continue to function thereafter.

3) Yes, it's a 28 volt AGM. Unlike a car, in an airplane like mine it has to be able to provide power after alternator failure in IMC for enough time to be able to communicate and navigate to the ground. The ability to start the engine is not deemed sufficient proof of its current state of capability. So I get the best one I can.

As an update, I'm now into the second cold-weather season with the EarthX. Started the bike just fine a week or so back at 26 DegF.

What is that thing ? Maybe a Diamond DA40 ? Nice ride !!! I had a 182S for a while with a 28 volt battery and that thing (Battery) was a PITA and expensive ....

 

[RichDoyle]

1) Regulator was mismatched to the battery, basically. That particular model Honda ran at too high a voltage in hot weather. A recognized problem with certain model Hondas. But the wet-cell batteries common for many decades in almost all automotive uses had to be fed water at fairly regular intervals, as nobody put temperature compensation in the voltage-regulation circuit.2) You see plenty of reports here on this forum of early-death "proven" batteries. May be (or have been) more common in lithium right now, but all new technologies take time to mature. Anyway the point of my statement is that, even though the battery starts your bike, it could fail while you're riding it. It has to continue to function thereafter.

3) Yes, it's a 28 volt AGM. Unlike a car, in an airplane like mine it has to be able to provide power after alternator failure in IMC for enough time to be able to communicate and navigate to the ground. The ability to start the engine is not deemed sufficient proof of its current state of capability. So I get the best one I can.

As an update, I'm now into the second cold-weather season with the EarthX. Started the bike just fine a week or so back at 26 DegF.

What is that thing ? Maybe a Diamond DA40 ? Nice ride !!! I had a 182S for a while with a 28 volt battery and that thing (Battery) was a PITA and expensive ....

You are correct - a DA40. This battery was installed in May, 2009, so this is its 6th winter. Started my non-hangared plane right up in 23 degF weather a couple of weeks ago. Multiple times. But I will be getting it load-tested during annual this coming spring.

I've heard that about 182 batteries. A woman I know tells me she replaces her 182's battery almost every year. And that's an older 14 V system from '76. I believe part of the problem is the battery location in 182's which means really long battery cables. So it has to be in tip-top shape to handle the voltage drop, especially during starts.

 

[gbrmksmith]

Installed - not only is the Li battery lighter, it is also considerably smaller. Deltran included foam blocks to raise the battery to level of the stock. Battery came partially charged (manual says 70%). It took a couple hours to top off the charge. I purchased the Battery Tender Li charger at the same time.

 

[PhilJet09]

What plane battery is $600? Holy crap. What do you own a jet? 28 volt gel maybe? Inquiring minds wanna know! .

Of course a simple lead-based battery doesn't cost $600. It's the "FAA/PMA" tag and all the liability attached to it that drastically inflates the price.

 

[PhilJet09]

Oh, btw, jet aircraft batteries cost waaayyyy more.

Wana know what our brakes cost?

 

[RichDoyle]

Oh, btw, jet aircraft batteries cost waaayyyy more.
Wana know what our brakes cost?

I can imagine. Oddly, perhaps, brake pad replacement on my plane is considerably cheaper (though more hassle) than on the FJR. Tires roughly the same as the FJR, but last longer. Not much else is like this, when a correlation can even be made.

 

[CrabbyJack]

The only battery I had in my '46 Champ was for the Emergency Locator Transmitter. I had to hand prop it to start it, and I had no radios at all to worry about.

 

[MrZappo]

What plane battery is $600? Holy crap. What do you own a jet? 28 volt gel maybe? Inquiring minds wanna know! .

Of course a simple lead-based battery doesn't cost $600. It's the "FAA/PMA" tag and all the liability attached to it that drastically inflates the price.

Yep, that FAA crap is what keeps planes (even older ones) out of the reach (financially) of a lot of folks ... I remember a guy at my local airport that had some old model plane where (he had determined) the alternator was a (Ford or Chevy or something ...

In any event, he had done some reverse engineering and figured out that it was a 100% identical unit. The "FAA certified" unit was some price like $800 or something as opposed to a "car" alternator which was maybe $100.

This guy was an ornery old coot and didn't give a good scheight about legality or getting into "trouble" so he ran with the Chevy alternator for years ... Of course they were the same thing but that "cert" made it cost 800% more ... It is a real pain ...

In any event, lithium technology is improving so I dont see any issue with using either. Folks are happy on both sides ...

I'm happy with my Yuasa for now ...

 

[Harald]

You general aviation guys have it good. A main battery for a New Gen 737 costs $7,800 and the handset that the flight attendant talks on costs $4,700! Just the coiled cord for the handset that was installed on some MD80 aircraft was $1,500 and I replaced those regularly!

With that point of reference, a Lithium battery would be cheap for my FJR. But since the $70 Motobatt works just fine in all weather conditions including last weeks below freezing temps, I'll stick with the cheap option.

 

[foshow150]

Took my LI battery out , It is a nice paper weight.......

 

[TomInPA]

I also have a Shorai on a shelf. The problem with LiFePO4 batteries is they rate them using lead-equivalent (Pb-eq) amp hour ratings. So you think you're buying an 18 amp-hr battery, but what you really have is about 6 amp-hour. That's right, divide Pb-eq by 3 and you have the real LiFePO4 capacity. The solution is to buy a battery rated at a minimum 36 amp-hr pb-eq for the FJR. Now you're in to some real money, but it will stand up to the FJR charging rate, and will produce plenty of power regardless of the weather.

If only I'd have known then, what I know now.