Lithium battery experience?

[droptail]

What has been the results using lithium in our bikes?

Anyone use it for some time without probs?

Cold weather?

Thanks

 

[RossKean]

What has been the results using lithium in our bikes?

Anyone use it for some time without probs?

Cold weather?

Thanks

Try a search on Shorai

 

[Aasland]

I put one in the wife's SV650 last fall. She has a tendency to drain the battery by leaving the key on with all accessories running but turning the motor. Thus, she kills standard lead-acid batteries. The Shorai is supposed to be immune to that, so that's what we got. So far it has worked flawlessly.

One of advertised attributes of the battery is that the colder it is, the longer it holds a charge. It is also supposed to maintain a charge over a longer time period than lead-acid batteries. So right now I am doing a test: I put the bike in the garage for the winter, with no trickle-charging. In March we'll see how we'll see if it fires up. If not, we'll see if being discharged over the winter has ruined it's capacity. If it holds up, I'll be buying and recommending Shorai's from here on out.

So ask me again in two months and I'll let you know how the experiment went.

 

[mcatrophy]

... So right now I am doing a test: I put the bike in the garage for the winter, with no trickle-charging. In March we'll see how we'll see if it fires up. If not, we'll see if being discharged over the winter has ruined its capacity. If it holds up, I'll be buying and recommending Shorais from here on out.

Just remember the FJR draws a little current from the battery even with the ignition switched off, so you really ought to disconnect the battery.

 

[ionbeam]

I put one in the wife's SV650 last fall...So right now I am doing a test: I put the bike in the garage for the winter, with no trickle-charging...If it holds up, I'll be buying and recommending Shorai's from here on out...

Just remember the FJR draws a little current from the battery even with the ignition switched off, so you really ought to disconnect the battery.

If the SV has a computer it will trickle discharge the battery over time; if it has no computer then the SV should be fine. To mcartrophy's post -- just turning the key off on our FJR does not stop current from flowing and his advice is spot on.

 

[Aasland]

No ECU on it ... carbs and an ignitor.

 

[olsonm3915]

No ECU on it ... carbs and an ignitor.

The same experiment with a VRLA battery may also surprise you. All batteries, when fully charged and kept cold, preserve their charge much better than when warm. AGM and VRLA types do this so well that it is reasonable to leave them alone for the entire winter storage season, in cold climates. Conventional lead-acid non-sealed batteries don't discharge as fast as they do when they are warm, but probably won't last out the winter without self-discharging.

Obviously if there is significant drain on the battery from a continuous load, such as the ECU on our FJRs, you need to replace that charge. But even so, the amount of charge lost to running the computer is pretty minimal and occasionally topping up the battery a few times over the winter should be plenty.

The Yuasa technical manual is chock full of very useful and accurate info about batteries, but there isn't anything in there about the Li-Fe types.

https://www.yuasabatteries.com/pdfs/TechManual_2009.pdf

 

[cruppelt]

Just remember the FJR draws a little current from the battery even with the ignition switched off, so you really ought to disconnect the battery.

It sure does. After 3 to 4 months of the bike sitting in the garage WITHOUT a trickle charger or ever getting started, the Shorai was low enough that it couldn't move the starter anymore. The good thing about that battery though is that after recharging it seems to hold stable voltage again as if nothing happened.

 

[Afast03nNJ]

I have to put my two cents in this thread.

Over 25 years of owning bike, NJ winter storage in an unheated garage, I've never used a battery tender.

On that note, every bike/battery I've ever owned lasted over 5 years.

On the contrast, my friends who keep tenders on their batteries seem to be replacing the ever 3 to 4 years.

Keeping a battery "hot" during the off season simpy boils it up. And reduces its life expectancy.

My .02

 

[TomInPA]

I have the Shorai LFE18 battery. Since installation last August it has been trouble free except for one slow start. I may have done something to deplete it, but other than that one time (it started the bike, but slow crank) it has held a very good charge. The thing is, these batteries are so new we have no idea what they will perform like after 4 years in service. Considering the cost, I kind of question if it was worth paying 50 to 80% more for a battery that simply does the same thing as any other battery.

 

[Phugedaboudet]

I'll let y'all know how well they work this time next year

 

[carlson_mn]

I put one in the wife's SV650 last fall. She has a tendency to drain the battery by leaving the key on with all accessories running but turning the motor. Thus, she kills standard lead-acid batteries. The Shorai is supposed to be immune to that, so that's what we got. So far it has worked flawlessly.

One of advertised attributes of the battery is that the colder it is, the longer it holds a charge. It is also supposed to maintain a charge over a longer time period than lead-acid batteries. So right now I am doing a test: I put the bike in the garage for the winter, with no trickle-charging. In March we'll see how we'll see if it fires up. If not, we'll see if being discharged over the winter has ruined it's capacity. If it holds up, I'll be buying and recommending Shorai's from here on out.

So ask me again in two months and I'll let you know how the experiment went.

Bump!

 

[Aasland]

OH thanks for the reminder!

The battery was dead in March, aroung 2 volts, so something must be draining it after all - or it didn't like the cold.

I charged it and has been working fine since.

Next winter I'll put it in the beer fridge.

 

[Pepperell]

I was the second person to put one in my 2004 early last year. So far I'm happy with it. I disconnected for a month or two this winter and it held its charge just fine. I don't ride much below freezing so cold start isn't a problem for me. One feature of these is that you can discharge them down to about 30% of fully charged and they still put out over 12v. This is great if you want to recharge your cell fones and bluetooth intercoms overnight; not likely those would run the battery flat.

 

[Paul Clarke]

So I have read through quite a few posts on the Lithium batteries but most of the threads are a bit dated. Anyone have a recommendation on the best Lithium battery for a 2008 FJR1300 AE? I have read about Shorai, looks like there may be two different models? Any other brands that you would recommend over Shorai?

 

[Niehart]

Paul, I see that you live in Idaho and knowing the temperatures there, I would not go with a Lithium battery. They just don't like the cool weather.

 

[Paul Clarke]

Paul, I see that you live in Idaho and knowing the temperatures there, I would not go with a Lithium battery. They just don't like the cool weather.

Yeah, I have read about the cold temp issues, was thinking I would be trickle charging in the winter anyway so thought there might be a way around that. I will likely ride to work quite a bit in the winter so it won't sit much. All that said, can you recommend an alternative in the $125 range? Thanks!

 

[ionbeam]

The issue with LiFE batteries isn't keeping it charged, it's chemistry. When it's very cold he LiFE battery doesn't like to flow a lot of current real fast such as running the starter (low CCA on initial cranking). The trick is to put a load on the LiFE battery and let current draw self heat the battery, the warmer the battery gets the more energy it can release quickly. Instead of charging the LiFE battery it would like to go to bed with a 20-40 watt light bulb in the fairing with it to provide some heat. Out in the wilds At work the LiFE battery would like to have lights turned on and left burning for a few minutes to get the battery to self heat. Without heating the battery you can try to start it using the starter, the first try will be real slow cranking, the next try it will crank faster, then even faster. The race is to see if you can get it to crank fast enough to start the engine before the battery is too depleted to crank fast enough, hence using lights to warm the battery first. A Shorai battery should be fine until temps drops well below 40° then as it gets colder you may have to modify your starting routine.

Right now Shorai recommends a LFX18A1-BS12 for a FJR1300. Good luck finding it under $170.

 

[Paul Clarke]

Thanks again. We average under 40 degrees quite a bit, Dec through Feb so I think I will pass on the expensive lithium. I appreciate the help!

Cheers,

Paul

Ps. I am going to just order a cheap battery through Amazon Prime, I will likely be selling the bike in the spring, please let me know if you have a recommendation.