The Ultimate Battery !

[yamafitter]

Stay away from the Lithium batteries if you live in a cold climate. Coming back from EOM my Shorai 18 amp-hr twice failed to start my bike in the morning when there was frost on the bike. I'm going back to an OEM battery since the original lasted 5 years and probably would have lasted longer had I not deep cycled it a few times leaving the bike parked and not on the battery tender with the Tire Pressure Monitor System powered up for a week or so.

 

[lnewlf]

I've had three Yuasa batts suddenly go **** up with no warning-each less than three years old. I have two Westcos, now four years old that read 12.8 after sitting for a week ...go figure

 

[FJRMaineiac]

I am frustrated with my BikeMaster, esp. in cold weather. I have to park the bike in the car port (bike port?), and when the temps drop into the 30's, I am lucky to get 5 seconds of fair cranking out of it before it dies out and won't start. I plug it back in and wait. Such a PIA. I don't remember this happening with the Yuasa. I bought into the BikeMaster from reviews I had read and the cost, but my experience has been less than stellar.

 

[Brodie]

Ty

I have a Shorai battery. I was the first on this FJRForum to get one. It's been an interesting 2 years living with it. The Shorai battery is not your typical lead acid motorcycle battery. It has several peculiarities that you should be aware of.

It is a strong starter in warm weather. When it is warm it has plenty of power to spin that starter motor quickly.
However, because of it's composition it is affected by the cold. In mid fifties temperature you will notice a significantly slower starter spin rate on the first attempt. The battery is chilled throughout and needs to warm up. That is accomplished by the next few attempts as the load (heat) on the battery "wakes it up". This battery actually gets stronger the longer it gets used. Down near freezing it may not have enough power to keep the ignition alive as it spins the starter, however repeated attempts will get the job done.



The standing voltage is higher than the typical lead acid battery.
I have a Datel voltage monitor installed on my bike. I have it permanently connected (via fusible link) across the battery + and - terminals. A lead acid battery will have a 12.8~12.9 standing voltage. The Shorai battery likes to be at 13.3 volts. This may not seem like much of an issue - unless you have a lot of farkles on your bike that draw significant power when you are riding. On a 2nd gen. FJR you will be running around 13.9~14.0 volts at highway speeds in stock form. With several sets of auxiliary lights, heated gear and the like it is easy to pull this running voltage down to where power is constantly draining from the battery instead of replenishing (charging) it. With a Shorai battery the threshold is .5 volts higher then a lead acid battery. This can become an issue if you don't keep an eye on the voltage draw while under way. The last thing you want to do is to ride all night in cold weather and not be able to start the bike after getting gas due to a discharged battery.




This Shorai battery is rather fragile to over discharging.
If this happens it can become damaged to where it kills the battery. Shorai will not warranty a severely discharged battery. Because I was an early adopter in January 2010, my battery did not have that exclusion in it's warranty. That August I was on a trip with Mike Dawson (Sac Mike) and Dan Yparraguirre (Glass Half Full) when I made the mistake of leaving my ignition on while having breakfast at Mickey D's in West Yellowstone. After a leisurely hour & a half chocking down some Egg McMufins, I came out to a dead bike. Not only was my ignition on, but all my lighting and heated seat too. After a jump start by a friendly patron, the bike would not fully charge. A full day of riding would barely bring it up to 13.2 volts with key off. The standing voltage was not stable, however, it would drop over night to around 10 volts requiring another jump start. We managed to limp it home during the next few days. I was very creative with jumper cables as the battery is buried beneath a Fuze Block I had in that "bonus" space above it's smaller case. Since Shorai is located in nearby Sunnyvale, I took it in to see if they had any way of bringing it back to life. They tested it and concluded it was beyond hope. Fortunately for me, since I was an early adopter, they gave me a replacement battery no charge. Being grateful for the service, and the "gift" of a new battery, I decided to purchase one of their special chargers as well as another battery for my little CBR600.



On the plus side, this battery has a long shelf life.
You can leave it in your bike disconnected ( to keep it from a parasitic drain from the bike's clock) and it will hold it's voltage all year long if necessary without a recharge. Winter storage would not damage this battery. Of course, living here in the San Jose Bay Area, I ride all year long and don't even know what this "winter storage" is.



Another plus is it's smaller.
Because the battery is noticeably smaller than the Lead acid battery it replaces, you have a bit more room under the dash to farkle in
more
things. That I did by fitting in a Fuze Block on top. This keeps the farkle wires much shorter for the stuff I have in the front of the bike. I also have an Eastern Beaver PC8 fuse panel under the seat for the farkles that live back there.



It's 10 pounds lighter.
Of course, on a 650 pound bike this will never be noticed, I'd be better served by not getting that second portion of desert at the buffet table.
Ty, since you live at a much higher latitude (Portland Oregon) than me, a Shorai battery may not be the best choice for you. Unlike my neck of the woods, you actually have a winter - we just have rain. The batterie's cold weather quirks may be an issue you don't want to deal with. My recommendation is to get a strong, well known reputation name brand lead acid battery and take good care of it. It will provide you with several years of dependable service. Be sure to give it a full charge before putting it into service, and think about installing a Datel to keep track of it's health.

I hope this helps.

Brodie

 

[SeattleTy]

I've always been happy with the OEM Yuasa. Since I live in a little cooler region, I think I will get the OEM. I would rather pay a little more for a bit more of peace in mind.

Thank you for all the helpful feedback, it is greatly appreciate it!

 

[odot]

Ty

I have a Shorai battery.

It is a strong starter in warm weather.
[/indent]



The standing voltage is higher than the typical lead acid battery.


This Shorai battery is rather fragile to over discharging.


.




On the plus side, this battery has a long shelf life.


.




Another plus is it's smaller.


.




It's 10 pounds lighter.


Of course, on a 650 pound bike this will never be noticed.



I hope this helps.

Brodie

There, fixed it for you.

 

[Fly Bye]

I never had a problem with Yuasa batteries.

When I need to replace the battery it will be with a Yuasa, $95. ain't bad.

 

[Spud]

Ty

I made the mistake of leaving my ignition on while having breakfast at Mickey D's in West Yellowstone. After a leisurely hour & a half chocking down some Egg McMufins, I came out to a dead bike.

Of all the things in this post, I find this the most interesting. How, and why, do you spend an hour an a half in a McDonalds?

 

[dragonchef]

+1 on the Yausa. I had a POS Westco that only lasted 15 months and never really spun the motor all that fast. Probably a bum unit from the start, it's not easy getting one shipped to Seoul where I live. However it was very easy to get a Yausa locally, and had no issue firing up the Feej this morning with temps at 40F. I always had to push start the Westco at those temps, even keeping it on a battery tender.

 

[allrider]

If it's the ultimate battery you want check out this one. Based on price it must be the best at $257

The ultimate price

 

[Powerman]

I wish Ultima made motorcycle batteries. We have one in a race car that's 8 yrs old.

Good with vibration, I guess it's the spiral wound design. Total loss system, no alternator.

Charges up all day on an old charger when racing, sets all winter dead in the cold.