Battery Upgrade

Which bike?

I have a Shorai in a 1098S for about 3 years now & I've got the standard rectifier. The rectifier problem is really a stand alone issue as far as I'm aware.

So a few things that are useful to consider

LiFe batteries are lighter (obviously) but there are downsides

You are better getting the special charger, as the battery consists of low volt cells in parallel and series to make up the pack to the required voltage.
The parallel cells can get out of whack voltage wise over prolonged period of use, so its best to at least occasionally balance charge them, that is charge each bank individually. This is done using a special plug on the battery and needs a special charger to do it. The easiest way is to get the Shorai charger and use it. It can be mounted via a fly lead so you can use the charger without having to take off the fairings to get to the battery plug.

Next LiFe can be dodgy in very cold ambients so if you use the bike during the winter the battery MIGHT require warming up before using. Although I've never done this I've heard that on first attempt it may be reluctant but after a couple of tries the battery warms and can then start the bike. I use mine (Scottish) summer only (so sometimes not that warm) and never had a problem.

When not in use its best to leave the battery on a storage charge, I think its around 80% capacity, these batteries last longer when they are stored at a lower voltage 13.27 - 13.13 volts, again the charger has a special setting for this. It can take a few hours to go from storage to full charge. If riding everyday I wouldn't bother but if storing for over a month I'd place the battery on a storage charge.

They are less tolerant of abuse if the voltage drops below around 9 Volts (as I recall) they might be toast. So you need to make sure you occasionally charge the battery up to stop parasitic drain flattening the battery. I do it once a fortnight on the 1098 and its very quick to do and not a hassle for me at all.

Finally although its not on Shorai's spec for the 1098 the battery I have is the LFX21A6-BS12 (315 CCA & 21Ah but LiFe are not rated in the same way is lead acid so its not really comparing apples withe apples). It installs perfectly into the box and has enough grunt to start the bike from cold on the storage charge setting.

I'd also get a set of @Exige 's battery cables as the standard battery/starter/solenoid/earth straps are pants and deteriorate over time

I cannot remember who on here has a lot of experience with battery and charger design and has gross reservations about LiFe batteries, I'm just saying.............my experience has been positive with them and not caused me any trouble whatsoever

Dunno if that helps or hinders

John

 

The CTEK charger will charge a lithium battery without damaging it but won't balance the cells which the Shorai one will.

 

I have a Lithium on my 848 and the rest of the charging system is standard. It has been fine and very powerful over the last year. I do not have a charger for it as the battery does not seem to lose any charge when left unused, as normal batteries do. Mine weighs 600 grams.
I changed to Lithium for no other reason than to see if they work. The weight savings are minimal and I would save more weight if I filled the tank half full instead of full and can feel no difference in the bike at all.

 

@Bob T is correct in that a LiFe does not lose charge over time nearly as much as Lead Acid, but if there is a parasitic drain then it will drain down as quick as a lead acid, hence the need to occasionally top up the charge if there is a drain from the immobilizer for instance.

That battery although it states Shorai I'm not sure its one of their range, all Shorai's start with the three letters LFX and its labelled as JMT.

It appears to be only a 5Ah battery (although it looks quite large for something with such a small capacity), so if you're comfortable with a 5Ah rating that's fine, personally I prefer something with a bit more capacity

It states that it has built in cell balancing, so that takes care of that (I assume)

You can use a normal charger on LiFe or LiPo batteries providing the charger does not have a built in de-sulphating function or it can be disabled

The battery should work fine with a normal charger but if you want to prolong its life to max then the store and balance functions are best used. Especially if like me the bike often sits for long periods unused.

From looking at the battery it does not have the balance plug on the battery that Shorai batteries have so a Shorai charger would not work on it

As the technology is improving all the time it may better but I have no personal experience of that battery or manufacturer

Apologies but I can't tell you much more about it

John

 

Cheaper here: with free delivery if that's the one you're after.
LITHIUM -Best Price- Motorcycle Battery YT12B-FP
I looked into these a while ago and read up a lot - the brand leaders at the time used Panasonic cells and another famous name (slipped my mind) - branded batteries like this are usually cheaper Chinese made cells, with the same case printed for re sellers / importers - (all probably are anyway but I would imagine vastly different tech and quality control). If you must then use a 'proper brand' Shorai or Shido.
Even Magneti Marelli use a common China Battery Case branded for them which was a surprise - check out the case designs - many are the same with different names.
They have been known to cause fire, there's one mentioned this week in a thread :Bag:
What is your reason for wanting to try one instead of a Yuasa?

 

I've been using these batteries and think they're great - wouldn't go back to a lead battery now, not ever.

Have a JMT the same as Exige posted and a Skyrich (they make they lithium batteries Ducati use) and both have been brilliant and weigh one kilo or less.

When I bought my first one too many peeps on the internet said I'd regret it, it would fail, wouldn't last, etc, etc - load of bs - they've been perfect.

If it's a bit 'slow' in the winter or whatever, just leave the lights on for a minute or two before trying to start the bike as this will warm the battery up.

 

@Stefanos sounds like you are good to go

Although I haven't used CTEK with LiPo/LiFe, I have used their chargers on conventional Lead Acid and rate them (along with many others on here) as one of the very best charger manufacturer's out there.

Just make sure that if there is parasitic drain on the battery from Alarm/immobilizer etc: that you occasionally top the battery up with the charger from time to time. As I said they are not as robust as lead acid, if you let them go flat.

As @Bob T stated if there is no drain then you can leave them and they will hold their charge far longer and more reliably than lead acid

John

 

I just sent my Shorai back to the factory. Had it for a year on my MTS and it seemed to work well. It finally crapped out after I left the red kill switch in the down position too close to the fob and it drained in short order. Tried to revive it with the Shorai charger with no luck, it just flashed an error code and would not even attempt to charge. I tried a conventional charger and tender and was able to get it to 12+ volts but nowhere near the 13+ it requires. Shorai said they would try to revive it and return. If not fixable they would sell me a new one for half price or send a refurbished one at no charge. I'll go the refub route if mine is not repairable. I love the light weight but the sensitivity to parasitic loads and no margin for error if over discharged has me wary. Think I'll stick with lead-acid for a while.

 

It will be interesting to see if Shorai can revive it.
To be fair, a lead acid battery would also have lost its charge under these circumstances and if left for any time would have sulphated. A sulphated battery can often be revived but it's a time consuming process and it will never be as good as it was.
You'd think Shorai could build in a protection circuit to prevent it draining below a minimum safe voltage.

 

I was thinking the same thing on the protection circuit. Would save a lot of factory returns.

 

I'm not sure how or if that could achieved. it would require some sort of voltage activated switch built into the battery and it would need to be capable of handling the starter motor current of well over 100A.

 

Aha, sounds like it could be a good reason...

 

I just killed a Shorai battery due to parasitic charge (I have the Shorai charger, and had unplugged it to use the power socket for something and forgot to plug it back in. This happened over a few months, and the batter was just totally dead.). I wasn't aware they can be revived, so thanks for posting this. I will get in touch with them and see if I can send it off. Then I'll have two batteries, so if anyone is interested I might have a spare battery early next year!!

BTW I've been using Shorai batteries for the last 3 years on my 996 without problem. As others report, in cold weather they can be a little slow to turn the bike over: I've tried the lights on to warm the battery, and this seems to work. I've never not been able to start it. I do use the bike in winter, on the occasional dry and mild days, even when cold.

These batteries are ridiculously small and light, but the reason I fitted mine was to be able to fit an under-fairing frame protector. It's one of those that sacrifices the fairing in the event of the bike sliding but will minimise engine and frame damage. I fitted it with track days in mind. It has a through-frame alloy bolt that replaces the engine bolt, onto which the sliders fit. This slider only fits with a smaller battery, as otherwise it fouls the battery - and I had to find a way to secure the smaller battery in the battery holder.

The smaller dimensions of the Shorai was the only reason I fitted it. That said, I'm sold on Lithium batteries now, though the fire risk does make me wonder. Especially as I garage the bike with my classic car.