http://www.electrexworld.co.uk/acatalog/RR51-Regulator-Rectifier-748-749-750-906-907IE-916.html Here is a UK manufacturer of Regulator Rectifiers with a big red warding on every Reg/Rec they sell not to use any type of Lithium battery with their products. Mmmm, I wonder if that's because they have experience with this type of battery frying them
http://www.ducati.ms/forums/57-supersport/539785-shorai-lithium-ion-battery-4.html And for balance you could listen to someone called oldndumb off of a Ducati Forum
Interestingly, Shorai (who have experienced reg / rec overheating and subsequent fires) recommend moving Reg/Rec's into an open airflow area - no wonder the buried Reg/Rec's on some Ducati sports Bikes seem to be an issue
you dont use lead acid batteries for smart charge systems due to the higher voltages produced. silver calcium only.
My Z1 R/R is under the seat, overheating coils were the issue, so these are on the front of the frame under the headstock.
Just to add to this debate (a very neutral response mind you) im in the "no problems here" camp....got them fitted to all of my bikes (RSV4, z1000, ktm 525 supermoto and hyper 1100) and ive got quite an even spread and theyre all ok - got the JMT batteries (the black ones with the red top) i also did at the time buy bluetooth monitors for all of them so i could see the health easily. as theyve all got said BT monitors on them, immobilizers and the 525 has an integrated alarm ive got one (optimate lithium charger) which gets randomly moved round them so theyre not hooked up all the time, have a little bit of time off the charger to drain a bit. The zed and the hyper have been used reasonably regularly through the winter. I leave them for about a minute before i hit the button. Reason for the change was the hyper battery....i was having some electrical problems, got to the battery and on removing it, others have said here a good shit would equal the weight....hyper battery is a biggie so you'd have to shit half your insides out i think to equal that... Was at the TT last year with the RSV4 and that had 5 days of being cranked through out the day as we moved around the island with no issues.
It isn't really a debate - it's a sharing of facts, great that all yours are fine - shit when your sports Ducati or other bike goes up in flames. Some Ducati's had R/R problems and even recalls - early 1098 bikes I think, Sport Classic and other air cooled of that era too (although these were not recalled like the 1098) It could be related to specific bikes and specific placement / airflow but it is a real risk. May be small in percentages sure, but still a risk I will not take when your insurance will not likely pay out. We could have hundreds of post saying I have one fitted and it's fine because most are - the opportunity to fry your Ducati is there and however small a chance of it happening, I for one will not risk it
I think we are all on the same page here, there are some really useful bits in this thread and the others linked to. Keep an eye on how hot the regulator gets. It's easier for me as I use Flir at work and am very used to measuring absorbed and rejected heat. Some bike have their regulators* is bad positions, near exhausts or bad airflow. It is these that will suffer more widely than those fitted within a oil bath or in good air flow. *This device controls the voltage supplied to the bikes electrics and battery. It may also be combined with a set of diodes and other components to make direct current from the 1, 2 or 3 phase alternating current made by the bikes stator. All the components get hot and need cooling.
You did (as everyone pointed out) and why don't you introduce yourself properly in the newbies section. And welcome btw Dave
really good discussion, i've got 2 bikes with lithium (my Tornado starts up much quicker) and 1 without currently (Duc), Im 10 and half stone so 3kg makes a difference . But just to point out, Ducati themselves supply new V4S with and V4 standard without lithium. be interesting to see if there any difference in the charging/elec parts/systems ??
really good discussion, i've got 2 bikes with lithium (my Tornado starts up much quicker) and 1 without currently (Duc), Im 10 and half stone so 3kg makes a difference . But just to point out, Ducati themselves supply new V4S with and V4 standard without lithium. be interesting to see if there any difference in the charging/elec parts/systems ??