Lithium battery

[Bones]

I was talking to by daughter's boyfriend about putting a lithium battery in the FJ when the current one dies, and he mentioned he was going to put one in his Honda cbr 250 until he inquired about them, and was told they weren't too keen on stocking them because they've had a lot of returns due to warranty. Didn't ask where, or what brand they were, but it put him off so he bought a normal lead acid one.

Has anybody that's got one had any drama's with them at all, and if not, what brand would be the best.

                                                                            Tony.

[Fj.itis]

Hey,

Been running a SSB lithium for about 1200 km, weighs about 600 grams and the thing is tiny. Starts the bike better then the original. Ill post a pic if you like!

This battery i have was not meant for my bike, they suggested the next size up but with 220 CCA,  this one is more then enough and i took the chance and so far has paid off. Charges with a normal charger so no dramas having to buy a different charger, it cost me $120 so it was a no brainer for a new battery.

[Fj.itis]

[the fan]

we have been using them in the racebikes since 2009.

Upside:

• Amazingly light
  Hold charge seemingly forever

Downside:

• Requires special charger. Early batteries would cook if a battery tender was used and cells would not balance if battery was run low. may have been fixed on newer designs.
  If left to go dead, battery was junk (issue on bike with bad charging circuit)
  Do not work when very cold. Battery will heat up and function with repeated cycling of starter but may not crank over bike at first. We used quick disconnects and keep the batteries in the camper/hotel when cold

On the race bikes it was worth the trouble for the weight loss and we rarely had to charge the batteries. On a street bike with multiple draws I am not sure if it is worth it. We were sponsored by speedcell early on and switched to Ballistic brand when sponsorship ran its course. Only had 1 battery out of 6 fail on us (victim of charging circuit failure)

Interesting thing with the LiFePo batteries is that they discharge very different than a lead acid. A lead acid is fairly linear in how it discharges but a LiFePo will maintain over 12V  for most of its life... until it doesn't. They fall off from a good 12+V charge to almost nothing very quickly. Normally not an issue even for the total loss guys, but if you have a roadside failure, forget jump starting. You have to use the special charger to ensure all cells are charged evenly or risk cell damage.

I have also seen cases where overcharging, say due to a faulty RR  or inbalanced cell will ruin the batteries

[FJ Flyer]

I've been using a Shorai battery in the FJR for three or four years.  The FJR battery is mounted up front, high in the fairing.  The Shorai is light, you'd swear the plastic shell is empty when you pick it up.  Its also smaller, so it freed up room for some power distribution strips.

I first got the battery in the spring, can't remember exactly what year.  It definitely spins the starter faster. Its supposed to hold a charge forever when sitting.  The main downside is cold weather performance.  The first one really got slowed by the cold.  I ride year round, as long as there is no ice on the road.  It would take six or more cranks to fire the motor.  The chemistry of the Shorai is such that each crank warms the battery a bit more and it actually cranks more strongly each successive time. Quite the change from the typical lead acid battery.  After that, I learned to turn on the bike, turn on the motolights, and wait a minute.  This starts the battery warming process.

Anyway, after year I went to the bike show in January and they had a rep there. Talked to him about the cold weather performance.  He sent me a newer generation battery in a week, and I sent the old one back for them to test, analyze and disassemble.  The second one worked better, but still had cold weather issues.  On really cold nights, I would put a tarp over the bike and a 100 watt light bulb on the floor under the bike.

Of course, this winter was a bitch.  I set a new personal record for low temp riding at 7 degrees on the commute.  With the light bulb, it took three or so cranks.  I went to the bike show, again, this January and talked to the Shorai rep.  He said my battery was at least three generations old.  He told me to email him my info, and he sent me a new battery in less than a week, and threw in a free charger.  This new battery really has performed better than any of the previous units.  I think its started on the first crank, even in the really cold weather.  I've been pretty happy with their customer service, and it looks like they've continuously worked to improve their product.

Not sure if its all worth it.  I had good performance from the AGM batteries in the FJ, at least when I was riding it every day.

I will say that I had a lead acid/AGM battery in the FJ crap out, while on a road trip down in the Keys.  Was working fine, stopped for lunch, then nothing.  I was on Islamorada.  Luckily, there was a chopper shop down the road, and the owner used the same model battery in his chopper and had a spare.  Needless to say, I probably paid for its replacement plus one, but I was happy to be back on the road.

[racerrad8]

I have sold a total of 34 shorai FJ specific batterie and have only had one warranty issue.

Randy - RPM

[movenon]

They have been steadily improving. Some of the lithium battery's have an autoshut down circuit board in them.  You could (I don't why, unless alcohol is involved) stop your bike then turn your ignition back on and walk away.  After a prescribed amount of time the battery will sense that the bike is not charging and will shut the battery down.  Or leave something plugged in to and unswitched outlet it will do the same. Some of them also have built in indicators on there top to indicate the condition of the battery. Lots of inovations in batteries and starting systems.

Even AGM's can fail. I had one fail brand new.... They exchanged it without a question or even wanting the defective battery back.  I ask them if this happens a lot and said no but it happens...... So whats the number in that statement??? 
George

[rktmanfj]

Even AGM's can fail. I had one fail brand new.... They exchanged it without a question or even wanting the defective battery back.  I ask them if this happens a lot and said no but it happens...... So whats the number in that statement??? 
George

Yeah, the last AGM battery I had in the '89 failed.

Damned thing was only 8 or 9 years old...   

[movenon]

Even AGM's can fail. I had one fail brand new.... They exchanged it without a question or even wanting the defective battery back.  I ask them if this happens a lot and said no but it happens...... So whats the number in that statement??? 
George

Yeah, the last AGM battery I had in the '89 failed.

Damned thing was only 8 or 9 years old...   

8 or 9 years old, damn..... That's a excellent run for a battery Randy... That's defiantly not a fail..... I have batteries in my diesel that are 11 years old and yesterday they put my on notice that time is about up..........
George

[rktmanfj]

Yeah, the last AGM battery I had in the '89 failed.

Damned thing was only 8 or 9 years old...   

8 or 9 years old, damn..... That's a excellent run for a battery Randy... That's defiantly not a fail..... I have batteries in my diesel that are 11 years old and yesterday they put my on notice that time is about up..........
George

WestCo AGM.

I didn't think the thing would ever die!