lithium batteries

[73 sport]

Anyone have experience with NOCO lithium batteries and their chargers?

[Dr. Enzo Toma]

I have no experience with the batteries, but I have experience with the chargers. They are good quality. The current Harley-Davidson OEM accessory battery chargers are NOCOs with a higher price tag and bar and shield logo on them. Odd as it is, some other chargers, like Optimate TecMate, can often be found for LESS when rebranded (Honda, Moose, Drag Specialties).

[John Croucher]

I have the battery and charger. No problem.  The charger charges to a higher voltage than a conventional charger. 

The battery once installed will only maintain a lower voltage created by the regulator. 

[Ratso88]

When the Odyssey clocked out on the Mighty Scura, after 12 years, I replaced it with a similar size NOCO and also picked up one of their super trick chargers.
Similar size in my case means physical size. Has more cranking power than the Odyssey and a third of the weight.

No issues. Cranks like mad seems to charge fine on the bike.
Seemed a little spendy at the time but I feel fine about it now.

So Far So Good.

[MCR]

I bought a battery and a 1A charger from Amazon/NOCO a year and a half ago. The battery is still perfect while the maintainer broke after 6 months but the customer service replaced it in a few weeks. Apart from the problem with the maintainer, I am satisfied.
The battery is very well built and finished, the best I've ever seen. Be careful though, it has the poles reversed compared to the position of my Norge, so you have to pull the wires a bit.

[Stevex]

I've got a Shido lithium battery fitted to my Aprilia, a few years old and still doing the job.
I also have a NOCO Genius charger that does Lithium, lead acid, AGM. Excellent charger and was very impressed with NOCO customer service.

[mondtster]

I bought a Noco lithium iron phosphate battery to replace the OE AGM battery in my V85TT this year. The price was within a few dollars of a replacement Yuasa battery so I figured I'd take a chance on it. The Yuasa lasted 5 years with minimal care so we'll see how this one does.

One word of warning for those that don't have experience with the lithium iron phosphate batteries - when they are low on charge/dead they will suck up a lot of current in a very short period of time if you give it to them. Make sure the jump pack or jumper cables are of adequate size for what you are doing. If not, you can easily melt them, which isn't something you'd expect from a typical lead acid or AGM style battery.

I've always used Battery Minder and the occasional Battery Tender brand chargers. I have no comment on the Noco brand ones.

[Missionguzzi]

I had a lithium iron (LiFe) battery on another bike (not Guzzi) for many years (maybe 10?), and it was still working when I sold the bike.  It would hold a charge a long time, but not indefinitely, and I had to charge it a couple of times after it sat for too long.  However, the bad news with most "smart" lithium batteries, is that when they go too low to crank, they act like they're dead.  The chip which controls it won't let the battery discharge below maybe 10V (not sure where the cut-off point is), so your bike's starter won't even click the solenoid, much less turn over the motor.  It will seem dead.  The good side is that they will take a charge quickly and start the bike in a matter of minutes, and then perform like normal as long as you don't allow them to sit for too long.  The battery I had was about half the physical size and less than half the weight of the original, so I put some styrofoam inside the battery compartment to stabilize it a little.  At the time, it cost about twice as much as a standard AGM battery.

[Perazzimx14]

There is a thread somewhere on ADV Rider about NOCO batteries. From memory they were generally well received.

[Wild Bill Jones]

Use NOCO batteries in two of my Harley’s, my Ninja 1000 and Mandello. Great stuff. No issues. I use their chargers too

[aklawok]

About the only down side of lithium batteries in general is that they do not work in cold weather. Something the makers don't like to advertise and you need to look at the specifications to find. Most list about 20f. As minimum, some won't work below 32f! There is a temp. Sensor built into them that will cut off the battery and not allow a charge.

[nikwax]

I own the NOCO 1 amp charger, I used it to raise a Yuasa AGM from the dead that my Yuasa charger couldn’t. Very impressive device.

My buddy who races a vintage Porsche says Noco batteries are very well regarded in that world.

[Dr. Enzo Toma]

About the only down side of lithium batteries in general is that they do not work in cold weather. Something the makers don't like to advertise and you need to look at the specifications to find. Most list about 20f. As minimum, some won't work below 32f! There is a temp. Sensor built into them that will cut off the battery and not allow a charge.

That really depends on the battery and its BMS. All of the motorcycles I run at below freezing temps have lithium batteries in them for better cold weather starting. For electric start if the first crank doesn't get a bike started with a conventional battery you're often in for trouble as each following crank can be weaker. With a lithium battery you run the lights to "warm up" the battery first, and if the first crank doesn't get it going, the second crank will be stronger. I think a lot of cold weather misconceptions come from using battery powered tools in the cold, where a fully charged battery will not last as long in the cold as it would in warmer weather. On a motorcycle, atv, or snowmobile though, it's a different use unless you're running a total-loss electrical system. The battery is primarily a starter battery, unless you're trying to run power with the engine off, it's the stator and reg/rec that keep the bike powered (often with some circuits direct from those systems, some fed via the battery).