Shorai Lithium ion battery question

[bigbikerrick]

Hello Folks, y son needs a new battery for his 2012  KTM RC8 . I advised him to put a shorai in the beast, as he is not real consistent about keeping his bikes on battery tenders, etc., and usually the thing wont crank when he wants to ride it.

My Question is where have you guys found to be a good place to get one at a decent price, and I guess we would need a different maintainer for that battery as well? I would think its important to buy it somewhere that will stand behind the warranty too, not some possible ebay "fly by night" seller, that wont be around in 2 years.

all advice, and sugestions much appreciated!
Thanks
Rick

[Bisbonian]

I don't remember where I bought mine, probably eBay.

It's been in the bike for a few years now, has never been on any sort of maintainer or charger.

It hates cold weather.

[old head]

I got mine from Shorai direct.
It doesn't like cool weather, less than 60 and you are going to have to wait until it wakes up.  First one was replaced by shorai  they are good people to work with.  Stay away from this type of battery if you computer controls the starting circuit.  The battery won't sow 12+ volts when it's cool, and the ECM won't let it crank until you warm the battery up.
When it won't crank, I connect my 2amp charger to fool the ECM that it has 12+ volts, and it usually cranks after a couple of tries.
lots of topics if you search for Shorai batteries. 
buyer beware.
Old head

[father guzzi obrian]

Hi Rick,
I think going with the biggest Odyssey battery that will fit is the best bet. They can sit for months without discharging much.  And they don't have some of the other issues of the Shorai.  Just my opinion though.
Cheers,
Jon

[flip]

I bought 2 a couple of years back. I found my best deals on Amazon. I don't remember the seller but I  do remember that I did not f7nd those deals when I searched under the automotive section. I  hit on them when I did not limit the search to any one section.

[bigbikerrick]

I just checked on Odyssey's website, and was surprised they dont make a battery for the RC 8. Weird!
Rick.

[brlawson]

If you want to go with lithium lightweight batteries Give AntiGravity a look. Much better quality.

http://shop.antigravitybatteries.com/

[kevdog3019]

I suspect the guys having cold weather issues don't have an adequate number of cells.  12 cells should do you for the bigger Guzzi's.

[redrider]

I'm using the LFX18 in the V11. Flawless starts in the low 50's F.

[gfritzmeier]

I bought mine from Dennis Kirk but I live in MN and we get overnight delivery. The thing I was concerned about was the cold weather that concerned many as a negative.  Well I bought mine this Spring and we've had many below freezing evening since then. I didn't ride in that weather much but I did go out and start it and never had a problem. I like mine.

[ITSec]

I recently spoke to my local authority on Italian and racing bikes, and he told me he's had a run of problems with Shorai lithium units. He currently recommends Western Power Sports - the apparently 'cheap' alternative. Since a redesign in the last year, their units are (in his experience) great value and very reliable.

I had been using one in my Super Motard, and had good results with it, so I can say from personal experience that when I replace the battery in the Norge, it will likely be with a WPS lithium.

No personal connection, just a satisfied customer...

[rodekyll]

I bought a Western Power clone to replace a 7-y-o odyssey.  There was nothing wrong with the odyssey except age, but I was starting a trip and didn't want surprises.  The counterman bought my odyssey, which helped the cost of the new one.  ~three years later the WP battery is on a shelf with my other mistakes.  The odyssey is still in service with the parts guy.  The Western Power battery was one of the biggest wastes of my $$$ ever on that bike.

[canuguzzi]

Try the battery tender lithiums. They have dual sets of posts, nice to have one dedicated to accessories that goes direct to battery (inline fuse of course).

[flip]

I bought 2 Shorai batteries 2 or 3 years ago. I found my best prices on Amazon.

[krglorioso]

Iron!  Iron!  It's "lithium IRON", not "ion", which is a different battery material..

I got mine last year from Amazon and got the best price, free shipping and NO California sales tax.  This was for my Suzuki 1000 v-twin sport bike and I really am impressed with the Shorai's power and ability to retain a charge without Battery Tender intervention when this bike isn't ridden.  The flooded cell Yuasa that bike had weighed about 11#.  The Shorai is 3#, so a nice weight saving of 8#.

Ralph

[radguzzi]

I don't remember where I bought mine, probably eBay.

It's been in the bike for a few years now, has never been on any sort of maintainer or charger.

It hates cold weather.

Good to know.. I just brought the V11 Cali Jackal back from the South West to the North East and that has a L I Battery.   

As well as putting the poor motorcycle into shock with the up coming Winter I guess this battery will probably complain too...
I'll keep a tender on it.

Thanks,
Rob

[charlie b]

Please make sure your battery tender is compatible with your lithium battery.

FWIW, there is really no reason to leave a battery tender hooked up to a lithium battery.  They hold a charge almost forever.  When they are cold they have not lost their charge, the chemistry just does not work well.  You are better off if you get a battery warmer for really cold days.

[ITSec]

Good to know.. I just brought the V11 Cali Jackal back from the South West to the North East and that has a L I Battery.   

As well as putting the poor motorcycle into shock with the up coming Winter I guess this battery will probably complain too...
I'll keep a tender on it.

Thanks,
Rob

Actually, the tender and charge level aren't the issues with LIon in cooler weather. The actual chemical structure of the battery is such that it cannot release energy well when cold; the optimum operating temperature of LIon is higher than the lead-acid family, and has a pretty sharp bottom fall-off. Where a lead-acid will crank (but more weakly) as it gets colder, the LIon will hit a point (not all that cold) where it suddenly stops altogether no matter what charge it carries. The exact point varies from one unit to another based on their specific chemistry.

[Kiwi_Roy]

I can't figure out why you guys insist on making trouble for yourselves with these high dollar high tech batteries.
Lead acid have been around for over 100 years, they will take a lot of abuse and within reason don't care how cold it is.
AGM is just a variation on lead acid.

Just maintain the terminals and give them a top up charge once a month if you aren't riding and they are good to go.

[ITSec]

I can't figure out why you guys insist on making trouble for yourselves with these high dollar high tech batteries.
Lead acid have been around for over 100 years, they will take a lot of abuse and within reason don't care how cold it is.
AGM is just a variation on lead acid.

Well, out here in the Mojave a cheap lead acid will last maybe a year. A good Yuasa AGM will last two, maybe three, and Odysseys about the same, maybe a year longer. On bikes like my Super Motard, cutting the weight by more than 60% is also nice.

Just like the question of whether an AGM is worthwhile, or the cost of the Odyssey premium, it's a case of 'will this be better - and better enough to be worth the cost?' In some cases, yes, especially as LIon prices are coming down. For others, it may not be worth the cost or be the right choice for their conditions. If I still lived up north, I'd likely not even consider LIon.

[gfritzmeier]

You guys are scaring the daylights out of me about the battery getting cold. I've been using lithium battery since April and I live in Minnesota. So far I've had no problem with it and this Spring when the temp would get below freezing. I'm wondering what others that live in the north think about these batteries. So far it seems to me that those that talk about the problems that live in warm weather areas.

[ITSec]

You guys are scaring the daylights out of me about the battery getting cold. I've been using lithium battery since April and I live in Minnesota. So far I've had no problem with it and this Spring when the temp would get below freezing. I'm wondering what others that live in the north think about these batteries. So far it seems to me that those that talk about the problems that live in warm weather areas.

If you call Edmonton a warm weather area, I guess - I lived in western Canada for 35 years, and became intimately familiar with battery behavior in cold conditions. I happen to be living in Nevada just now, and I've spent some time learning about the other extreme.

While I lived up there, we used a variety of battery technologies in all sorts of applications, and sometimes ran into weather issues with them. LIon was tried with some emergency service applications, and if the building lost heat, we had problems. Gates cells worked great for those uses - as long as you replaced them if they ran down to zero, because while they would last forever on a trickle charge till used, if run completely down, they would never properly recharge. Lead-acid has always been good for deep-discharge cycles, but has issues with heat and vibration (though AGM and deep reservoir designs help with that). It's alll about selecting the right balance of characteristics for the purpose and conditions.