Lithium Battery

[North]

Just put a Shorai Lithium Battery in my 530 KTM. What a world of difference. The Bike was hard to start cold at the best of times. If the battery was low, forget it. With a fully charged battery, if you didn't start it on the first try, you could just end up cranking it over until the battery is dead. With the Lithium, I hit the start button and it starts. Sometimes I don't even hear the starter, it starts that fast now.

 

[TW_rider]

Also put a lithium battery, in the TW this winter.
It's tiny and weighs nothing....you have to wonder HOW it produces enough juice to crank it over, but it does!

Amazing technology!

 

[offworlder]

Do report back once it gets cold, and see if you're still as enthralled.

 

[Shuswap]

You might want to make sure that you don't leave a load on the battery, as in....ignition/lights on.... while walking the trail ahead (ie: for 10- 15 minutes)

The Shorai doesn't seem to have a lot of reserve energy.

In my experience, after 2 - 3 weeks sitting, the DRZ will crank, just not quite fast enough to start.

HOWEVER, once it starts and charges for even 2 minutes it's back to insta-start ....or certainly cranking it over like mad.:f:

 

[Mad Max]

I love my Shorai in my DRZ. Had it for a year and the bike sat for almost 3 months, my float was stuck and I cranked and cranked and I was totally impressed with the battery. I do not have the stock DRZ speedo unit but I have heard that they drain batteries when sitting.

 

[North]

Do report back once it gets cold, and see if you're still as enthralled.

Please elaborate.

You might want to make sure that you don't leave a load on the battery, as in....ignition/lights on.... while walking the trail ahead (ie: for 10- 15 minutes)

The Shorai doesn't seem to have a lot of reserve energy.

In my experience, after 2 - 3 weeks sitting, the DRZ will crank, just not quite fast enough to start.

HOWEVER, once it starts and charges for even 2 minutes it's back to insta-start ....or certainly cranking it over like mad.:f:

Thanks, I will leave a Battery Tender on it.

Also put a lithium battery, in the TW this winter.
It's tiny and weighs nothing....you have to wonder HOW it produces enough juice to crank it over, but it does!

Amazing technology!

I read that they work on Mana. :tup:

 

[TW_rider]

I think Shuswap was alluding to the fact that the Lithium's tend to be a bit lethargic when the temps get down near freezing, but there's a fix for that...
Before starting, turn your lights on for about 30 seconds; this "warms" the battery internally and brings out the beast....You shouldn't have any problems then.

 

[North]

I think Shuswap was alluding to the fact that the Lithium's tend to be a bit lethargic when the temps get down near freezing, but there's a fix for that...
Before starting, turn your lights on for about 30 seconds; this "warms" the battery internally and brings out the beast....You shouldn't have any problems then.

Thanks, that is good to know.

It's just too bad my stock 530 battery is not bigger. And it is very hard to kick start the Bike. I asked a Tech at the Dealer to show me how to kick start it when I first got it and he couldn't. It can be a real pain and take a long time. Bum starting it works okay.

My 610 husky battery is the same as my 1200GS has. I can leave the 610 for months and it's still good. But it's 4 times the size of the KTM battery.

 

[scottbc]

(Thanks, I will leave a Battery Tender on it.)

Be very careful about using standard chargers and Battery Tender's. If you read the Shorai warranty info they are very specific about the type of charger that you use. If you allow the battery voltage to charge over a certain voltage(which is what will happen with a standard lead acid charger) or discharge below a certain voltage your warranty is void. The Shorai has a diagnostic port that they can plug into,I think that it stores this type of information.

These things said, it's an amazing technology. I use a " Anti-Gravity Battery" which is also Litium Iron. It's benifit is that it is the same case as the stock battey, it just feels empty. I have charged it with a battery tender. I just kept an eye on the voltage with a volt-meter and disconnected it when it got to it's maximum reccomended voltage.

 

[Shuswap]

Couple of additional thoughts on the Shorai:
Mine runs down enough in today's 15-16 degree temps to crank too slow to start the engine...but only after 2-3 weeks sitting and with terminals connected, but I do have the stock DRZ cluster and it may be a significant drain??

I've also noticed that the disconnected battery held it's voltage well over the winter, so that supports the instrument cluster draw theory.

If you do charge without buying the $75 Shorai charger make sure it is a very small charger, I recall that this was approved by Shorai as an alternative to their own charger. I use a 1 amp charger.

 

[DirtClunker]

(Thanks, I will leave a Battery Tender on it.)

Be very careful about using standard chargers and Battery Tender's. If you read the Shorai warranty info they are very specific about the type of charger that you use. If you allow the battery voltage to charge over a certain voltage(which is what will happen with a standard lead acid charger) or discharge below a certain voltage your warranty is void. The Shorai has a diagnostic port that they can plug into,I think that it stores this type of information.

With Lithium batteries, stay away from chargers with automatic de-sulphation mode. Sometimes called "conditioning" mode.

 

[North]

I am using a small Deltran Tender on it.

 

[scottbc]

North, two things. The main issue with lead acid battery chargers is that they charge to a higher voltage than what the Lithium Iron manuf. reccomend. The second thing is that unless you have added wiring to your 530 it has no parasitic drains on the battery. I have an EXC 450 and have had the bike sit for six monthes and the battery was still at full charge, this is one of the advantages of the Lithium battery.

Good luck, Scott

 

[DirtClunker]

The main issue with lead acid battery chargers is that they charge to a higher voltage than what the Lithium Iron manuf. reccomend.

You have it backwards. The voltage of a lithium at 100% full charge is 14.3V. The voltage of lead acid at 100% charge is 12.65V. To charge a battery you must overcome it internal resistance. For lead acid, this is 13+ V. For lithum this is 14+V.

As I mentioned above, the only problem with regular battery chargers is the ones with a desulphation mode or conditioning mode.

In these cases it is always best to see what the manufacturer recommends. See the Shorai FAQ for details under "Can I use lead-acid chargers..." http://shoraipower.com/faq

 

[04klr]

just thought I'd throw in that I put in a Ballastic (Shorai competition) battery in my klR before going to south America (and then all the way to Inuvik) and have not once had a problem in close to 60000k and it must weigh some 10lbs less than lead acid which my klr's seem to boil dry fairly regularly.
The comments re: characteristics is the same for this battery, if it's cold you (may) need to turn some power to wake it up, and they also are not supposed to be put on a "smart" charger.
my two cents is gone. bye now.

 

[kenf]

I switch to a Shorai in my Husky TE310 about 18 months back. The technology is awesome, it is unbelievable how small and light the battery is vs. how easily it cranked over the 310. However, after a couple of months, it just went stone cold dead for no apparent reason. Literally overnight, no load or or bike problems, no extreme temperatures, it just ran fine one day, and then wouldn't crank a few days later.

Shorai warrantied it for me with no issues, shipped me a brand new one, it also worked just fine, but again only for a few months before it also just wouldn't hold a charge any more. I didn't bother to try to warranty it again, I was pretty sure they would have denied it. I'm still not sure what the problem was. Possibly the Husky battery compartment is just too hot for either the battery or the electronics in it (all lithium battery packs have integrated electronics to limit current in and out, to keep them from going up in flames due to over-current conditions).

Anyhow, I had to swap back to a lead battery, which has worked fine every since. But it is a lot heavier for less total power storage, which sucks. But at least lead batteries tend to fail gradually, rather than catastrophically like the Shorai did.

KF

 

[scottbc]

You have it backwards. The voltage of a lithium at 100% full charge is 14.3V. The voltage of lead acid at 100% charge is 12.65V. To charge a battery you must overcome it internal resistance. For lead acid, this is 13+ V. For lithum this is 14+V.

As I mentioned above, the only problem with regular battery chargers is the ones with a desulphation mode or conditioning mode.

In these cases it is always best to see what the manufacturer recommends. See the Shorai FAQ for details under "Can I use lead-acid chargers..." http://shoraipower.com/faq

Well I've been wrong many times before....and surly will be soon again. I checked out the FAQ from Antigravity Batteries, they are pretty specific about standard chargers.. http://antigravitybatteries.com/faq/

I would really like to know what is correct. The once when I did use a regular charger to top up my Lithium battery I just kept an eye on the voltage and disconnected it before it got to the max reccomended voltage.

Good luck, Scott

 

[DirtClunker]

Definitely a proper lithium battery charger has a different charging profile than a charger for lead acid. You will notice the anti gravity web page specifically excludes chargers with desulfphators or quick chargers. I suspect they recommend against using the "bad boy" lead acid chargers - which are non-smart chargers, just a big transformer - these were sort of OK for wet cells (which can tolerate being "boiled"), but bad for sealed lead acid and gel cells.

Ultimately you are correct. To get the best out of a Lithium battery is to use a charger recommended by the manufacturer.

 

[Fbomb]

http://www.batterystuff.com/kb/freq...se-a-battery-tender-on-my-shorai-battery.html

 

[canuck_fe]

I put a ballistic in my FE450 2 1/2 years ago. The bike can sit for months (sad but true I know) in winter and will crank and start like I rode it yesterday.
Since I don't have a kick starter and Rekluse I rely 100% on my battery to start the bike and it has been flawless.