Lithium Ion Battery

gonna buy a Li ion battery just wanna make sure I have the right CCAs before I order. Anyone know what I need for an 82 XJ550?
Will this WPS one be ok? 145?

 

I would caution you to research a little further. The last I was aware of the Li ion batteries required special charging characteristics that are not compatible with the charging systems on these bikes. Lithium battery technology is steadily improving so this might have changed.

~Ghost

 

Been using a lithium battery now for a few years... BEST thing ever. Let it sit for 6months and then it'll turn your bike over like it was brand new.
Very impressive tech. I'll never buy another AGM or wet battery.
Bought mine in June 2013 and is like brand new still.
This is the one I bought http://www.superstart.com.au/Products/ProductList/tabid/108/mode/details/pid/623/Default.aspx but they seem to have changed the part numbers just to make life difficult.
Basically the CCA I got is 290 which is huge and any higher is okay too, so just check the actual measurements and get the one that is big enough as they are a lot smaller than the normal ones.
Not too sure about the 145 but it's half the CCA of mine so it must be an iddy biddy battery.
As far as the charging tech, these are made to be charged under the same circumstances as normal batteries too. (according to all the brochures at any rate)

EDIT:Just noticed http://www.ssbpowersport.com.au/Portals/1/SSB Lithium Brochure.pdf has a replacement chart that might help you too.

 

+1 to the above charging info. LI Ion vehicle batteies have built in charge controllers.

 

Lithium batteries are definitely dangerous unless properly charged. Heat management is critical. I can't tell from the brochure, but I wonder if they integrate charge management circuitry into the battery itself. It wouldn't surprise me.

 

Nice...I will have to look into these for my next battery.

Without special charging circuitry in the battery, a vehicle charging system will most likely cause a fire charging LION or LIPO. Glad to see these batteries are being made compatible.

 

Knowledgable (usually) debate: http://advrider.com/index.php?threa...el-wet-lithium-iron-phosphate-lifepo4.757934/

Just plain knowledge: http://www.batteryuniversity.com

 

anti gravity makes an awesome battery check them out too

 

Time to brush up on my battery tech.

 

I got one two summers ago....was supposed to be the best thing ever--- last longer, start better, blah blah-----before warranty was up, it was a bad battery. Got a replacement-which lasted almost the whole rest of the season, but since it already a replacement, there's going no coverage on that. I went back to AGM, and have no issues. I'll stick with AGM for awhile longer, I guess

 

Damn! thats the other side of the coin.
Any idea what the brand name was?

 

Autocraft from Advance Auto Parts

 

I couldn't even come close to finding any info on them. Apart from it is a generic brand from Advance Auto Parts.
It would be interesting to work out the differences.
I'm thinking it would be worth doing a comparison if other people have purchased and used Lithium batteries (brand wise I mean.)

I have an AGM battery in my 900 which does work a charm and I have to admit it has FAR exceeded the standard battery for lifetime and general durability, so AGM is definitely a win but its just a shame that we are having fluctuating results with the Lithiums. (which I have in my 750)

I for one would like to see some sort of Lithium usage/failure/win statistics from everybody.

SSB Win for me. (my result)

 

I wouldn't be using any generic brand if you cant find info on it, stuff like Ultrabatt have built in circuits that will work with a normal charging system and prevent overcharge and going up in smoke, some other brands will work ok but dont have the circuitry and if flattened need a specific charger

Good link here from my local forum on them http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/s...g-for-your-lithium-battery?highlight=ultabatt there's a couple of other massive discussions on there about them to

 

Thanks mate! Good to hear from another kiwi!

 

Not necessarily exactly my model, but here's the battery in general
http://m.advanceautoparts.com/h5/r/...ingcampaigns&gclid=CJaI2JPpls4CFcxbhgodVlYC8A

 

Hog... I love those reviews especially the "Fatboy with screaming eagle big bore kit added. So far I'm tickled pink with this battery!"
Still 43% good on the review side is a good indication of some sort of issue.
Lithium may just be getting a bad name because of the band-wagon jumpers.

 

there was a old thread about these over at kzrider. some good some bad, had something to do with older/newer voltage regulators

 

I jinxed myself. The day after posting my battery died.

To get back on the road a I bought a $34 Exide lead acid locally. I seem to get about 3 years out of them.

 

I have run lithium batteries in three bikes now and no issues. Brand is shorai.
I did invest in an expensive charger just for lithium batteries. Ok to connect to a regular charger for 20 mins to give it a boost if needed, but should be at lowest setting. The shorai has a port for charging and I just leave the cable plugged into the battery at all times. Just tugged away when not in use. Also acts like a tender if I have to. Great thing.
I would check the max voltage though it can take.

 

And the max charging current.

 

Did you have to change anything in the stock charging system in order to run the lithium batteries? A mate and I are customizing an '81 XJ650; we're building a custom battery box, so we don't need to stick to stock dimensions. We're just concerned about the charging system itself.

 

And fwiw, the replacement didn't last a year..........

They did give me a replacement for the replacement as a courtesy, but I have that sitting on the floor right now----not convinced of it.

 

Man thats some bad luck.
I bought mine 04-06-2013 and it hasn't missed a beat.
SSB LFP14AHQ-B5
Then again the motobatt agm that I have in my other bike that I bought 06-11-2012 hasn't missed a beat either.
hmm hmm...

 

All automotive/powersport LiOn batteries have onboard charging monitors.

They also have short life when undersized, and most are undersized (low cranking amperage) so they cam make claims about extreme lightness and compactness.
For the cost involved, they really only make sense if you are racing, or building an electric motorcycle.

 

Best battery I have ever purchased was the cheapo Walmart Eveready brand.
Have used many other brands from Motorcraft to Interstate. They usually lasted a season maybe two.
The cheap crap Walmart sells lasted many years so far.

 

http://www.batteryspace.com/PCM-with-Bluetooth/SMBus.aspx
now you can call your battery with your smartphone and see if it had a pleasant night and if it would like to go for a ride

 

+1 on the cheap Walmart Battery. Lasted over 4 years with no winter maintenance. Just topped it up with distilled water once in a while.

 

Polock... is it just me or... is that just mad.

 

I'm not Polock (French Canadian and Czech mixed breed mutt w/ who knows what else thrown in) but I say that is just mad.

I also do not own a smartphone . . .

 

I agree with the Walmart batteries. For our bikes, I have found only one battery that has lasted longer in my XJ. And that is my 4+ year old Motobatt that is currently in it. If there was a Walmart battery that would fit my Suzuki, I would run it with no hesitation. Unfortunately, the Motobatt is the only one that lasts longer than 2 years in that bike. That is what made me try one in the XJ.

 

This is what's wrong with this country.............

 

I've had better luck with AGM batteries in my XJ. I use a slightly larger CCA battery that puts out 195 CCA, got it from Batteries Plus. It fits tight in the stock battery compartment but fits the bill with what these bikes call for during cold starts. Its worked flawlessly for two and a half years now compared to the stock sized batteries I've had that only seem to last half that long. I didn't like the Li Ion battery I had for my XJ, it was laboring most of the time it seemed and it would get fairly warm to the touch. Ive seen pictures of bikes that have been torched when these batteries go into melt down mode. Not pretty. Not the best battery for an XJ in my experience.
I do,however, have a AntiGravity LiIon in my 81 CB750 and one for my Suzuki 650 thumper that have been great so far. Different bikes, different battery demands, I guess.You do have to provide a designated Li Ion charger for those batteries as their charging characteristics differ from traditional sytle batteries. My $0.02 worth I thought I'd share.

 

I know. Back when I was younger we had to walk out to the garage if we wanted to talk to our batteries.

 

The Everstart batteries from Walmart are decent, and you do get what you pay for (a cheap 4-year battery with a 3 year warranty that will provide good service, but leaks acid if the bike ever tips over).
The AGM battery in the wife's Miata is going on 10 years old. It had a 5 year warranty.
Why has it lasted so long? It's on a tender when it's not being driven; same as the XJ.

 

+++ 2 on the battery tenders.....All my stuff that might sit for an extended period as its own designated tender. No suprises when I want something to fire up, turn the key, done deal. No screwing around.
Learned that lesson the hard way too.


God, I sound like old fart now I'm in my mid 50's.....

 

I've had good luck with cheap DuraStart lead acids from local farm supply store, even cheaper than Walmart Everstart. Use a inexpensive battery tender and I typically get 3-4 seasons out of them.

I hadn't thought of what happens when the bike tips and leaks acid. In 30+ years, I've never had it down - knock on wood.

 

I thought this topic was based on lithium ion batteries? I understand that traditional lead acid batteries are better, but sometimes for those customizing room is limited and as the op seemed to be building a cafe style bike. I have a LiFePo4 battery tender brand that I'll be putting in my build this summer. I got in for under $100 so if i get a few seasons out of it i'll be happy.. I bought a lithium ion battery tender for it which will see use as tend to keep all my bikes on tenders when im not riding.

 

Correct.

Hence the comments. See Hogfiddles first post in this thread. Purchases should always be made with as much information about the product as possible.

 

My lead acid batter is about dead - no correction , DEAD.
I need another battery and I have been promising myself to by a lipo battery next.
@saftie, what model battery do you have on what bike?

I am riding a XJ900RN (1984)

Would be great to start of on the right foot

And is there a need to have a special charger just in case the voltage runs down too far?

thx.

 

Hey, yes, needs a special charger. If needed you can charge a few minutes on lowest and slowest setting with a car battery charger, but it should really be avoided.
When I buy this kind of battery, I look for size, CCA, max input (from charging system) and positioning of the terminals. But I usually buy for custom location on the bike where I need a small battery.
I'll check later to find out what type exactly I was running on my xj.
Shorai, if I remember correctly, also lets you search by bike model and should give you the correct battery. I like the shorai because they have a USB size plug for charger and you don't have to hook it up on terminals.

 

thanks mate.

I went on their site and found this...



Does this look familiar to you?

 

not sure how to answer your question....
Mine were a different model (smaller) but yes, looks about right.
don't forget to order the correct charger as well. It should come with a charger cable that plugs into what's behind that gray cover you can see in the pic (between the two terminals).

 

Yes I looked at the charger and the cool way it connects that would work great on my bike.
Problem is the shipping. Seems that I may have to pay over $100 to ship the battery!!!
Waiting on an answer from Shorai on this.
Thanks for your great help so far

 

I see you are in Europe, they don't have a similar brand?

 

My search has not yielded any leads yet, and because of the ambiguity of the verdict of the posts in this thread, I wanted to go with a tested solution.

 

Ultrabatt, no need for a special charger as they have a built in battery management system and you can use some standard battery chargers on them if they meet ultrabatt guidelines, self discharge rate is low so unless you leave something on it's unlikely to need it anyway

 

Got one on my 80 xj650 modified a gs750 tank and mounted it under the tank,works great.

 

Def want to see pics of that build. Mind sharing?

 

I tried two a few years ago.... am totally NOT impressed. I was told they did not need a special charger, it went bad in a few months, never had enough oomph, they determined it was a bad battery and replaced it with a "good one"..... that one was no different. I'm not buying another.

There was a forum on that, too, but it was several years back and I can't find it at the moment.