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[GregKhougaz]

       Came across an article on Shorai Lithium Ion Batteries for Motorcycles and other power sport applications.  Autoweek gives them a very high rating.  Looked at their website,  Shorai.   The claim is the batteries are smaller & lighter, stronger, last 2x longer and do not dissipate a charge nearly as fast as lead acid.  Bad news is the standard application for my 2009 SERG is $276 and the "heavy duty" version is $350. 

        I have always used the standard batteries in my HD's but have put in an Odessey in my Titan which sits alot.  They both work fine and the Odessey can be had for less than the HD's.  Anyone out there with Lithium Ion experience or opinions? 

Thank you in advance. 

Shorai Standard Specifications:

Voltage (V):           12
A/Hr PbEq:             27
Cranking CCA (A):  405
Weight (grams):     1900.00
Weight (lbs.):         4.19
Max Charge (A):     24

[dlaws01]

Standard for a softail springer is $249.99 and $275.95 for the duration or "heavy duty" battery.

[2k]

At those prices, it would have to last twice as long just to break even!!!!!! Whats an extra 10lbs in the center of a bagger?

[mjb765]

When they say twice as long......is that at least 10 years???  Personally I have upgraded bikes a few times in the last 10 years so I almost never need a battery, but a friend just replaced his original from his 2003 SERK(purchased in early 2004)......almost 8 years on a battery is damn good!!

[dlaws01]

I think the biggest benefit would be losing the lead and acid and the reduction in weight. JMHO

[Midnight Rider]

Greg...personally, I think it's overkill and unecessary, especially if a person keeps their battery on a battery tender when not riding.  If I had a race bike where every lb. counted, I'd probably look at one of those.  In a few years, the prices will likely come down to something more in line with regular batteries.  JMHO...

[mjb765]

Greg...personally, I think it's overkill and unecessary, especially if a person keeps their battery on a battery tender when not riding.  If I had a race bike where every lb. counted, I'd probably look at one of those.  In a few years, the prices will likely come down to something more in line with regular batteries.  JMHO...

Makes sense.......

[grc]

There are lots of folks selling cordless drill battery technology for powersports applications.  Some go with the absolute minimum size for weight reduction in things like motocross bikes or other weight critical applications, and for those it probably makes sense even after factoring in the huge difference in price.  However, when you scale everything up to handle a full zoot Harley dresser, you're only looking at a few pounds difference, and if you eat a really big breakfast before your ride you will lose any weight advantage gained with the Li battery.  As for the lower self discharge rate, make sure you understand that only applies to the discharge rate when the battery is not connected to any sort of load.  If you leave it connected while your bike sits for weeks or months, then it definitely will discharge as the always on items on the bike continue to draw current.  The Li has a lower self discharge rate than a standard lead acid battery, but the latest AGM's don't have a high self discharge rate either.  Maybe it would be a good selling point if you planned to buy one and let it sit in the basement for a couple years, but otherwise it's just more marketing smoke that has little impact for the majority of customers.  In other words, don't throw away your battery tender if you plan to let your bike sit for any length of time unless you plan to disconnect the battery.

Lithium is a highly reactive and hazardous material, regardless of what the advertising copy implies, and lot's of Li batteries have had safety issues, including laptop batteries that caught fire and similar problems with certain electric and/or hybrid car batteries.  So read those ads with a healthy dose of skepticism.

The time will come when the older lead acid technology will probably be pushed aside by Li-ion and other technologies, but only when the economics make sense.  Right now Li-ion is way too expensive to become the mainstream starting battery for vehicles.  If you race small motorcycles with kick starters, the high cost but lower weight might be justified.  If you ride a 900+ pound street bike loaded with electrical accessories, IMHO it's just one more of the many things being offered for sale that isn't worth the price.  If you want to pay three times as much just for bragging rights, go ahead if that's the sort of thing that impresses you and your friends.  I'll stick with my AGM for now.


Jerry

[GregKhougaz]

Great comment, all!  Thanks.  More are welcome....

[jgandara]

I'm also considering this. My stock battery is bad, and extended warranty doesn't covers that. I'm now thinking about to buy Oddysey PC925L or Shorai LFX36L3-BS12, that shows 540 CCA and 36 AH reserve capacity. I like to hear music from my bike 2, 3 or 4 hours and have enough energy to crank it up, but I don't know how really works a lithium iron on a touring motorcycle, I mean, what disadvantages could has Shorai lithium iron vs Oddysey AGM, other than the price.

[1sharprdkg]

When I replaced the battery in the wifes Road King I looked at them but could not justify the added expense and the unknowns of how long it would really last. Plus did not want to put a battery in the bike that could last X-amount of years and maybe not keep the RK for only another year or two. Bought the Deka and it's working great. JMO.

[Unbalanced]

http://antigravitybatteries.com/?page_id=2267

Check the bottom of the page.   720 CCA.   

The Antigravity 24-Cell
 
The Antigravity 24-cell  is the most POWERFUL and compact Lithium Battery you can buy anywhere! This battery can  start the largest of motorcycle engines and even Car Engines up to 5.7 litre V8 motors….yet only weighs 4.3 pound.  At only 6″ long x 3.4″ wide x 5.1″ tall this is a true monster power in a ultra small and massively lightweight battery.
   720 CCA
 22 Amp Hours (PbEq)
 6″  Long  x 3.5″ Wide x 5.12″ Tall
 5.0 lbs
 Use in Touring, Adventure and and Large V-Twin Applications
 For Race vehicles up to 5000cc
 For Street Motorcycles up to 2500cc
 


Buy Now $469.00

[jgandara]

I called today with a Shorai tech and the inconvenience of their lithium iron is reserve capacity. They measure their AH or reserve by a different method than others and told me that real reserve or AH are about the half they show, I mean, about 20 AH instead 28 AH from a Harley or Odyssey PC925L. And that's not good for hearing music during 3 hours with the bike parked on acc switch and drinking some beers with friends. Odyssey is the best choice for now, same AH than Harley but a lot more cranking amps, and 2 years full warranty instead 6 months full + 6 months prorated from Harley. Price about $180 for Odyssey. But for now, I'm installing a new XS Power S975 (975 Cranking amps) that I bought by error 2 years ago and keept. Let's see how it works.

[grc]

I called today with a Shorai tech and the inconvenience of their lithium iron is reserve capacity. They measure their AH or reserve by a different method than others and told me that real reserve or AH are about the half they show, I mean, about 20 AH instead 28 AH from a Harley or Odyssey PC925L. And that's not good for hearing music during 3 hours with the bike parked on acc switch and drinking some beers with friends. Odyssey is the best choice for now, same AH than Harley but a lot more cranking amps, and 2 years full warranty instead 6 months full + 6 months prorated from Harley. Price about $180 for Odyssey. But for now, I'm installing a new XS Power S975 (975 Cranking amps) that I bought by error 2 years ago and keept. Let's see how it works.

Go back and read the fine print jgandara.  The cranking amps they promote and include in the model name of their batteries is not the industry standard CCA, but something they call pulse cranking amps.  For instance, the PC925 battery they recommend for a late model Touring bike actually comes in at 330 CCA when you measure that battery using industry standard SAE methodology.  The stock Harley battery is actually rated better than that these days. They also claim a whole lot of benefits that are based on comparisons to the old technology flooded wet cell batteries Harley used a few decades ago, not the AGM batteries standard in all Harley's for the past decade or two.  While CCA is the industry standard, you will still see some companies who try to muddy the waters by using CA numbers, or in this case a totally made up "Pulse" number.  If you want to do an honest and meaningful comparison, use the industry standard CCA numbers.

CCA is a measurement of the number of amps a battery can deliver at 0°F for 30 seconds and not drop below a specific voltage.  CA is an older standard that made the measurement at 32°F, and there was an HCA (hot cranking amps) figure in the old days that was measured at 80°F.  I don't know of anyone using that one any more.  And then we have the five second "pulse" measurement used by Odyssey that isn't supported by any industry standard at all.  It does make for attention grabbing numbers when trying to sell your product however.  I imagine that XS Power S925 is the same thing as the Odyssey PC925, btw.

If you want to use your bike as an entertainment center, why not consider a dual battery setup similar to what people pulling camping trailers often do?  One battery to operate the vehicle, and a second battery and isolator dedicated to the accessory circuit or just the audio system.  That way you can jam all night and still never worry about being able to start the bike.  Worked great back in my camping days.  You don't need a big heavy battery to run the audio system, so you could use one of those small lightweight batteries for the second battery.  Just a thought.

Jerry

[Lever]

i have a Ballistic battery in my cvo ...so far so good

http://www.ballisticparts.com/products/batteries/batteries.php