Lithium batteries - anybody using them ?

[Gosling1]

the fucking new battery in the 12 has gone west - it was only new last year, not enough riding and no trickle charger = fuxxored battery inside 12 months. I am over SLA.

Anybody using a Shorai / SSB or similiar in their 12 or anything else ? Would be interested to know what you think of these, longevity, charging issues etc...

[koyote]

Shorai good selection shit loads of cranking amps half the weight had one the last 12 months if you are going to let it sit for a month or two they do have a recommended charger

[robracer]

Get a standard battery & trickle charger from Red dave, would work out cheaper

[Nelso]

I just put a Lithium battery in the dirt bike. I can't comment how good it is yet, but fuck me it's light.

[valkau]

Just replaced the lead/acid battery in my RS250 with lithium as acid spill wasn't attractive. Around $105 at Battery World instead of $65 - but so light. Needs to be recharged every so often (6 months I think) rather than trickle charged. Will do the same with the ZX10R when the current battery karks it.

[kawadave]

I was put to on to these by my neighbor.
He users one in his Jabiru light aircraft.

They are a li-po battery that have heaps of cranking power for their size....4 cell 14.8 volts
When there hooked to the bike its like you've just fitted a hi torque starter motor.
You have to change the connectors and it has its own lead for recharge if required.

At $44 a piece they are great value.....http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/stor ... max%208000

[Johnnie5]

I was put to on to these by my neighbor.
He users one in his Jabiru light aircraft.

They are a li-po battery that have heaps of cranking power for their size....4 cell 14.8 volts
When there hooked to the bike its like you've just fitted a hi torque starter motor.
You have to change the connectors and it has its own lead for recharge if required.

At $44 a piece they are great value.....http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/stor ... max%208000

]

thats the wrong one its only 3 cell 11v

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/stor ... P_30C.html

$58.80

some good options here http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/stor ... Order=desc

especially if you have a kickstart bike and dont need high capacity

[kawadave]

Yer that's it....well picked.

[MAXUMIS]

I have had an SSB in my bike for close to a year now ,no trickle charger and starts up strong all the time.it weighs 900 grams compared to the standed 5kg battery.
The battery dudes said they can last up to ten years I got mine from this mob,a lot cheaper than ebay
http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j ... ASniqWEi0g

[Greenblood]

I have had a Shorai in the road going 7 and I have had no problems, and holds a charge for a month+ without a problem.

[EDU]

I've used nothing but LiPo batteries for the past 3-4 years. Cannot recommend them enough. I use the Moty Design ones (http://www.motydesign.com/) and bought their charger as well which I highly recommend. My ZX6R won't charge it (came with a fecked rectifier and I'm too lazy to take it to a dealer to get it swapped under the recall) so I have to recharge it every 3 sessions on a track day. It has lasted me 5 sessions a few times but it's taking a chance and I only do it when I forget to charge it.

I've had this current battery (my second on as many bikes) for 2½ years now and I reckon it's now losing charge a bit quicker... but like I said, it's had a tough life and it's been 2½ years! I never charge it between or after track days. I usually do it on the night before and then once during the day, that's it. Then it awaits half charged till my next outing which has taken more than 6mths sometimes.

Ps: Whenever I wrote "charge" I actually meant to say "balance". It's different and it works better, trust me!

[Gosling1]

cheers all some good tips in there for sure.

One redeeming feature about the Motobatt AGM battery fitted to the Black Pearl ( and these batteries don't have too many redeeming features) - is the double-fitting at each end of the battery for leads. I wanted to hook up a trickle charger to the old girl tonight, and was able to use the 'spare' +ve and -ve terminals to attach the charging leads. Only a small win, but a win nevertheless......so at least this battery is copping a trickle charge each night.

I think most of the fleet will eventually be changed over to lithium batteries. One of those Zippy LiPo batteries looks perfect for the S1 250/3 trackbike.....

[Gosling1]

....I have had an SSB in my bike for close to a year now ,no trickle charger and starts up strong all the time.it weighs 900 grams compared to the standed 5kg battery......The battery dudes said they can last up to ten years I got mine from this mob,a lot cheaper than ebay....

thanks Max - yep the SSB looks like a good option. But the price differences are a bit howyagoin ???

SSB - from that website - quoted me $310 inc. postage for an LTX14-BS, from Sydney.

On ebay - same battery $240 posted from Adelaide.

[Nelso]

I only paid $99 for mine and it has something done to it so that it can be charged by a normal charger. I'll check what brand it is later if you want.

[MadKaw]

I've had an 8 cell lithium in the 10 race bike for about 4 years now.. It was ok at first but struggles a bit to get it started - but it always starts, eventually.
Mine was knocked up by the guy that races the electric bike in the FX - Ripperton, and doesn't have a balance charge so the cells are probly out.
For the 12 it may be worth getting a 12 cell, to be sure..
If you get one, make sure it can be balance charged and you get a proper charger. The chargers are about $30 from hobbyking and chuck that on every few months.
Not sure if it would work, but you could try 2 of the 4 cell lipo packs from HobbyKing, posted above, in parallel. I wouldn't think 1 x 4 cell would be enough, but 2 might (an 8 cell pack from there is 29 volts so you would need a combination of 4 cell packs)..