Shorai Battery

[trex]

I bought a Shorai battery for my Dyna because of the incredible weight savings of about 11 pounds over the stock one and it supposedly had greater power, and I thought that would be perfect for my 95in 10.5-1 comp. When cold in the morning, 75 deg. at 6am in Hawaii, it would not turn over well and popped off the comp releases and kicked back. I made sure it was fully charged and it never would start good in the mornings but when warm after riding no problem. So I'm sending it back as the stock battery has no such problem when I reinstalled it. Anyone else have that experience with a Shorai?

[frito1]

When I had a FJR for a second bike I hung out on the FJR forum quite a bit.  The Shorai got good reviews over there.  But..........FJR's aren't V-twins and the weight savings is more important when the battery is mounted in front of the gas tank.

[JohnCA58]

Trex,  I have to ask,  how many cell battery did you get, and did you upgrade your battery cables for the increase in CCA that the battery will give you. and did you do a voltage drop test on the cables when you had the battery in there ?   I am thinking you had other issues   

[trex]

Trex,  I have to ask,  how many cell battery did you get, and did you upgrade your battery cables for the increase in CCA that the battery will give you. and did you do a voltage drop test on the cables when you had the battery in there ?   I am thinking you had other issues   

No I did not do any of that, when I bought it the place didn't mention any of those things and I'm not an electical engineer. When I put my stock Yuasa 3-4 year old battery back in it fired right up no problem. The Shorai is the one their web site suggests for my application LFX24L3-BS12

[TXChop]

Don't lithium ion's need to be "woke/warmed" up?

From all review i have heard of them they might not start first hit of the button but the second hit it spools quick and fires right off.

[trex]

Don't lithium ion's need to be "woke/warmed" up?

From all review i have heard of them they might not start first hit of the button but the second hit it spools quick and fires right off.

Something like that is mentioned on the Shorai web site, that cold cranking is a concern with people but shouldn't be because after the first slow turn over the battery will warm and crank better. Well that was not what I experienced, it was bad no matter how many times I cranked it. I live on Maui and the only dealer is on Oahu so I had to send it back there. They wanted to test it with a load test before considering a refund and never mentioned cables or anything else. I told them go for it but my old lead battery cranks my bike and starts it on the second revolution no problem. My main problem I think is always wanting to try out new unproven stuff.

[truck]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[Bill in OKC]

I think the cold battery thing is around 40 degrees.  At 75 degrees the battery wouldn't need to be warmed up.  I've had good luck with mine but I've been hearing a lot of issues with the LiFePo4.  The biggest thing - and it is a big thing - is to balance charge them.  Probably once when new and also maybe once a year.  A weak cell will dramatically bring down the battery's power and the only way to bring it back up is with a balance charger.

[Merc63]

If this is a lithium battery, which I believe it is.

They do not start good at all cold. You have to keep cranking and cranking it till the battery warms up and then it will push out its full cranking amps.

They are like sleeping giants that need to wake up first.

[Admiral Akbar]

If this is a lithium battery, which I believe it is.

They do not start good at all cold. You have to keep cranking and cranking it till the battery warms up and then it will push out its full cranking amps.

They are like sleeping giants that need to wake up first.

Yeah but the temp is 75F ain't that cold.. 32F is.. 

They look to Lithium ION.. Maybe Lithium Polymer would be better??

Couple of things. Most LI batteries utilize a power switch to disconnect them if they get too low.. If the discarge too low, they are trashed.. This may be hard to implement inside the battery though there is space since the battery itself is probably smaller then the container. Second.. If the cell becomes damaged or shorted, fire ensues.. 

Max

[trex]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Yep, I was sold because of the wieght savings and thinking the cranking would be awsome, it was pitiful. I'll see what the shop that sold it to me says after they check it, but if they say it's good and that's just the way they are, I'll say keep the piece of "Potty mouth".

[sharkoilfield]

If it works fine with the AGM battery; what about the comp releases popping off??? I had that problem with HD releases and "dissected" one to see why...a cirular spring clip holds three detent balls and will rotate and only hold 2; I'm using releases from HQ now and they're fine. As for the battery; AGM batteries were NOT doing the job my Shorai battery is now doing on my 103...I already had the Terry cables, too. Hopefully mine dosen't take a crap, too. They're an expensive piece of weight savings.

[trex]

If it works fine with the AGM battery; what about the comp releases popping off??? I had that problem with HD releases and "dissected" one to see why...a circular spring clip holds three detente balls and will rotate and only hold 2; I'm using releases from HQ now and they're fine. As for the battery; AGM batteries were NOT doing the job my Shorai battery is now doing on my 103...I already had the Terry cables, too. Hopefully mine doesn't take a crap, too. They're an expensive piece of weight savings.

The comp. releases were popping off because it would turn just enough to do that, then turn real slow. So I would have to push them in and try again, 3-5 times getting slower each time. I did start it twice on different days  like that and after a ride it would start real quick. The third day that happened I said fk this and put the stock battery in and it started immediately, like it always had before. That's when I decided this is a piece of "Potty mouth".

[lilchief]

Got one of the lil fellas in a Yamaha XS650 that I built. Ain't never had a problem with it. It sits for long periods of time without being started & it cranks that bike over right away when I do start/ride it. But with that being said, the XS650 is not a big v-twin either.

Lil' Chief

[pwmorris]

Did you buy the Shorai charger that goes with the battery?
How many cells is the Shorai you bought? I like to go bigger than reccomended for insurance-
My friends VRod with a Shorai lithiuim was at my house and I was riding it once and a while but he left it with me without the charger that goes with it and it died after a few weeks of not riding it. He brought over the charger and it brought back the battery. At first the charger was flashing showing deep discharge so I called Shorai and they said the battery should be plugged in to the charger at all times to keep it at the proper float level. The Vrod has a parasitic loss (clock, EMS) that was draining the battery slowly and if you don't ride it, the bike eventually won't start.

I run Lithium on both my bikes, both with big motors, but I run Antigravity batteries. Love em'

[lilchief]

I did not buy the charger, but then again I haven't needed it yet either.
I'll have to get the actual battery # and post it. I know its a lighter duty battery for the XS650.

Lil' Chief