dustinsn3485 Posted October 10, 2013 Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 (edited) My OEM conventional battery is getting a bit weak and it looks like time to get something new. I've been researching the new Lithium Ion options for motorcycles and it appears there seems to be quite a few options coming available now. BallisticAnti-GravityShoraiSkyRichEtc... The one that seems the most interesting to me is www.Starkpower.com it's a small company, not quite even to production yet. I spoke with the owner a couple days ago about his technology in the battery and am impressed with all that he has said. His batteries seem to be beyond the current trend, more CCA's than the other manufacturers, circuit board for load leveling of each cell, some interesting stuff. I asked about his projected shipping dates and he's planning on shipping out his first batch next week. His cost is considerably cheaper than the competition and I also asked about that, he want's to get his name into the market quickly and is going to be very aggressive with his pricing. I'm going to order one and see how it does. Check out the website and read up on the technology he has put into his batteries.. Edited October 10, 2013 by dustinsn3485 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porschefan Posted October 10, 2013 Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 I really hope it works out for you but LIon cells explode very violently upon impact, producing 100's of times their volume in deadly and flammable gases. (I worked on a fire suppression system for a factory that makes large LIon cells). Just so you know what your getting into. It's not like a tank of gasoline above a hot engine is no hazard either. Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustinsn3485 Posted October 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 (edited) I've read some about that, especially in the Chevy volt. If you can provide more info I'd be interested though.. Skyrich actually lists on their homepage that the batteries are non-explosive and non-combustible http://www.skyrichbattery.com/p7/Lithium-Ion-Motorcycle-Battery/pages.html The stark battery only lists it as being 'safe' I've been researching these batteries for a few weeks, and can not find anything conclusively to say that they aren't ready for production use and safe to the general public. There is risk in everything just as you mentioned, gas tanks above engines.. Lithium Iron Phosphate seems to be the make-up for these batteries while other lithium batteries contain cobalt or Manganese Oxide both of which are more unstable and flammable. Edited October 10, 2013 by dustinsn3485 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vf1000ride Posted October 10, 2013 Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 I have a Shorai and have been happy with it. It has no trouble starting my Duc even last winter when temps dropped down into the 30's. Now I did buy the cell balancing charger and also a clearwater voltage sentry for the bikes charging system but I lost 9lbs and an ugly battery box off the bike. How many other places on a modern motorcycle can you loose that kind of weight short of your own waistline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mello dude Posted October 10, 2013 Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 (edited) I have run a Lithium Iron Phosphate battery from MOTYdesigns for the last 3 seasons. Generally I like it. It does lose some punch if it has a soak in sub 50s temps, so it is best to pull it and bring inside if you are expecting low temps. (Mine has a quick connector, so its no big deal) Its a common trait of this battery technology. For me the best part is for winter, just bring it in the house, and forget about it. No charging required. Forget about the battery tender. The battery can sit for a year and only lose a tenth of a volt. And of course the thing only weighs 1.75 pounds. Coolness... Now Lithium Ion? Not me, no thanks..... Edited October 10, 2013 by mello dude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turnone Posted October 10, 2013 Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 Love my shoria's. Have them in two bikes. No issues for two seasons now. No more trickle charging. Love that. Extremely light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuikAccord Posted October 10, 2013 Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 So IronMan is making batteries? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScubaCinci Posted October 10, 2013 Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 So IronMan is making batteries?LOL, that's what I was thinking...Tony Stark? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigerpaw Posted October 10, 2013 Report Share Posted October 10, 2013 I have a 4 cell AntiGravity in my 300cc V-twin Light as a feather. Plenty of power. HAS NOT BLOWN ME UP!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serpentracer Posted October 12, 2013 Report Share Posted October 12, 2013 (edited) all the other batteries EXEPT SHORAI are nothing but power tool batteries NOT DESIGNED to be used for starting an engine. those other batteries have more than one cell which is where the problem is. it has to be balanced charged or one cell could get damaged and the pack is ruined. shorai is the only one you should consider purchasing. they're specifically made for motorcycles and starting engines.the rest of them can't even be properly charged using the bike's charging system. they need a radio controlled hobby charger to balance charge their cells. Edited October 12, 2013 by serpentracer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serpentracer Posted October 12, 2013 Report Share Posted October 12, 2013 (edited) delete me Edited October 12, 2013 by serpentracer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serpentracer Posted October 12, 2013 Report Share Posted October 12, 2013 (edited) I wanted to clarify my old post. all lithium batteries need to be balanced charged. so you should get their chargers too. you're taking a risk if you do not balance charge them every now and then. if one cell's voltage drops off from the others it will not get a full charge and run down sooner than the others. if this happens and it drops below I think the threshold is 3.3 volts from is full 3.7-4.0 it will be ruined and the whole battery is now junk. so if your bike has a shitty charging system (it doesn't really charge that well at an idle till after 5k rpm) you run the risk of ruining a lithium battery. also YOU CANNOT use a regular charger or tender to charge lithium batteries. Edited October 12, 2013 by serpentracer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mello dude Posted October 13, 2013 Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 (edited) ^^^^ Agree with you that the bikes charging system needs to be in top shape before considering one of the Lithium Iron Phosphate batterys. (mine is) And I have read/noted the concern about the cell balancing. MOTY does sell a charger, but I havent needed to go there for charging issues. (I have a voltmeter up front to watch volts in real time) -- Got the 3 years so far and If it goes 5 seasons, I will consider my experiment a success... Edited October 13, 2013 by mello dude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cattmouch33 Posted October 14, 2013 Report Share Posted October 14, 2013 Dustin were you looking at the ultra or the ultra start from Stark. One has more battery management features, I'm contacting the company to see what the difference is in the internal cell management for the different batteries. If you order from Stark let me know your opinion. I'm looking for a new one as my current battery took a crap yesterday. The stability would be very nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustinsn3485 Posted October 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2013 I talked to the owner the other day. Ultra will be available to ship this week. Ultra start will be another couple months.Both have internal cell balancers. The ultra start has a nifty feature that will actually kill power flow if it starts getting low. A simple turn of the ignition key releases enough energy to reset the battery. Then start the bike an build up the voltage in the battery again.He said that feature was aimed toward riders who have neon lights and stereos, etc that run with the motor off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RHill Posted October 14, 2013 Report Share Posted October 14, 2013 (edited) all the other batteries EXEPT SHORAI are nothing but power tool batteries NOT DESIGNED to be used for starting an engine. those other batteries have more than one cell which is where the problem is. it has to be balanced charged or one cell could get damaged and the pack is ruined. shorai is the only one you should consider purchasing. they're specifically made for motorcycles and starting engines.the rest of them can't even be properly charged using the bike's charging system. they need a radio controlled hobby charger to balance charge their cells.SHORAI batteries are not single cell and should also be balanced when being deep cycled. It is even recommended to balance charge once a year under normal usage in their FAQ. Saying that the batteries are nothing but power tool batteries is a bunch of BS. It is the same technology being used in the SHORAI battery. Whether it is a conventional "battery cell" (repackaged power tool battery), a flat cell that is common in the hobby industry, or whatever SHORAI's internals look like; there is no difference in the chemistry. So saying one is inferior because it is a "powertool battery" is really saying nothing IMHO. If it has an incorrect capacity because of the cell sizes, then maybe there is an argument. None of thse batteries are designed to be used with a motorcycles charging system, unless they have a built in balancer. Can they be used in a bike? Yeah sure, if they are maintained by occasionally balancing. If not, they will die faster than necessary. Is that an issue? Not really seeing that seasonal motorcycle riders are accustom to battery maintenance. The SHORAI charger is a joke compared to just about any "radio controlled hobby chargers" on the market. $45 will buy you a charger that is capable of charging Pb, NiCD, NiMH, LiPO, LiFePO4 up to 6 cells at 5 amps(think NiCD and NIMH are more cells)....so I can use my "hobby" charger to charge my car battery, LiPO's for RC, normal AA rechargable batteries, and a LiFePO4 battery for a motorcycle....and whatever other rechargable battery I come across. I wanted to clarify my old post. all lithium batteries need to be balanced charged. so you should get their chargers too. you're taking a risk if you do not balance charge them every now and then. if one cell's voltage drops off from the others it will not get a full charge and run down sooner than the others. if this happens and it drops below I think the threshold is 3.3 volts from is full 3.7-4.0 it will be ruined and the whole battery is now junk. so if your bike has a shitty charging system (it doesn't really charge that well at an idle till after 5k rpm) you run the risk of ruining a lithium battery. also YOU CANNOT use a regular charger or tender to charge lithium batteries. It doesn't matter if you have a good charging system or not, if the battery is being cycled at all, it will slowly go out of balance. The advantage of LiFePO4's is that they tend to "wear" equally, where LiPO's tend to fall out of balance quickly. Edited October 14, 2013 by RHill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.