| Author | Message | ||
     Thefleshrocket |
I've had two EarthX lithium batteries fail in my 1125R. The first one just got weak, where it would cut out due to low voltage when cranking. The second one has just gone completely dark--0V and will not accept a charge. (I hooked up a good battery in parallel to trick the charger into putting out a charge, and even after leaving that setup rigged up for a couple hours, when I disconnected the spare battery and the charger, the EarthX battery was still 0V.) I also have a Battery Tender lithium battery in my '05 Speed Triple that has gotten too weak to crank the bike, and I put a lithium battery in my '14 Yamaha Vmax, and now the cluster and lights flicker. All of the batteries mentioned above get periodically put on a lithium-specific Battery Tender charger, so it's not like I've left them for months unattended. And none of them were more than two years old before acting up. The Yamaha one has been derpy since day one. So, I'm done with lithium batteries. What I remember as the main reason for switching to lithium batteries is that the 1125R motor takes a lot of CCA to turn over quickly, and the Speed Triple motor needs something like 10 rotations at moderately fast speed before it'll actually fire up, so it's CCA hungry too. So I'm looking for suggestions for conventional or AGM batteries that offer good CCA. The best I've been able to find so far is 240CCA, which is of course way less than the lithium batteries. I realize that lead acid batteries won't put out anywhere near the CCA of lithium, but I'm hoping for the best compromise. | ||
| Stevel |
There is no such thing as an appropriate lithium battery for a motorcycle. I am not saying lithium batteries do not work. They obviously do, but they need a BMS to survive. The crude, dumb charging systems on motorcycles whether they be shunt or series regulated, they will shortly kill a lithium battery. In addition, lithium batteries do not like temperature extremes like less than 10C or more than 40C. | ||
| Thefleshrocket |
I'm looking for high-CCA alternatives to the lithium batteries. What do you use? | ||
| Stevel |
AGM lead acid and a battery tender. | ||
| Ratbuell |
I've had the sum total of (2) HD batteries in my 2009 CR. The one it left the factory with, and one replacement that's still in it. Been using Battery Tender Jr. but upgraded all my chargers last summer to NoCo units that will recharge from stone dead if needed. I have a 2x4 unit (4 batteries, 2.0A per) for the motorcycles; a 2x4 for the toy cars and zero turn mower; and a single-outlet 3.5A unit for my diesel truck. | ||
| Pwillikers |
Sorry that you've had such miserable experiences with your Li batteries. I guess I should consider myself lucky. I've had a "BikeMaster DLFP14L-BS Lithium Ion Motorcycle Battery" in my '09 CR since July 2018. I hope I'm not jinxing myself but it's still going strong. I had gone through many (four I think) lead-acid AGM batteries that all had insufficient CCA to overcome the compression of a hot 1125. Even brand new ones struggled to turn over a hot engine in the TX summer heat. They stranded me several times. I looked for replacements that had the highest CCA rating. IIRC, Motobatt and Scorpion were the highest CCA rated ones I found. I ultimately went to the Lithium battery as a last resort. This battery I've had now for almost five years has been reliable and very powerful. The CR cranks vigorously and fires up almost immediately every time - way better than any AGM ever did. I am in TX and the battery has never seen anything close to freezing temperatures. That may be a factor contributing to its reliability, I can't say for sure. In any case, I wish you well finding an AGM that'll be strong enough to move hot 4" pistons on a hot day. I'll be interested to hear your final report. | ||
| Terrys1980 |
I'm still running stock Shorai lithium battery in 2014 EBR. I've killed it twice leaving park lights on and brought back using the parallel battery trick on a fast charger. | ||
| Crusty |
I've had good luck with both H-D batteries and Yuasa batteries. Yuasa recommends a YTX14L battery. I'd go with that. | ||
| Coastrambler |
I'm with Steve regarding motorcycle LiPo batteries. Temps in my garage get down to 2C. The battery loses power and self disconnects. Will be getting a H-D AGM battery | ||
| Aseecobra |
Yuasa gyz16hl or Interstate Fagyz16hl (Yuasa made) have lasted three years so far in my two 1125s. There 240cca and slide right in the 1125. A good agm battery should last five years on a twin. Deka, HD(Deka) and Autozone(Deka) Etx14 size batteries take a dump around two years. |
