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Shorai Lithium Ion Motorcycle Batteries

Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Messages
2,071
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1
Location
Antelope Valley CA
First Name
Scott
Last Name
Brown
Has anybody heard of this battery?

Pretty impressive claims, and 5.21 lbs lighter than the stock battery, and a little pricey but it comes with a 2 year warranty, and if their claims of 2 to 4 times the service life of a lead-acid battery are true, even at $153.95 it would end up being cheaper.

* No more dead batteries. Holds charge for one year without maintenance
* Twice to four times the service life of lead-acid batteries
* Drop-in replacement for your OEM battery
* Military spec Carbon Fiber Composite Case
* Faster cranking for better starts

* Ultra light. One fifth the weight of lead-acid batteries on average
* Super-fast recharge rate
* SAFE - No explosive gasses during charge, no lead, no acid
* Environmentally friendly, just discharge and dispose
* Japanese engineering and components

http://www.shoraipower.com/s-42208-GSF1250S-GSX1300R-GSXR1000-GSXR750.aspx
 
Hey that looks pretty interesting..I like the idea of having no acid and such..Over 5 lbs is a pretty big difference in weight too.
 
They had a booth at the Cycle World m/c show in Dallas a couple of weeks ago. The rep said that they were a small player compared to Yuasa but everybody has to start somewhere. Battery was very light and seems to be a good alternative to OEM.

Ed W.
 
This is not new stuff. Ebatt and Turntech have been producing these type of batteries fro some years now.

Twice the battery life? I guess that depends on the bike, battery in question. On a Bike the DRZ that eats a OEM sized Yuasa in just a year or two, or ONE day if you kill it with a left key on...or anytime you do not keep it charged.. the Lithium Ion Motorcycle Batteries make great sense.. On a sport bike where people spend hundreds of dollars to install Ti fasteners, Aluminum or Ti exhausts to save a 1lb or so.. you can shave 5 lb or so in a few minutes for a few bucks, on an item that uses less space and works.
 
I am curious...on their web site they refer to these as Lithium IRON not lithium ion.

"Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What makes Shorai LFX different from other Lithium-Iron starter batteries?

A. Shorai LFX batteries contain Shorai-proprietary eXtreme-Rate Lithium Iron prismatic cells (chemistry LiFePO4). Shorai LFX contain no poisonous lead, no dangerous acid, and do not create explosive gasses during charge, as traditional Lead-Acid batteries do. Read all

And LFX are environmentally friendly; you only need to fully discharge the battery before disposal (connecting a 12V bulb until the light is out will do).

While there are other companies now offering Lithium-Iron based powersports batteries, all except Shorai use cylindrical cells originally made for power tool applications. Such cells are inferior to Shorai Prismatic LFX, for several reasons.

First, the cylindrical cells come only in one size, so that the possible shapes and sizes of the starter batteries they make are very limited. As such, battery fit into many vehicles will be poor, or impossible as they are too wide, or too tall. LFX prismatic cells, on the other hand, are rectangular packages which we can freely design and size according to the size requirements of the battery case. As such, Shorai LFX offer perfect drop-in fit in many vehicles and - if the LFX is slightly smaller in one dimension - high-density, adhesive-backed foam shims are included in the package. These can be applied to the battery box in a few minutes, to insure a perfect “as original” fit. No saws, cutting torches, or duct tape required!

Second is the pedigree. While off-the-shelf power-tool cells may crank a vehicle successfully, they were not originally intended for the high current discharges in starter systems. As a result, cranking performance suffers compared to Shorai LFX, and the batteries will wear out more per every start. By contrast, Shorai LFX are the result of years of our own research and development, and are designed and produced in our own tightly controlled factory. Shorai LFX have been used in some of the most extreme high-current projects in the world, including autonomous aircraft, boats, and submarines, electromagnetic rail gun research, and more. In short, the have been designed from the “ground up’ to be the perfect powersports starter batteries, with longest lifespan and highest performance.

Finally there is quality control. While other lithium-iron powersports battery makers are simply customers of a generic cell factory somewhere, every Shorai LFX is built in our own ISO 9000:2008 certified factory. All the primary cell ingredients are sourced from Japan, which allows us to produce the most consistent and reliable cells. Then we do individual cell quality control and matching over a six-week period, for every cell we make. This test period is two to four times longer than typical and is expensive for us. But it is worth it, in terms of product quality in the long run.
The complete FAQ will be online here by November 20th 2010"

Is this just a misprint?

Ron
 
I've been running a 5Ah TurnTech battery in my KTM 950 Adventure for close to two years now. It works great and saved six pounds. I consider lead acid batteries obsolete for my uses now.

Yes, it is Lithium Iron. No misprint.

TurnTech has a website with a good FAQ section.
 
How many here would buy a lithium lite weight battery for $150 ? thats the bottom line ?
 
Using a battery tender routinely, I had no problem getting the batteries in my ST1100 and 1300 to last for 5 to 6 years. Will one of the LiFe batteries really last for 10 or 12? I have my doubts. Does shaving 5 lbs really make that much difference on a Bandit? If I were racing a GSXR600, every pound does matter. But, for me, riding a bandit on the street I don't think I'd notice 5 lbs. YMMV.
 
How many here would buy a lithium lite weight battery for $150 ? thats the bottom line ?

With me staying in the 240 range as far as weight goes. I do better loosing about 10 lbs off my body. ;-)
 
With me staying in the 240 range as far as weight goes. I do better loosing about 10 lbs off my body. ;-)

That's great for you, but that won't help your bike get any lighter. I never have figured that logic out. You could lose 50 pounds and your bike would feel just as heavy as it ever was.

I want my bike as light as I can get it. The performance upgrade vs. a lead acid battery is another bonus. A chinese replacement battery for my Adventure is 100 bucks. The stock Yuasa is priced very close to the Turntech lithium battery, so for me the choice is easy.
 
That's great for you, but that won't help your bike get any lighter.

Is an Age + Usage + Years in the Saddle thing. 30 years ago when I was building my own bikes from the frame up , and racing them, it mattered. Now, a lazy retired dude in no particular hurry. It'd don't matter. ;-)
But good to see and hear of the things people are still doing to their bikes to improve them.
I one time I did a battery eliminator on an XT500 Yamaha I redid from ground up. Had that dude at 285 pounds wet. Course, I weighted in at about 160 then.

MyXT5001978.jpg
 
I want my bike as light as I can get it.

Maybe buy a smaller and more purpose built bike???;-):lol2: Sorry I couldn't resist.... But on a serious note, do you only ever fill your tanks just to 50% to save all that weight? Probably not. Have you swapped you axles for Ti, probably not. Bottom line, if it's not a race bike then most people just don't care that much.
 
Maybe buy a smaller and more purpose built bike???;-):lol2: Sorry I couldn't resist.... But on a serious note, do you only ever fill your tanks just to 50% to save all that weight? Probably not. Have you swapped you axles for Ti, probably not. Bottom line, if it's not a race bike then most people just don't care that much.


I've got light bikes too, a whole garage full. I actually do keep track of how much gas I carry vs. my planned on range. Ti axles would only save ounces, so that would be silly for me.

I understand most people don't care, but the point I tried to make was that if the price is almost the same, the performance is better, AND the weight is less, it's a no brainer.
 
You know...Speaking of how full the gas is...After nearly 23,000 miles I just noticed that the bandit handled quite a bit better when the gas got lower....However, that won't stop me from filling it up all the way when I get gas....

Regarding the battery....Hey 5 lbs here, a few there could add up and make the bike feel a little better..If that battery really did last that much longer I'd go for it and I like the idea of the absence of corrosive acids.
 
In checking with Bike Bandit, I can get a Maintenance Free Battery for about 95 plus shipping. Or a Tru Gel ( I didn't read everything about it) for about 105 plus shipping.
I'll use that other 50 bucks for gas and traveling the backroads. Now, 30 years ago, I might would of thought different. But then, I didn't travel as much.
 
Thought about giving up just a bit of saddlebag space and using a sealed tractor battery or car gel battery. About half the price. I open myself to lots of options as far ahead as I can, then usually make a quick decision the minute the stuff happens.
 
LOL on last minute decisions. Several years back when my KLR battery shorted out internally, I called my dealer/old friend about 20 miles away to see if he had a battery for it. He told me to just go to Walmart and get something that would fit at half the price.
 
Wow buying a part made outside of the USA. Gasp. I guess a misplaced sense of patriotism and buy American pride only applies to other peoples threads and purchases. Good to see your hypocrisy holds steady and is more of a life choice than an isolated instance. Way to stick to your guns.
 
Wow buying a part made outside of the USA. Gasp. I guess a misplaced sense of patriotism and buy American pride only applies to other peoples threads and purchases. Good to see your hypocrisy holds steady and is more of a life choice than an isolated instance. Way to stick to your guns.

If you look at my thread about the Harbor freight wheel chock, I decided not to purchase it because it is made in China, and I do try and always buy American made products.

I have been using Yuasa batteries in my bikes for over 30 years and, even though Yuasa is a Japanese owned company, they are manufactured made here in the US, and I will be buying another one for my Bandit when the time comes, and I think that Yuasa is the only motorcycle battery made in the US.
 
* Japanese engineering and components

Yeah, and these Shorai batteries sound like a real marvel of modern American engineering and industrial fortitude.

Just say you really want the battery because its good and then buy it. I'm sure it'll be a great product if even half of its claims are true.

You could also then stop spewing your hypocrisy into other peoples threads that are just trying to provide information to a forum of fellow bike riders.:clap:
 
Let's keep the flames low, fellas, or move it over to the Off-Topic forum. We're just talking bikes here.
 
........ We're just talking bikes here.

And so we are. I just read a review from Motorcycle Consumer News on the back cover of the April 2011 issue on the LFX. They tested it over a few months and subjected it to a lot of cold as well. Bottom line, Thumbs Up!! Suggested running headlights for 5 to 8 seconds to heat the battery up in really cold weather, but overall a great battery with resting voltage at 13.4V and it's set to last twice as long. I'm in at battery change next year.

Thanks Scott for making us aware.
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