Author Topic: New Battery (Read 7436 times)

Neon Knight · « **on:** 10 April 2016, 03:57:55 pm »

I have to replace the battery in my gen 1. Question is, is there any advantage apart from the weight saving of fitting a lithium ion battery instead of an old school acid battery ? I can get a basic acid battery for £30 or a gel battery for about £45. The cheapest lithium I have found is about £74. Is there any justification is spending twice the amount on one of these fancy new lithium jobs ? Have any of you guys bought a lithium one and if so what do you think ?

Fazerider · « **Reply #1 on:** 10 April 2016, 04:37:48 pm »

They are a bit lighter, but it's a waste of money unless you're serious about racing IMHO.

msewelly · « **Reply #2 on:** 10 April 2016, 06:38:37 pm »

Yeah would agree with the above, it's more down to if you want to say a few lb/kg which is normally under racing conditions. Its alot of money for a little bit of weight saving

markie_wales · « **Reply #3 on:** 10 April 2016, 07:01:36 pm »

They can also hold a charge a long time if there is no parasitic draw on them, but do need "waking up" in cold weather. Turn your head lights on for 30 secs etc (odd but true). They tend to be physically smaller as well, do if you could do with a bit of space in the battery compartment great, if not some come with a piece of form to take up the gap. Forget about weight saving on a >200kg bike, you won't notice it.

Cheers

Markie

PieEater · « **Reply #4 on:** 11 April 2016, 06:46:19 am »

I wouldn't pay the extra for a lithium battery but nor would I buy a budget battery for £30 as you tend to get what you pay for. I've usually gone for Yuasa or Varta and they have never let me down lasting at least 5 years with minimal maintenance required. Following good feedback I bought a Motobatt for my Gen1 which has been trouble free for the past couple of years.

taylor · « **Reply #5 on:** 11 April 2016, 09:30:39 am »

bought the others back on yussa,

PieEater · « **Reply #6 on:** 11 April 2016, 04:02:20 pm »

Quote from: taylor on 11 April 2016, 09:30:39 am

bought the others back on yussa,

I seriously have no idea what you are trying to say, did you want to have another go?

taylor · « **Reply #7 on:** 11 April 2016, 07:26:52 pm »

I had a motobatt, didn't last 6 months, so back on the Yamaha recommended yuasa ,

PieEater · « **Reply #8 on:** 12 April 2016, 09:39:41 pm »

Quote from: taylor on 11 April 2016, 07:26:52 pm

I had a motobatt, didn't last 6 months, so back on the Yamaha recommended yuasa ,

Righto - Did you try to sort out the Motobatt under warranty or was it too much hassle? I think they come with at least 12 months.

AyJay · « **Reply #9 on:** 12 April 2016, 11:13:00 pm »

Quote from: PieEater on 11 April 2016, 06:46:19 am

I wouldn't pay the extra for a lithium battery but nor would I buy a budget battery for £30 as you tend to get what you pay for. I've usually gone for Yuasa or Varta and they have never let me down lasting at least 5 years with minimal maintenance required. Following good feedback I bought a Motobatt for my Gen1 which has been trouble free for the past couple of years.

You know what, I bought a Yuasa from the local Yam dealer and it packed up after a week, so while I was waiting for a replacement, I bought a 30 quid job from some car parts dealer. Well, guess what, 2 years later the damn cheapo battery is still 100% fit and the 90 quid Yuasa (dealer prices eh?) is sitting in the kitchen cupboard waiting to be fitted. Who knows, the cheap one might drop dead tomorrow, but it's done two winters and I could get 3 of them for the price of the Yuasa. It's good to have a spare ready though. I've also got a Motobatt on the other bike and that's been rock steady for 4 years.

And when I say it's done two winters, it's sat at the train station in sub zero temperatures and only been ridden for 6 miles per day, hardly enough to keep it charged for the next start. I dare say it'll let me down at the most inconvenient moment, but if you only intend to keep a bike for a couple of years.. what the heck.

Also, in Performance Bikes a few issues ago, they fitted a lithium battery to a big twin (Ducati I think) and they said that the lithium battery spins the engine up much quicker, a bigger initial thump as it were, which places less stress on the sprag clutch. Or summick. Anyway, that could be one good reason for going with a lithium battery, but I've seen the prices and thought.. er... no....

PieEater · « **Reply #10 on:** 13 April 2016, 08:59:43 am »

Yuassa's can be found online for £45 and Varta's for £40, I wouldn't pay £90 for one but I know sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures. You could get lucky with a cheaper battery but I personally wouldn't take the chance.

markie_wales · « **Reply #11 on:** 13 April 2016, 09:42:39 am »

Quote from: AyJay on 12 April 2016, 11:13:00 pm

Also, in Performance Bikes a few issues ago, they fitted a lithium battery to a big twin (Ducati I think) and they said that the lithium battery spins the engine up much quicker, a bigger initial thump as it were, which places less stress on the sprag clutch. Or summick. Anyway, that could be one good reason for going with a lithium battery, but I've seen the prices and thought.. er... no....

You need to check the CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) spec of the battery - "perhaps" the CCA of the LiOn was higher? Either way a good LiOn is not a "bad" choice.

cheers

Markie

AyJay · « **Reply #12 on:** 13 April 2016, 07:50:53 pm »

Quote from: PieEater on 13 April 2016, 08:59:43 am

Yuassa's can be found online for £45 and Varta's for £40, I wouldn't pay £90 for one but I know sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures. You could get lucky with a cheaper battery but I personally wouldn't take the chance.

I was desperate. I was at work... the Yam dealer was just around the corner... Mind you, 45 quid is a damn fine price. Was that eBay?

PieEater · « **Reply #13 on:** 13 April 2016, 08:34:38 pm »

Nope I tend to avoid eBay for new parts because of the counterfeiting and lack of warranty for kit bought from there.

Just done another search and found one for £40 including delivery - http://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/content_prod/187421

AyJay · « **Reply #14 on:** 13 April 2016, 08:51:10 pm »

Ta. Sportsbikeshop, eh? I shall have a browse!

b1k3rdude · « **Reply #15 on:** 15 April 2016, 09:07:47 am »

Quote from: taylor on 11 April 2016, 07:26:52 pm

I had a motobatt, didn't last 6 months, so back on the Yamaha recommended yuasa ,

Same here, only ridding the fazer a few times during the year and the motobatt has fired up each and every time.

- https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=FZS1000+motobatt&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&gws_rd=cr&ei=YaEQV_uRCIPhac29lJAG#q=FZS1000+motobatt&tbm=shop

Regarding lithium, its a total non starter. The charging system on the bike is not designed for it and you could blow the thing up, and the bike/you along with it.

AyJay · « **Reply #16 on:** 15 April 2016, 04:14:36 pm »

Yes, but you could also blow a normal battery up by mis-use too. Retrofitting is perhaps not the best idea, but I suspect manufacturers are only a couple of years away from fitting them as standard. The price is going down and there's a hell of a lot of electric and hybrid cars using them now, they're small and lighter and that makes a big difference on a bike. We might even get back some of that fuel tank capacity we've lost over the years. (vain hope!)

But at present, they're a bit of a pose. Just like fake carbon fibre....

fazerscotty · « **Reply #17 on:** 20 April 2016, 09:02:25 pm »

"Regarding lithium, its a total non starter. The charging system on the bike is not designed for it and you could blow the thing up, and the bike/you along with it."

And I think you'll find Boeing are having issues with the 787 Dreamliner and the Lithium batteries which appear to combust all on their own, whenever they want - and they've spent millions of dollars looking at the problem!

ghostbiker · « **Reply #18 on:** 21 April 2016, 05:34:01 pm »

Won't use anything but motobatt unless I'm desperate. Sparadic use all year round on the Fazer 1000 used to mean a new yusa or rob H each spring. Motobatt on 4 years and strong. Seems to hold charge in cold better than most I have tried.
Fitted to the VTR cbr900r zx6r and will be fitted to the ZX9R when I replace it. Not one ever have me a problem. Even the cbr reg/rec fault didn't screw it up .
Highly recommend.

Slaninar · « **Reply #19 on:** 21 April 2016, 05:42:29 pm »

Where I live, brand name batteries, such as Yuasa, start from 100 euros. Landport bateries cost about 30 euros for Fazer and last about 3 years, without maintenance.

Neon Knight · « **Reply #20 on:** 23 April 2016, 10:40:17 am »

Thanks for all the info and advice guys. Decided not to go with the new light weight, high tech and expensive lithium option. After much thinking and beer drinking I decided to go with a standard battery and bought a Motobat for £55. Nice that it comes precharged so just bolt it in and you're ready to roll. Seems quite well built and has a strong cranking charge. I like the twin terminal thing they do which is good if you want to attach addition electrics without the hassle of having to unbolt the main terminals when you need or want to remove the extras, plus its a nice custard yellow colour

karlo · « **Reply #21 on:** 26 April 2016, 10:24:51 am »

My battery is starting to get tired and I usually replace batteries with a motobatt but I've decided to try one of these, https://www.tayna.co.uk/YT14B-4-Powerline-Motorcycle-Battery-YT14B4-P9626.html half the price of a motobatt and higher CCA, time will tell if they're any good but @ £35 and next day delivery I thought I'd give it a go!

Powerline

Voltage	12 Volts
Technology	AGM
Capacity	12 Ah
CCA	200 A

MotoBatt

Voltage 12v

Technology AGM

Capacity: 13 [Ah]

CCA (-18C): 175 [A]