Lithium Battery +/- ?

[Diavel]

Time for a battery change on a Gen 1 and I was wondering about the benefits of a lithium battery. I understand that they are lighter and last longer but are there downsides on charging etc? Can they be left on a trickle charger or no need ? Any advice/ experience appreciated .TIA.

[bazzer]

Only real downside is they don't like cold. Sometimes you need to turn the ignition on and wait for the battery to self heat it's self before starting when its really cold.

If you want to put it on a battery tender it will need to be a lithium aware one as they don't like the conditioning strategies that lead acid tenders employ.

[Diavel]

Thanks Bazzer-useful info. Here in Laos (in between Thailand and Vietnam!) "cold" is around 20C 😁 whereas most days are 30C++. I would need to get a different tender but that hopefully is not a drama.

[Antares]

Originally Posted by Diavel

Thanks Bazzer-useful info. Here in Laos (in between Thailand and Vietnam!) "cold" is around 20C 😁 whereas most days are 30C++. I would need to get a different tender but that hopefully is not a drama.

I wouldn't even bother with a tender, Li Ion barely loses charge on it's own and the XR pulls fairly low amps for clocks etc unless you have accessories. Just get one with an integrated jump starter and you never have to worry about it, if leaving the bike for a while just disconnect the battery.

[bazzer]

I would tend to agree with Anares, my track bike live in Spain most of the time and does not get ridden for month, but it always seems to start.

Now I have said that it will be flat when I go next month :-)

[Antares]

Originally Posted by bazzer

I would tend to agree with Anares, my track bike live in Spain most of the time and does not get ridden for month, but it always seems to start.

Now I have said that it will be flat when I go next month :-)

My ER6 survived like 3-4 months in winter with the XR's original battery from 2015, started on 2nd rotation of crank. Since then i stopped worrying about batteries.

[T5Pilot]

So, which is the right lithium/ion battery to go for?  Thinking of also doing this, I'm still on my original battery which is 6.5 years old now (Gen 1 XR obviously).
Any recommendations welcome please.  Cheers.

[Antares]

Originally Posted by T5Pilot

So, which is the right lithium/ion battery to go for?  Thinking of also doing this, I'm still on my original battery which is 6.5 years old now (Gen 1 XR obviously).
Any recommendations welcome please.  Cheers.

I went with a Shido unit and nothing wrong with it so far, had it just over a year or so. Never had to worry about charge, cranks a tad slower than the original AGM but way more stable with conditions.

[T5Pilot]

Originally Posted by Antares

I went with a Shido unit and nothing wrong with it so far, had it just over a year or so. Never had to worry about charge, cranks a tad slower than the original AGM but way more stable with conditions.

Thanks for that.  I'll look into them 

[Winger]

Their are several lithium threads on here, currently I run the X/R..BM1100s..XT660X..KTM GT..BM K1200r Sport..Tiger 955 all on lithium, the only glitch I’ve had is with the Tiger which had an aftermarket R/R on it which didn’t like a lithium battery which made for an interesting conversation with the UK manufacturer, and it ended me buying an OE one again.

The oldest lithium is now 6/7 years old and still good, there’s some doubt about them in seriously cold temperatures but the same can be said about me... so there’s never been a problem.

What I find interesting still having a fair bit to do with the bike trade, bikers are an old fashioned bunch and while lithium batteries have been around for some years now still a rarity because shock horror it’s a new gizmo, how the hell bike manufacturers are going to persuade folks to buy electric motorcycles in the future I’ve no idea and that’s assuming the price drops.

Anyone hesitant about a lith and living in the West Mids I do have a spare just acquired along the way 😂, no it’s not for sale but more than happy to show how well they work without the ridiculous weight of a lead acid.