I wouldn't trust a battery that drops below 10V unless you have a kickstarter. The battery is too weak and will leave you stranded soon enough. You are on borrowed time my friend.

 

thats why i have always with me the charger (with long cables) and i ve made a connector in order to charge the battery without striping the plastic.

but fortunately so far no problem, i didnt have to charge the battery even if the bike didnt move for 2-3 days...


In futur i will go for the lithium shorai battery. There are some reviews that say its awsome! After 3 constant startings without the spark connected (each one about 10 seconds), it still had 11V load voltage!!!!

 

My recent experience with Shorai is awful, you might want to re-consider. My DRZ needed a new battery and I jumped at the Shorai in late August 2013. I used it for a month in 2013 and then for this season, starting in late May. However it has been awful this year, leaving me to jump or bump start the bike often, often in very remote locations. I thought I had a charging problem or an unusual electrical draw and wasted much time diagnosing that as the issue. NOPE....crappy Shorai battery. By the way, I look after my stuff, more than 15 batteries and I read every piece of the manual for the Shorai and followed ALL instructions to the 'T'.

Their 'warranty' isn't of much use to me either, with an offer to buy a new one at 50% new MSRP, plus a pile of freight, to return the old and get the new.....all at my cost. They also offered me the option of shipping my battery back to Shorai(not a dealer) for accessment, which would take around 2 weeks, after they rec'd, then, depending on their decision, I may may get a new one. So, the end of my riding season lost to Shorai BS!

Thanks, but no thanks! Shorai is a great idea but comes up far short in my case and for many others, it seems.

 

You can buy 3 standard batteries for the price of one Shorai. 3 batteries will give you 15 years of service life... I don't keep anything that long. I don't need to drop bike weight, so I'll stick with lead acid.

 

I'm running with a Shorai for three full seasons now, and could'nt be happier. I appreciate very much the weight reduction, also cranking is stronger.

To each his own

 

I fully appreciated the weight reduction and the cranking speed at first, until it slowed more and more as the weeks passed and left me stranded at up 50km into the bush.
"to each his own"? Am I unreasonable to hope for more than 3 months service life?

 

intersting opinions, one that hate shorai and oher that love it....

maby i will go for lead acid westco or oddyssey......Any opinions?

Mine is yuasa taiwan YTX7L-BS i wouldnt say that it is sg special...

 

Not at all. As with any mass produced item there are bound to be some duds. You just got (un)lucky.

 

There is some smoke and mirrors going on with the Shorai battery marketing. Nothing bad, you just need to know what's going one and the drawbacks before you pay triple to get one.

#1. It's not a 12V battery. It's really a 14V battery. I don't like that they don't come out and tell you that. They call them 12V Eq or "equivalent" batteries to hide that fact. There is no magic as to why your starter spins faster. They claim that it's because of the awesome Shoria battery... No, it's because the starter is seeing 17% more voltage.

Pop quiz. Will your starter spin faster with 12.7V or 14.3V?

#2. Shorai plays some games with ratings. "A/Hr Pb Eq"? That's Amp hour lead equivalent... and not a real rating. They also bag on CCA rating and testing for 12V batteries which has been the standard for a few decades. They claim, "At actual cranking currents - which are always well below CCA, LFX deliver up to two volts more than an equivalent-CCA-rated lead acid battery." Gee, that's because you have a 14V battery and use a different battery chemistry.

The LiFePO4 battery hits 10% capacity at 12.7... which is where a fully charged lead acid is at 100%. It can't get down to 50% of it's voltage rating and still produce power. A lead acid can.

"Cold cranking amperes (CCA) is the amount of current a battery can provide at 0 °F (−18 °C). The rating is defined as the current a lead-acid battery at that temperature can deliver for 30 seconds and maintain at least 1.2 volts per cell (7.2 volts for a 12-volt battery)."

The Shorai battery is a 14V battery and cuts off at 9.2, so it's looks really bad on the CCA scale. It's low impedance allows it to deliver all it's stored energy very fast.

Again, none of this is "bad". I just like facts. Shorai is using "Eq" specs instead of just putting the real ones out there. Just my opinion. The general population likes to believe in magic. Magic batteries, magic oil, magic additives, and so on.

#3. You need a special charger for "storage". (add $85)

Don't get me wrong I think LiFePO4 batteries are great, but you gotta pay for it. I really don't like misleading "marketing". It's a different kind of battery. I wouldn't say it's a better battery. Lead acid works when I hit the starter. Always has. If I was a racer, I'd go for the weight savings. If I was out on the trail, dumped my bike, and had a flooded motor that needed to be cleared... I'd want lead acid for the cranking time and the larger CCA.

To each his own.

 

Sorry, I should have said instead "I've been more lucky than you". FWIW, your charging system could be a reason for the short life too. Just saying.

I'll admit that I would have been hesitant to go far in the bush as some people here do, with the Shorai, not knowing how it behaves when going bad (or just before going bad). Technological maturity has a bigger importance in this case