Hey guys,

I just bought an 07 with what looks to be the original battery. I want to run a pair of Gerbing heated gloves and (if possible), a Gerbing heated jacket also. Based on searching the forum, I have gathered that the KLX's alternator only puts out 200 watts or so (?) and the Shorai lithium seems to be the replacement battery of choice.

Can anyone that runs heated gear share your feedback and also confirm/recommend a good replacement battery?

 

I run heated grips constantly along with heated boot insoles occasionally. I have never found either to compromise the KLX's alternators's ability to keep the little battery fully topped up. In total they draw ~5A.
If you haven't already, do some research on li-ion batteries for motorcycle use; you'll find that they*are very expensive and*can have some issues in the cold. I have heard on several occasions from guys who have bought li-ion batteries for their street-legal bikes that they'd go back to old-school gel cells if they had the chance.*
Li-ons definitely make some sense on a track bike, but weight savings, size, and bragging rights are the only advantages of Li-ions IMO.

 

I guess with the iron lithium ion batteries, they need to crank for a second or two in the cold to get their amps back... just what I heard.

The biggest thing for me is how long those lithium batteries last? 6-7 years is typical for a lead battery. I would want to know the money I was burning on a lithium battery was gunna last at least that long if not longer.

Edit: Also has anyone noticed they recommend you buy their $70 battery charger for the Shorai... it says though it is not needed it is still recommended. And the only thing I can think about since I'm a logical person is why? I mean if your going to try to sell me something then at least start talking about "pulsing current" or some other dumb thing to get me interested and let me do my own research.

 

I deal with these batteries all the time for my rc hobbies
those lithium motorcycle batteries have a balance port on them
so when you charge them you balance charge each cell
which will give you the most power from each cell

now you can charge them like you would a normal lead acid battery one wire on positive and negative

but after time or severe use a cell could drop voltage

normal charging will just charge until the max voltage so other cells could get damaged
enough get damaged and now your at a lower voltage all the time
Unless they have some protector circuit inside im not sure
I have a bad motorcycle lithium battery my friend used for a couple months
one cell is totally gone
it wont charge at all
there goes $90 in the trash

I was hoping my computer charger could repair it but it wont allow it to charge
could be something inside burnt out too im not sure


so invest in those expensive chargers if you have to have one, and im not sure if the come with a long balancer lead so you can hang that out the battery cover or not
but look into one of those too or you will have to take out the battery to reach the port
hobby stores should be able to get one or online stores

and all my bikes I keep on a battery tender 24/7
I know lithium batteries are good for about 1000 charges
not sure if thats full charges, or top off charges
so if you think about it each time you start the bike, there goes a charge cycle to the battery once the engine is running
how long can these take charges for? Is that listed anywhere?

This has kept me away from those types of batteries
they are finicky, and a fire hazard if they catch on fire for rc hobbies

last thing on a bike I would want is the battery catching on fire
and it can happen when charging too, when I charge mine I keep in a fire bag



maybe if they have the balancer charging circuit built into the battery then I would think about it
but right now I wouldnt
lead acid has been good enough all these years



an example of they type of chargers I use

the white ports are the balance ports, then the black and red would go to the main power connection on the battery like were all used to


top left balance port is 2 cell (3 pins) one pin negative, 2 other pins go to the positive cell in the battery and so on with the other ports
they are very small gauge wiring too, and if you make mistakes plugging in the wrong connector you smoke the plug
ive had one brand battery plug wired the wrong way, so I had to make adapters

lets hope these motorcycle batteries all have the same plugs

and you could use these chargers too on the motorcycle batteries if you can find cheaper then the shorai
im betting the shorai is a slow charger
where these if you program in the battery specs you can charge at the fast rate, still get full balance charge and be safe
just charged at a quicker rate
balance charging will always be slower, each cell is metered and adjusted so it takes more time

 

Ninety dollars? Wow, that's cheap! I have never looked at the going rate for a li-ion battery for the KLX, but it's THREE HUNDRED and ninety dollars for a li-ion that fits one of my other bikes. AND, it's only recommended for running the bike's electronics on the track. If you want to actually start the bike, you are supposed to use an external battery because the li-ion doesn't deliver sufficient CCA to run the starter!

I have never gotten less than 5 years out of the cheapest lead-acid battery I have ever bought, and I have gotten as much as 19 years! I haven't seen anything about li-ion that's convinced me to get one for a motorcycle yet...

 

MikeW, it counts as a "charge" every time the battery hits the charger regardless of how long.

I'm an electrician by trade and my last job had me servicing everything from 800 amp dual head welders, cranes, power tools and everything in between. We were service agents for Makita, Hitachi, Bosch, AEG and others. regular lead-acid batteries were rated at "100" charges but they would just start to lose capacity after that, but Lithium Ion batteries tended to just stop DEAD around that thousandth charge. VERY annoying. Li-Ion batteries might well be the best thing for a total loss system but if you're continually charging it, say with an alernator-regulator setup then I can't see anything but grief.

 

yes its a small one like 3 inches x 3 inches
and normal height
for scooters
all it ran was his signals and rear brake light

 

me too
18 years in the trade

I have major problems with my milwaukee 18v and 28v batteries the very thick and heavy ones
my 18v can last about 30 seconds on my sawzall
so far both I have to return for warranty every year, thankfully they are 5 year and starts over with a new battery

the 28v battery costs like $140 I think

the shop has a computer that says when it was activated and how many charges ive done

usually goes bad within 30-40 charges
so I rarely use them now and stick with the newer 18v ones they make the slimmer ones seem to last

as an electrician I go through my cordless tools every couple years if im lucky
just melted 2 drills withing 2 months using hole saws
sucks
were now getting great power and run times from L ion
but cheap quality tools that dont last

where int he past the tools last forever but the nimh batteries would die quickly


ive pretty much spent my entire life charging batteries on all various sorts of chargers for fun and work

 

Go cytocis:

The Shorai is the only one ive looked at or considered since it seems to be around $100 bucks and people have actually had positive reviews for it. Particularly a few on this forum with the klx as well.

But since I actually know what I need to about how to maintain lead acid batteries and commonly run them on a desulfator when the voltage begins to drop... it makes little sense to buy something different.

Mikew:

From what I gathered when I was reading into some testing performed on lithium batteries... their life is essentially controlled by a few major factors.

Overcharging - which basically destroys them instantly if not very rapidly, and they may catch fire if it is too serious.

Heat - apparently operating them when they are hot is terrible for their life span.

Cycle - the study I was reviewing was basically showing that the life of the lithium battery was most strongly correlated with the number of charging cycles it endured in a lifetime (assuming overcharging and heat were never added to the occasion). In which case a lithium battery has a "set" number of cycles is can perform, leaving the battery at a low voltage or any of such things which are typically terrible for lead acid batteries; actually have no effect on lithium batteries.

Thus if 1000 cycles is found to be the norm of a lifespan for a given lithium battery, they are usually referring to complete discharge to charge cycles, and combinations of topping the battery off from time to time would obviously be only portions of a cycle.

Assuming the lithium battery maintains its full charge throughout its entire life and only passes current makes me ask yet another question then... if it is only passing current and never cycling (I assume they use cycling because this is typical environment for cell phone batteries and laptop batteries, but not necessarily motorcycle batteries) then it must have a correlated lifespan with current (maybe better referred to as watts) ... correct?

 

That't a bit different from the lab data I was reviewing, but what works in the field is real life... so I'll listen.