Beck Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 .....maybe wired parallel to come up with some sort of "mega" battery system that might solve a lot of undercapacity problems we encounter. A dealer parts saleman told me that these Li batteries charge so quickly with conventional battery chargers after they are drained down (something like 10 minutes max?) does that mean that they do not require as much from our alternators and that we can run two Li batteries on our bikes without taxing the charging system too much?? I'm not an electrical expert, so please be kind.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer mello dude Posted August 2, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted August 2, 2013 I am running a Lithium Iron Phosphate battery from MotyDesigns. --- Some stuff - -- I havent had any experience of this draining down, but if one did, there is a special charger used for it, so the different internal cells will be "balanced." I would use a conventional charger only as a last resort. - I have heard that these do charge fast, but like I mentioned, I havent needed to find out. - These batterys are temperature sensitive, and some vendors are upsizing the recommendations to compensate for the lost of punch at lower temps. Still I wouldnt go on a trip and leave mine outside if I knew the temps were gonna drop say sub 50s. (mine has a quick connect so its no big deal.) - For winter, I just bring mine inside to avoid any cold exposure on it. Over the course of about 5 to 6 months sitting inside, the battery only dropped a tenth of a volt and when I installed it for riding season, it was something like 13.4 volts. No trickle maintenance charger required. I really like that. - If you decide to run one of these, your charging system should be in top shape. - There are 4, 8, & 12 cell sizes. I think I even have seen a 16. (Mine is an 8) -- Look into a 12 if you are conserned about capacity. I havent run into any issues with mine at all. - I wouldnt say these are for everbody, but work great if you understand the window of performance and stay within that. If you are a buy and forget it guy, buy a conventional battery. - Lastly ignore the dealer parts sales guy. - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VFR4Lee Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 I don't see why you would need 2 batteries. I put a Ballistic 12 cell in my VFR a few months ago, and also in my Tuono. Has been working great in both. The diff is more noticeable with the Ape. The 2 big cylinders are apparently a bit hard to spin. With the stock Yuasa battery it would start but sometimes be slow. I could not start it in gear with clutch pulled in if I stalled it. Not enough power from the starter motor. With the Ballistic, it cranks over faster than it ever did before, and starts easily in gear if I stall it at a light. Sweet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhotoOp Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 One more quick note about Li. They really really really really dont like to be over charged. If your voltage regulator fails and the bike starts overcharging the battery can overheat pretty dramatically. Its a problem for estart dirtbikes with weak regulator systems, havent seen a problem with a street bike. The trouble threshold seems to be around 16v. I'll be installing one in my 5th gen soon as the yuasa gives up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer YoshiHNS Posted August 2, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted August 2, 2013 What under capacity problems are you talking about? If you want more juice get a bigger battery, or stick with a tried and true lead acid. LiPos can be charged at a high amperage to get a charge quicker, but the more amps you push into it the more you deteriorate the battery. I don't know how many amps the charging system puts into the battery. The balancing Mello Dude is talking about doesn't apply to the MOTYs. When you have 8 battery cells, each cell can have a slightly different voltage than the others. Balancing is important because one cell can have a volt higher than normal and one lower, but it will still show the correct voltage. But having that higher voltage is damaging the one cell and could cause problems down the road. The only way to balance the cells is if you have each cell wired into a harness and use a special balancer with a special charger. If all you have is the positive and negative posts, you can't balance. I've noticed that when cranking a bike over, I drain the MOTY faster than the lead acid. You get more amps, but it doesn't last as long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer mello dude Posted August 2, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted August 2, 2013 Ok, curious, for discussion, so whys the moty guy sell a balance charger? Seems all the people selling these are using cells assembled from A123 batterys. (Except Shorai) http://www.motydesign.com/product.php?batteries=battery-charger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beck Posted August 2, 2013 Author Share Posted August 2, 2013 What under capacity problems are you talking about?.................I've noticed that when cranking a bike over, I drain the MOTY faster than the lead acid. You get more amps, but it doesn't last as long. Maybe that's one thing that having two LI batteries might solve?? And maybe low voltages at ow temperatures might not be as big a problem either?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer YoshiHNS Posted August 2, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted August 2, 2013 What under capacity problems are you talking about?.................I've noticed that when cranking a bike over, I drain the MOTY faster than the lead acid. You get more amps, but it doesn't last as long. Maybe that's one thing that having two LI batteries might solve?? And maybe low voltages at ow temperatures might not be as big a problem either?? To be fair, I only had my RC charger set to do a 95% charge. That 5% does make a difference. But I also have an 8 cell. You can get the 12 cell and get more amp hours out of it. Ok, curious, for discussion, so whys the moty guy sell a balance charger? Seems all the people selling these are using cells assembled from A123 batterys. (Except Shorai) http://www.motydesign.com/product.php?batteries=battery-charger That's not a balancer. That is an RC charger that probably has a specific setting for charging LiPo batteries. If you look at the battery, you only have a positive and negative terminal. You cannot balance the voltage between 8 cells when you only have one connection. You need a connection to each individual cell so you can see each cell voltage. Then you can drain an individual cell to level it with the rest of the cells. The shorai's are wired so they can be balanced. If you look at the pic below, you will see that gray rectangle in the middle That is where you connect their special charger. Each of those wires leads to the + of an individual cell, and all have a common negative. The charger determines which cell needs voltage or discharging to make them all even and keep them even during the charging process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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