ok....you know what they say about arguing on the internet....

 

$180 for a battery? I've never paid more than half that for any battery, car or bike!

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The new battery from Shoraipower is not the same chemistry as used in laptops and model planes. Those use either lithium ion (computors or R/C reciever power) or lithum Poylomer (R/C motor power). Lithium iron is supposedly a much more stable chemistry and not prone to the problems the other chemistrys have. I have read you can shoot a bullet through a lithium iron battery and have no reaction, just a destroyed battery. There is a guy on the Goldwing forum that is doing an evaluation for Shoraipower and the biggest differance he has found is a slight decrease in cranking power on a cold morning, easily fixed by just turning on the headlight for about a minute before hitting the starter. Even without the minute wait he claims the motor turns over as hard or harder than it does with the stock battery.

 

I think I will stick to my Interstate. I know when it's on it's way out. I trust it with the HD charging system and if it takes that long to start my bike I'll figure the issue out.
We'll be hearing a lot about battery technology.

 

I'll also stay with AGM batteries, it's a well devoleped technowledgy at a better price. I just posted the information for those confusing the new Lithium iron battery with the other lithium chemistrys. The problems of improper charging and battery ignition seem to be a non issue with Lithium iron.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJCZ4ayioCU

Lithium batteries are safe, I use them all the time for many uses. Just a reminder that all batteries should be handled with care and that bad things can happen when you have a stored power source fail.

 

Sorry, ftanner, but brunskickoh is correct and you are mistaken. Lithium ion batteries do not have or develop a "memory". The effect which you have observed is simply a loss of actual capacity due to age and abuse (improper use).

The only rechargeable batteries with any known "memory" effect are NiCd or sintered-plate Nickel Cadmium batteries, and is very hard to reproduce.

 

LiFePO4 (lithium iron phosphate) batteries have the benefits of more CCA and much lighter weight, and the drawback of fewer amp-hours for a given volume--approximately half that of a lead-acid battery, IIRC.

I wonder what the CCA is of his replacement battery versus the original. Unless he "cheaped" out on the new battery, he should have more CCA for a given volume, not less.

 

It's a Mil spec technology , somehow I don't thing uncle sam would putting them into line combat vehicles if they were so prone to spontaneous combustion . It would stand to reason there's something not common knowledge here yet , lets just hope it does trickle down to us .

 

Fred Harmon on the Wing forum is being given the new LiFePO4 batteries, by Shoraipower, to do an extended test on their use in Goldwings. He is not having to pay for the battries and is useing the one recommended by Shoraipower for the Wing. The only problem so far is on colder mornings the new battary seems slugish on the first start. If a small amount of current is allowed to flow for a few seconds, such as small amount the headlight draws, everything then works normally. Even without the prewarming of the battery, he states that it cranks as well as the stock AGM lead-acid battery and better if prewarmed. These are not the only Lithium battries that are sluggish when cold. LiPO battries that are used in electric powered models tend to be sluggish for the first minute if flown on cold days if they are allowed to sit outside and cool off before use.