I read where you could just turn the key on and the the draw of the light would warm it up in 20-30 seconds to full power. That and the fact nobody was stocking them local to me was kind of the deal killer. Battery warranties aren't much good if they aren't available local.

The Battery Tender brand can be had on Amazon for not much difference in price than a AGM battery. $91+$6 shipping for the size suggested for our Sportsters and another $30 for a special battery tender/charger.

 

This battery sold for about $160 just a couple months ago. Summit Racing does not carry them anymore last I checked, so perhaps these are being discontinued or were not a successful product for the company.

I'd go with a Shorai myself, it comes in the exact physical size as the stock battery. I have an older exposed battery tray, and having a tiny battery surrounded by foam blocks would look pretty lame IMO.

John

 

Hey, I forgot to post the pic of the battery with the foam spacers. Here it is-

 

You guys are all crazy, antigravity sells a "stock size" 12 cell lithium, and the mini one. Go to the website. The website asks if you want left side or right side negative terminals. I'm thinking it would be left side negative. But I am not sure.

http://shop.antigravitybatteries.com...ries-ytx12-12/

 

Yes, they do. We don't stock the stock size ones. We can get them, but the smaller ones, in almost every situation (except like Johns'), is a better choice...ya never know what you might want the extra room for.

 

Can you take a picture of it mounted in the bike?

 

I didn't intend to disparage your product. Li-Ion is great in any of the formulations when the application calls for it and I'm certain that the Antigravity brand makes high-quality products. I just think you're overstating the advantages by more than a small amount.

As far as which came first, Lithium Iron Phosphate or Lithium Cobalt Oxide, you're right that the Cobalt Oxide type was first. But to give the impression that Iron Phosphate is more advanced because it's newer is inaccurate. Lithium Iron Phosphate was created (around 1996) as a way to trade off energy density for decreased propensity for thermal runaway. They're not "better" than Cobalt Oxide, just built for a different set of tradeoffs.

The Cobalt Oxide type is still the most prevalent, in fact, that's the type used by your laptop and your mobile phone. Cobalt Oxide is used in those cases because the weight and size advantage it has compared to Iron Phosphate makes it more desirable and worth the risk. Unless you're also worried about your cell phone and laptop bursting into flames, it's a bit disingenuous to push a "safety" advantage for Lithium Iron Phosphate over Lithium Cobalt Oxide.

When all is said and done, I already have a battery that, "does not overheat, melt, or catch fire." It's called an AGM battery, it has exactly the same cold cranking amps (240) as the 8-cell Antigravity, nearly twice the amp-hour capacity, lasts at least 7 years in my usage (age of the current AGM battery in my bike), and costs half of what an Antigravity would. And, unlike all Lithium Ion batteries (including Lithium Iron Phosphate), the AGM cell does not experience accelerated aging when kept fully charged (Lithium Ion batteries, even Lithium Iron Phosphate, lose capacity faster when kept at a full charge; ideal storage for a Lithium Iron Phosphate battery is 40% charge, where it will lose about 4% capacity per year, keep it fully charged and you lose a whopping 20% capacity each year).

There are good reasons to use Lithium Ion batteries like the Antigravity. You're trying to save weight on a track bike. You want a certain look for a custom. You just need the space for mechanical or electrical bits. But people should understand that these batteries aren't universally "better," rather they simply present a different set of trade-offs. Whether those trade-offs make sense for an individual purchaser is up to that purchaser to decide, but from a purely engineering standpoint the average rider who is just replacing the battery in his bike and doesn't need the weight or space savings Lithiums offer is going to be better served with an AGM battery.

 

Here's a pic of one in my bike. As you can see I put the ECM, along with a bunch of cable, on top of the battery.




What is not visible is that I only needed some of the extra room, so there is a foam block on the far side of the battery, taking up some of the extra space.

 

I bought one of these for my bike. I started with a 12 cell which worked great for me when my bike was an 883 but after I did the 1250 upgrade it was not even close. I upgraded to a 16 cell and it works great!


The main benefit is the size and weight. It is very small and light which for me was great because I was able to move my ECM into the battery box and rewire the bike thus completely cleaning the space around the motor.


To answer your original question your Negative cable goes into the battery box from the right side for the frame and the positive on the left. However it does not matter if you get the small case version of the battery because the terminals are centered and can be mounted either way. Also since the is no liquid and the batteries are completely water proof you can even mount them on their side. I did this on mine with the terminals facing out ward for easy access.


The problems with these batteries are they are very sensitive to discharge and over charge. They also take a second to "warm up" if you will. So after you turn the key and flip the run switch...give it a few seconds then start.


I do recommend these batteries but do your homework and see if it right for you.

 

yuasa batteries have crappy posts. i bought on to replace my sporty battery and refused to put it in my bike because of the posts. they look like they wanna fail. i ended up giving it away on craigslist recently just to get it out of my garage. i preferred the beefier hd battery posts. i have a lot of crap running off the posts. last thing i need is one of those crappy posts snapping, out on the road.