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Old May 17th, 2017, 05:04 PM   #1
z0sum
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New Battery Suggestion

I have a 2008 Ninja 250 and my battery recently died so I need a new one. I called my local stores, and only O'Reilly had it at a price too high, and uncharged and I have to fill the acid myself, both of which I don't want to do. So I searched online and found it cheaper, already charged and filled. Perfect. I'm looking at these two and was wondering if anyone could chime in about these batteries. Which one should I go with? Which is the better quality? Thanks in advance.

https://www.amazon.com/YTX7A-BS-Perf.../dp/B00915JI08

https://www.amazon.com/YTX7A-BS-Batt...DKRB4AVPJMH3JS
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Old May 17th, 2017, 05:23 PM   #2
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I normally go with the cheapest one because I have not found a correlation between price and life. I get as many years out of a generic alarm/UPS AGM battery as a Yuasa "powersports battery".
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Old May 17th, 2017, 05:29 PM   #3
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They both look fine to me. Personally, if you're nice to your battery, it'll last a long time. Mine's a few years old and it's a 4A battery when the ninja calls for a 6A.
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Old May 18th, 2017, 01:30 AM   #4
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There's nothing wrong with using a cheaper battery. You can use a battery tender to extend the life of it.
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Old May 18th, 2017, 09:15 AM   #5
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What about a lightweight lithium battery like this one? Very pricey but looks like it might save a few lbs.

https://www.batteriesexpressinc.com/...tx12b-(24).htm
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Old May 18th, 2017, 09:24 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by redonninrf View Post
what about a lightweight lithium battery like this one? Very pricey but looks like it might save a few lbs.

https://www.batteriesexpressinc.com/...tx12b-(24).htm
here is the one i've been using for 6 years and still kicking. It has gone two the warranty and been in three different bikes. The one i have is the evo 2. https://www.ballistic-batteries.com/main.php
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Old May 18th, 2017, 09:48 AM   #7
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Heads up that lithium batteries need different chargers.

My track bike has a Shorai, and I've got the matching charger. When my street bike battery dies I'll probably put a matching lithium battery in it as well. The weight savings is considerable.
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Old May 18th, 2017, 10:05 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by z0sum View Post
I have a 2008 Ninja 250 and my battery recently died so I need a new one. I called my local stores, and only O'Reilly had it at a price too high, and uncharged and I have to fill the acid myself, both of which I don't want to do. So I searched online and found it cheaper, already charged and filled. Perfect. I'm looking at these two and was wondering if anyone could chime in about these batteries. Which one should I go with? Which is the better quality? Thanks in advance.

https://www.amazon.com/YTX7A-BS-Perf.../dp/B00915JI08

https://www.amazon.com/YTX7A-BS-Batt...DKRB4AVPJMH3JS
I think I'd go for the second one DKRB4 . . . MH3JS. It appears to be a "gel" battery which I have heard good things about. I will not buy any lithium stuff - don't want my bike to catch fire. Heck, for the price you can't go wrong either way. I used to buy Sears Gold batteries ($150.00 a pop). They did last me five years with no trickle charge in the off season though. Since you don't have kick starting I would buy the battery that had the highest amperage rating regardless of price - your starter motor will love you for it too.

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Old May 18th, 2017, 10:43 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by Ram Jet View Post
I think I'd go for the second one DKRB4 . . . MH3JS. It appears to be a "gel" battery which I have heard good things about.
It says it's an AGM, which is different from a gel battery. I've been using AGMs in my motorcycles for quite a few years now. They're cheap, relaible, and can't spill.
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Old May 18th, 2017, 11:24 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by adouglas View Post
heads up that lithium batteries need different chargers.

My track bike has a shorai, and i've got the matching charger. When my street bike battery dies i'll probably put a matching lithium battery in it as well. The weight savings is considerable.
sense when did they change the charging system on the bikes them selves?
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Old May 18th, 2017, 01:43 PM   #11
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A standard Battery Tender will work but is not ideal.

Reasons why here.

https://www.batterystuff.com/blog/ca...y-shorai-.html
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Old May 18th, 2017, 02:15 PM   #12
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@adouglas taz is asking about it charging whilst riding?

I never put my bike on a tender in 4 1/2 years but with li would I?
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Old May 18th, 2017, 02:22 PM   #13
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Battery tenders made for lead-acid batteries don't work the same way the bike's charging system does. Read the info at the link for more. Google will help you dive as deep into this as you like, with differences in battery construction, voltages that the Battery Tender "sees" and how it responds, etc. Simple answer for me: Just buy the damn Shorai charger. I have two bikes anyway so it's not like my 30-year-old Battery Tender suddenly became redundant.

Pertinent text:
Quote:
Although the Battery Tender is known as a maintenance charger, this is not the case if hooked to a Shorai battery. Because of the voltage differences found in a Lithium battery pack, the charger may not enter "float" or "maintenance" mode. Rather than simply keeping the battery at a proper float level, it may stay in boost mode for long periods. There is then the risk of overcharging the battery, one of the many causes of early battery failure.

No De-Sulfators Allowed
One last bit of advice. It is absolutely NOT SAFE to use a charger with an automatic de-sulfation pulse mode. Such brands such as Battery MINDer and Pulse Tech offer great products to help restore old lead acid batteries, but because there is no lead sulfate in Shorai batteries it would prove harmful to the lithium cells. If your charger has a de-sulfation mode that is not automatic, you may use it as long as this mode has been turned off.
I don't put my bike on a tender either, except for winter storage. If you ride all year round, there's no need.

A lithium battery holds its charge much better than a lead acid battery, but you want to avoid parasitic losses from circuits that stay energized even when the bike is off. Manufacturers recommend disconnecting the battery if you're not going to ride for several weeks for this reason. The same drain can kill a lead battery....
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Old May 18th, 2017, 04:12 PM   #14
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I've been running a WPS lithium battery for the last year, no issues. Substantially lighter.
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Old May 19th, 2017, 10:13 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ram Jet View Post
I will not buy any lithium stuff - don't want my bike to catch fire. Heck, for the price you can't go wrong either way.
There are roughly 6 types of lithium batteries. The "lithium" or "lithium-ion" most people talk about used in laptops that catches on fire are of lithium cobalt oxide variety that may overheat when deeply discharged at high rates (shorted). However, in vast majority of cases, they are perfectly safe; how many people have had laptop catch on fire?

Types used for motorcycle & auto batteries have higher discharge-rate requirement. These use lithium iron phosphate chemistry (LiFePO4) and is much, much more stable than lithium cobalt oxide batteries. You can slice open LiFePO4 battery while it's cranking engine and nothing would happen other than it spills its guts and starter stops. You can pour gasoline on split-open battery and light it on fire. The fire will just go out when gasoline is exhausted; nothing in battery is actually flammable, other than plastic wrapper.

With protective circuitry inside the auto & bike batteries, deep-discharge and over-charging is prevented. However, high-voltage blasts from anti-sulfation chargers may damage circuit and it will then prevent battery from discharging or charging. The cells gets disconnected from terminals and it's "dead", open-circuit.

I've used variety of lithium batteries ever since they first came out, Shorai, Ballistic, Antigravity. All of them have lasted over 5-years and counting. The Antigravity actually sat for an entire year in a CBR I didn't ride. Took bike out a year later and VRRrroom, it started right up!!!
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Old May 19th, 2017, 12:05 PM   #16
Ram Jet
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Originally Posted by JacRyann View Post
There are roughly 6 types of lithium batteries. The "lithium" or "lithium-ion" most people talk about used in laptops that catches on fire are of lithium cobalt oxide variety that may overheat when deeply discharged at high rates (shorted). However, in vast majority of cases, they are perfectly safe; how many people have had laptop catch on fire?

Types used for motorcycle & auto batteries have higher discharge-rate requirement. These use lithium iron phosphate chemistry (LiFePO4) and is much, much more stable than lithium cobalt oxide batteries. You can slice open LiFePO4 battery while it's cranking engine and nothing would happen other than it spills its guts and starter stops. You can pour gasoline on split-open battery and light it on fire. The fire will just go out when gasoline is exhausted; nothing in battery is actually flammable, other than plastic wrapper.

With protective circuitry inside the auto & bike batteries, deep-discharge and over-charging is prevented. However, high-voltage blasts from anti-sulfation chargers may damage circuit and it will then prevent battery from discharging or charging. The cells gets disconnected from terminals and it's "dead", open-circuit.

I've used variety of lithium batteries ever since they first came out, Shorai, Ballistic, Antigravity. All of them have lasted over 5-years and counting. The Antigravity actually sat for an entire year in a CBR I didn't ride. Took bike out a year later and VRRrroom, it started right up!!!
Thanks Jac, really informative. Maybe I'll be more eager to embrace new technology going forward.

Bill
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