Gathering info on Lithium Iron battery

[BER18 100]

Has anyone had a negative experience with the light weight batteries? I have heard favorable testimony from a member on this forum. Would like to get feedback from a few more of you. Given the light weight and smaller dimensions, I would think this kind of battery would be selling like hot cakes.

 

[Noelpolar]

Has anyone had a negative experience with the light weight batteries? I have heard favorable testimony from a member on this forum. Would like to get feedback from a few more of you. Given the light weight and smaller dimensions, I would think this kind of battery would be selling like hot cakes.

As a lithium junky (lifepo4 mostly.... car, camper, house etc for last 10 years).... my major issue motorcycle wise.... is the "BMS lottery". The nice thing about led based battery tech is that it whispers into your ear for weeks before when it is thinking of retiring..... a lithium will just walk off the job without saying a word.... where ever you may be.... ie the BMS just isolates the cells for "whatever out of range condition" arises.

A near dead lead battery will still look like a lead battery to your bikes electrical circuit.... so a jump start and your bike can be on it's way.... a lithium normally will have it's BMS "open circuit" itself from your bikes electrical circuit..... so a jump and go start is not a sure thing. For me to accept this I'd need a compelling reason.... 10kg on a 180kg bike might be a good reason.... not so much on a 345kg one.... so no hot cakes so far for me.

 

[Mac]

As a lithium junky (lifepo4 mostly.... car, camper, house etc for last 10 years).... my major issue motorcycle wise.... is the "BMS lottery". The nice thing about led based battery tech is that it whispers into your ear for weeks before when it is thinking of retiring..... a lithium will just walk off the job without saying a word.... where ever you may be.... ie the BMS just isolates the cells for "whatever out of range condition" arises.

A near dead lead battery will still look like a lead battery to your bikes electrical circuit.... so a jump start and your bike can be on it's way.... a lithium normally will have it's BMS "open circuit" itself from your bikes electrical circuit..... so a jump and go start is not a sure thing. For me to accept this I'd need a compelling reason.... 10kg on a 180kg bike might be a good reason.... not so much on a 345kg one.... so no hot cakes so far for me.

Exactly this. Have a quick google on the 1300GS and Lithium battery issues. My son also had his Lithium battery decide it was too cold to work and ended up switching back to an AGM. He decided a few pounds made little difference when the bike refused to bump start, in fact the opposite. His words were “dad you try finding a battery to piggy back a switched off Lithium”. His language was a little less restrained. Lithium batteries normally need some form of heating when below freezing to charge and work properly, cars have this built into them.
In a track focused sports bike I can see it making sense but when you need the ability to start reliably above all else I have yet to be convinced.
Also the bikes battery management will need to be configured for a lithium battery charging curve, the same as chargers use. Bikes that are built for lithium batteries have this option built into them. The new 1300GS is configurable for either type of battery, I am not sure about the R18, someone may know. Google what happens to the Lithium if you charge it incorrectly but it is not good, I have seen thermal runaway happen on one of my RC helicopters, it was not pleasant.

 

[Petrus]

Been using LiFePO4 in my vehicles for almost 10 years now.
Total satisfaction.
Will go NOCO LiFePO4 when my original one in the R18 cops out.

I find it bothering on trolling that some keep confusing LiPO with LiFePO4. I mean if you are capable to distinguish lead-acid from LiPO then what is the problem with differentiating the latter from LiFePO4?!

 

[Noelpolar]

I mean if you are capable to distinguish lead-acid from LiPO then what is the problem with differentiating the latter from LiFePO4?!

Just ask most normal people about the different characterisitcs between lead "wet, Gel, Agm"..... much the same thing.

 

[Petrus]

Just ask most normal people about the different characterisitcs between lead "wet, Gel, Agm"..... much the same thing.

True.
My point though is that them normals should not vent their expert opinions ´based´ on that.
It has seen me with véry little presence on social media since the rise of those. Recently deleted my account from the German R18 forum because of this ´pearls for the swine´ thing.

 

[Noelpolar]

True.
My point though is that them normals should not vent their expert opinions ´based´ on that.
It has seen me with véry little presence on social media since the rise of those. Recently deleted my account from the German R18 forum because of this ´pearls for the swine´ thing.

One can struggle to read and just move on without engaging... I struggle with it. Generally I'll just post my experience as another data point for others to use as they desire..... especially if my experience was different..... some see this as me disagreeing with their view, which it isn't.... it's just my experience at the time. A bit like witness statements.... most have a unique/different version of the "event".

 

[Mac]

No trolling intended and no disagreement or criticism intended. The Op asked for any negatives. No intention to suggest I am a battery expert.
Now personally if I went for Lithium, which on this bike could work out as I intend to keep it long term, I would use something like an Noco NLP30 as its inbuilt BMS takes care of any difference compared with the bikes system and has good cell management technology and I do not use my bike in the winter especially when it’s below zero. It is a greater price but should last double the time. I would also buy from a guaranteed good source to avoid buying a knock off as that’s where problems start as per above. The trouble is people just search for lithium and end up with cheap chinese batteries that have dubious chemistry and build quality. So no intention to offend anyone and purely inputting some experience as asked.

 

[BAD MIKE USA]

Has anyone had a negative experience with the light weight batteries? I have heard favorable testimony from a member on this forum. Would like to get feedback from a few more of you. Given the light weight and smaller dimensions, I would think this kind of battery would be selling like hot cakes.

The NOCO NLP30 that I have in my '21 R18 Classic fits the space perfectly, not smaller in dimensions in any way.

 

[PistolPeteSTL]

I've been running a Shorai lithium battery in my 1200GS for 8 years. Completely happy with it, and it has lasted longer than any other motorcycle battery I have used, except for the cold weather performance. If it is below 45, it takes a couple minutes or a couple crank cycles to get the battery warmed up enough to start the bike.

Would I do another Shorai lithium battery? Yes, I just put one in my Triumph last year and will certainly consider one when my R18 battery is shot. Would I go with something else in my GS that I used for year round commuting? Probably. The cold weather performance is a irritant and a delay in the start of my commute during the late fall and winter.

 

[BAD MIKE USA]

I've been running a Shorai lithium battery in my 1200GS for 8 years. Completely happy with it, and it has lasted longer than any other motorcycle battery I have used, except for the cold weather performance. If it is below 45, it takes a couple minutes or a couple crank cycles to get the battery warmed up enough to start the bike.

Would I do another Shorai lithium battery? Yes, I just put one in my Triumph last year and will certainly consider one when my R18 battery is shot. Would I go with something else in my GS that I used for year round commuting? Probably. The cold weather performance is a irritant and a delay in the start of my commute during the late fall and winter.

I haven't tried to start my bike below 45 degrees Fahrenheit so I can't say how the NOCO brand does. But I will give it a try if the temperature here ever gets above 20! The manufacturer says it won't charge below 14 degrees because of the battery management system.

 

[Larry77]

I have one on my R Nine T, it definitely seem strong-always starts even when stored for awhile. Only issue I have is it doesn't like to trickle charge, I can charge it up with my Norco charger or another one I have no problem but once it's charged up, they go into an error mode.

 

[DonC]

Has anyone had a negative experience with the light weight batteries? I have heard favorable testimony from a member on this forum. Would like to get feedback from a few more of you. Given the light weight and smaller dimensions, I would think this kind of battery would be selling like hot cakes.

I’ve been using Shorai LiFePo batteries in several bikes for almost 20 years. Smaller, lighter (1 1/2 lbs vs 10 stock), can sit in a bike for months with almost no self-discharge, doesn’t overheat like lithium ion, no maintenance, not sensitive to vibration like lead acid, absolutely no problems whatsoever on any of them. Had one in a bike for over 7 years and it was just like the day I bought it. I’ll never use anything but a Shorai. Just use a LiFePo charger if you need to charge for any reason, they’re sensitive to overcharging.

 

[BAD MIKE USA]

My NOCO NLP30 is LiFePo . I already have 3 NOCO Genius 1 chargers that detect what type of battery and charge accordingly. My R18 does seem to draw a small amount of electricity while parked. Not sure if its significant. My garage is unheated and the bike sat for a month without the charger. Many nights the temperature was well below zero. I put the charger on it and in about 1 hour it said full. Doesn't need to be on the charger constantly, I conclude. My Honda CRF450l, parked next to the R18, has a lithium battery from 2019 and showed full charge as soon as I connected the charger to it. It seems that keeping a charger on these 2 bikes is unnecessary.

 

[Petrus]

My NOCO NLP30 is LiFePo . I already have 3 NOCO Genius 1 chargers that detect what type of battery and charge accordingly. My R18 does seem to draw a small amount of electricity while parked. Not sure if its significant. My garage is unheated and the bike sat for a month without the charger. Many nights the temperature was well below zero. I put the charger on it and in about 1 hour it said full. Doesn't need to be on the charger constantly, I conclude. My Honda CRF450l, parked next to the R18, has a lithium battery from 2019 and showed full charge as soon as I connected the charger to it. It seems that keeping a charger on these 2 bikes is unnecessary.

be aware that charging time of the LiFePO4 is not representative for the OEM leadacid.

 

[emgarciax]

I agree with your observation. I got the Genius 1 mostly to comply with the initial "must fully charge before installing" compliance.