[KRTW]

Greetings folks. Mods on my bike continue and parts are arriving. I did search the forum to see if anybody had posted this before, but I did not find anything clear. I like the idea of the lithium battery for the motorcycle - for weight and size. I've watched numerous vids on this topic and know the benefits/drawbacks....

Which one should I buy? Is there a better one with a better reputation or build quality? I like the idea of going as small as possible to create space for stuff. Comments on that?

Li battery charger. A good one to own?

Any help making this decision would be most appreciated - and a purchasing place in Canada (yes I see them on Fortnine) that has good prices would be helpful....and is there a specific lithium model number for the GS - or is it just specs that matter?

Thanks.

 

[Richard230]

After having a number of issues with batteries for my 2009 F650GS (800cc twin), last year I splurged on a deluxe lithium battery. I purchased this one from Batterystuff.com. The battery really puts out the juice and is staying so well charged while running my bike that placing it on a lithium battery charger after a ride only results in the charger running for a few minutes before the light turns green. [] Here is a link to the battery that I bought. Pretty darn expensive, but check out the specifications! https://www.batterystuff.com/batter...start-lithium-ion-battery-ag-atx12-hd-rs.html

 

[KRTW]

Pretty darn expensive, but check out the specifications! https://www.batterystuff.com/batter...start-lithium-ion-battery-ag-atx12-hd-rs.html

Yer not joking about expensive. Not sure I can wing that, but the specs are great. Is it a full size replacement?

 

[Richard230]

Yer not joking about expensive. Not sure I can wing that, but the specs are great. Is it a full size replacement?

My recollection is that the battery is a little smaller than stock and they provide spacers to fill out the battery box. Regarding the expense, the site has cheaper lithium batteries listed. Scorpion is their house brand but when I looked at it last year they were out of stock on that battery. Here are a selection of batteries that are said to fit the F800GS. You can check out the lithium battery dimensions and compare them with the lead acid versions: https://www.batterystuff.com/batteries/motorcycle/bmw/2018/f800st-gs-gt-r-adv-/

 

[Runmyownlife]

Yer not joking about expensive. Not sure I can wing that, but the specs are great. Is it a full size replacement?

The replacement is smaller in all dimensions. I went up a size and it fit with a bit of room to spare. Gave me more cold cranking amps and reserve capacity.

 

[Randyjaco]

So what are the benefits of the Li battery other than weight?

 

[Runmyownlife]

So what are the benefits of the Li battery other than weight?

Folks drop many hundreds of dollars/euros to save a few pounds! That's a big advantage over lead acid.

You typically get 80 to 100 more cold cranking amps. Slower self-discharge rate, shorter charging time and, according to the Internet, a longer useful life than lead acid. (My first lithium battery lasted 8 years, but that's a sample size of one.) There are cons too, particularly around the care and maintenance.

 

[Richard230]

I have a Ballistic lithium battery in my Royal Enfield that has been starting the bike's electric starter with authority for the past 9 years without needing any attention, other then placing it on a Deltran lithium battery charger for a few minutes after a ride. Two things lithium batteries don't like are cold weather and having a parasitic drain on them as they typically only have about 1/3 the electrical capacity of a similar lead acid battery, although they will provide almost like new performance until the voltage drops to a certain point and they shut down without much warning. So you need to keep them charged up if they are connected to a bike or accessories with a constant drain, such as an alarm system or something similar. On the other hand you can store them for a long time if they are not connected to an electrical drain.

 

[Normanlai]

I have a Ballistic lithium battery in my Royal Enfield that has been starting the bike's electric starter with authority for the past 9 years without needing any attention, other then placing it on a Deltran lithium battery charger for a few minutes after a ride. Two things lithium batteries don't like are cold weather and having a parasitic drain on them as they typically only have about 1/3 the electrical capacity of a similar lead acid battery, although they will provide almost like new performance until the voltage drops to a certain point and they shut down without much warning. So you need to keep them charged up if they are connected to a bike or accessories with a constant drain, such as an alarm system or something similar. On the other hand you can store them for a long time if they are not connected to an electrical drain.

How is the antigravity doing in the f800?

I am worried that the charging system of f800 is not good enough for a Lifepo4 that I am interested in.

It requires 2-3 Amp from the bike, to charge depending on the normal or higher CCA model.

 

[Richard230]

How is the antigravity doing in the f800?

I am worried that the charging system of f800 is not good enough for a Lifepo4 that I am interested in.

It requires 2-3 Amp from the bike, to charge depending on the normal or higher CCA model.

My F650GS has no problem keeping the lithium battery charged to 13.3V (the battery voltage constantly shows 14.2V when the engine is running) during a ride. I do hook it up to a small Deltran lithium Battery Tender maintainer now and then and it will charge the battery for about 30 minutes before the green light goes on steady. But the charging rate of those devices is very low, especially when the green light is blinking.

 

[Beamietoo]

To those who have bit the bullit on installing a Li Ion battery, thats nice. I wouldn't do it for several reasons:
1. The weight saving is not a factor on anything but a track bike
2. The expense. Not only for the battery price but if you have a maintenance charger as I do, an Optimate 4 Canbus, you need to use another one specific for the Li Ion battery.
3. The motorcycle charging system was not designed for it. So you are dependant on any electronics built into to the battery casing to regulate it.
4. And lastly a good quality AGM battery with a maintenance charger used regularly or as I do, all of the time will give you 5-7 years of dependable service.
Don't let the Marketing Shrinks, Farkle Freaks and Gadget Nerds take hold of your mind. Think about it. Just my 2 cents and personal exeperience.

 

[Richard230]

BTW, I installed a very small (palm-size) lithium battery in my Royal Enfield Bullet, which has a primitive charging system (but no parasitic drain with the ignition off) 10 years ago, and it still starts the bike with authority in the morning and during my shopping trip local rides. The charging system keeps the battery charged well enough so that it only takes 15 minutes after a ride for my lithium battery maintainer to bring it up to a full charge. The original flooded lead-acid battery didn't even last 6 months, so it was well worth paying double what a normal replacement battery would have cost at the time - and it has been completely maintenance free.

 

[MGD109]

......and it still starts the bike with authority in the morning.......

That's a fabulous way to describe an aging, but still healthy, battery/starter motor.

 

[Rovichris]

I picked up the Antigravity AT12-BS Performance Li a few months ago, and it works great.
Not sure about longevity or tender use just yet.
It comes with enough some fillers to make it fit nicely in the stock space.

 

[KRTW]

EarthX lifepo4 battery - works great. Now have 2 of them, one for the bike and one as a secondary power system. Over a year and no issues at all. Would not go back to standard battery. EarthX also offer great support.

 

[jrwooden]

I picked up the Antigravity AT12-BS Performance Li a few months ago, and it works great.
Not sure about longevity or tender use just yet.
It comes with enough some fillers to make it fit nicely in the stock space.

My AntiGravity AT12-BS-HD RE-START Battery it three yrs old this month ... working fine! [8D]

 

[Shimmy]

I've only had it for about a year, but so far it has been working well and seems like a reasonable price is the NOCO NLP14 ( sorry I can't post a link do to a low post count)

They often have sales and was able to get a batter and charger for a good price.

 

[N4HHE]

If there is any vampire drain an LiFePO4 battery will discharge quicker than an AGM due to having less than 25% of the energy content (amp-hours, or watt-hours). Cold Cranking Amps is primarily a measure of internal resistance (or lack of) allowing release of what energy the battery holds.

A battery maintainer with a Lithium mode will charge to a specific voltage then shut off. It might restart after a long period such as a month, or restart if the battery voltage drops to a specified voltage (due to vehicle vampire draw).

In AGM mode a battery maintainer will source current full time, just that it will reduce the current for long periods before increasing it again.

A lithium battery requires a protection circuit against extremely high discharge rate and extremely deep discharge. The original Ballistic LiFePO4 batteries lacked either. If allowed to discharge the battery was destroyed. If one "sparks" the battery it would be destroyed. Ballistic seems to have gone out of business.

 

[apie]

On my 2017 F800GS I went with the AntiGravity ATX-12RE, but I wasn't happy with the install on the first pass. There's nothing to restrain the battery from moving forward at the top, and it would require removing the clamp (and maybe the terminals) to get to the restart button.

To solve the first issue I 3d printed a spacer that gets glued on top, and provides a lip to engage with the tang on the clamp. To solve the second I drilled a hole in the clamp so that I can push the button with a screwdriver or something.

[Apparently I need 5 posts for links, so I'll link to the CAD in the next post.

 

[apie]

Here's the link to the CAD with the spacer. Export the appropriate part in a format (COLLADA or STL) that can be 3D printed.

There's a bottom spacer in the CAD model too, but I used foam from the packaging.