Shorai battery

[dominatordave]

hi all i have an xr 600 fitted with a dominator 650 engine i am using a shorai lfx battery and eas wondering how it would hold up on a big trip apparanty the are issuses with tempreture was wondering i anyone had any hans on experiance thanks Dave

[colebatch]

I use them, and have done several big trips with them, including a world motorcycle altitude record for several weeks in sub freezing conditions in the Andes mountains, and 3 months off road across Russia, Mongolia, Siberia, Kazakhstan.

The batteries are easy to warm up when cold, simply by cycling them (put a light on for 30 seconds a couple of times - that warms up the batteries inner circuits and gives it much more starting power if its cold. Warming up a 3 kg lead acid battery, by contrast, is a huge job)

The problem comes if for some reason you drain the shorai battery. Because any lifepo4 battery doesnt like deep discharge and cant really be fully charged up again using alternator power alone. Cells need to be balanced.

I actually take a the special shorai battery charger with me. With the battery at around 0.5 kgs, and the charger unit also at about 0.5 kgs, the whole lot together is still 2 kgs lighter than any suitable lead acid battery.

I not only take the special charger with me, I have had to use it on many occasions ... i.e. it is not just a precaution, its necessary on a long trip. When I have a day off the bike or an doing some servicing, I typically plug the charger in to rebalance the battery anyway.

Absolutely you can use the batteries, but I would NOT recommend a major trip or going to remote areas without taking the special shorai charger

[dominatordave]

Thanks for the info will sort a charger

[tmotten]

Taking a charger to maintain a battery makes 0 sense to me. If it’s that shit that it needs an external “maintainer” (not really a charger), I would wonder if nursing it is the right choice for remote long distance riding instead of finding a product, LiFePo4 or otherwise, that can perform.

Shorai apparently has chosen to invest their funds in marketing instead of building decent batteries. With success it seems, because despite testing on them demonstrating their short comings people still buy them.

LiFePo4 batteries are not like lead acid and are also not all the same. There is a vast difference between brands because are structural difficulties to overcome and with that good and poor materials are selected.

Beyond that they need good electrical management consideration. All batteries are sensitive to this and some bike brands are more concerned of this than others. BM not very much as they don’t match battery requirements with VR’s across several models resulting in the common battery failures.
LiFePo4 is in it’s infancy and requires even more consideration. Arguably balancing. Not sure if the jury has decided on that one yet, but if some offer it why not get it I think.

Interesting discussion on LiFePo4 batteries here.

What kind of battery for adventuring, is Lithium up to the challenge? - Page 20 - ADVrider

This video shows it’s poor performance and I guess false claims.

Actual load tests, Shorai battery fail - YouTube

This video is part of comparative testing in this thread on several batteries including ACM here.

What kind of battery for adventuring, is Lithium up to the challenge? - ADVrider

[Lucky Explorer]

I have 3 Shorai batteries in 3 bikes; and for the last 2+ years. Sometimes they sit for months with no maintenance and work all the time. Recent trip to Alaska (8500 miles), flawless. I live at 7000' elevation and cold weather has not been an issue when sitting outside on 'local' overnights. I have only had to crank once or twice to 'warm' the battery up.
I too have the Shorai charger as my Ducati dealer suggested it, but have only used it when I keep a bike in Phoenix for months. It really wasn't necessary as it went to 'store' within minutes.
So far very satisfied.
Allen.

[tmotten]

Anecdotal evidence like that doesn't take away from the poor test results though.

[Joel M]

Lithium batteries don't self discharge like lead acid batteries so they can be stored for years, provided they are disconnected.

The balance thing is caused by a battery being maded from individual cells of slightly different capacity. More care in cell selection by the manufacturer will prevent balance issues. Bottom balancing (discharging all cells to the same low voltage) is safer than top balancing (charging all cells to the same high voltage). The Shorai charger top balances.