What Battery do we use?

[bikerphil]

That Napa battery is listed for $164 at my closest Napa store.

[natemoen]

At least the size and amps are the same...

[bikerphil]

At least the size and amps are the same...

This battery also comes with a free set of jumper cables and a 30/30 warranty. 30 days or 30 feet, whichever comes first, lol.

[jetmechmarty]

I bought my last batteries here:

Battery-Web.com

I'm happy enough that I'll buy my next battery there. Mine are Deka AGM.

[T99Ford]

The XS charging system doesn't work right to use one of those; I forget the details, but TFord researched using one in his XS and ended up trying one in another bike and was happy with it, even after it caught his bike on fire....

Ha ha, that is a great story!

Actually, I have learned a lot more about the cause of the fire, and subsequent Shorai batteries and LiFePo batteries in general...

1. LiFePo (lithium iron phosphate) is actually used, and is not the same as Lithium Ion. It is much more stable, and adept at automotive-type uses.

2. Since the famed fire (incidentally caused by an inadvertant overcharge when the regulator failed), Shorai has since built an overcharge protection into their batteries.
The LiFePo batteries do not handle overcharging well. Without getting into the details of motorcycle charing system types and operation, suffice it to say that when using low amounts of current (ie. switching to LED lights, no accessories, etc), the voltage regulator generates more heat as it disperses the excess current directly to ground. You may have noticed the fins on your regulator for cooling expressly for this purpose. In my case, the regulator was not finned, and was hidden from airflow, and I had removed nearly all the electrical load from the bike. These things combined with being 10 years old caused the regulator to fail--in the full charge mode. Of course the rest is history.
However, I have since switched to an Yamaha R1 MOSFET regulator that is finned, and cooled. It is mounted in the air stream and works well. The MOSFET regulator is much more efficient than the older style one (such as found in the XS), and works cooler than its older counterpart even with the stock loads and charge rates. This conversion will work on any bike should anyone be interested.

MOSFET conversion wiring diagram, regulator plug shown, colors are actual:



3. My initial findings on the Shorai battery were incorrect, as it was more charging system failure causing the concern, coupled with no fail safe in the battery for such an event. The stock XS charging system and components will work well with this battery, particularly given the XS's famed weak charging ability. If load reduction is used in the electrical system (LED lights, etc.) just take care to make sure your voltage regulator is remaining workably cool (they get hot normally anyway). I have yet to hear of a report of one of this same instance in any other bike. Given that my application is very radical, I think my case was on the fringe of probablity. Shorai has been very stand up about all this, and as I stated earlier, has incorporated an overcharge protection to prevent this concern form occurring in the future. I have run my Shorai in my VTR (extreme application) for better than a year, now. It works well, and starts the 996 cc twin quickly, even when hot.

4. The only weakness of the new technology that I have yet been able to determine is its poor cold weather performance. Perhaps odd is a better term. LiFePo has poor conductor ability when cold. While the energy is in the battery, it cannot "flow out". Oddly enough, when starting my bike in cold weather, it works the best to turn on the lights for 30 seconds or so, and then crank the bike (though it won't be fast enough to start) until it won't crank anymore. Then shut the key off, and wait 30 seconds for the battery to recover, and start the bike as normally. The first load applied actually warms the battery, allowing ready current flow and an easy start. It is actually pretty unnerving to do the first couple times, as you are sure the battery is dead, but it is tried and true--the bike starts every time.

5. LiFePo batteries are incredibly light weight, which is why I chose one for my VTR. The stock battery for my VTR was nearly the same size as the XS one. The replacement Shorai weight slightly over one pound, and fit in the palm of my hand. That kind of weight reduction is worth taking note.





Mounted in the bike, just rear of the bottle: