I have been running the Shorai Lithium Iron Extreme-Rate Battery for several years now. It's the LFX14L2-BS12. I have never charged it; and It sits outside all winter. It has been an excellent battery; and I may buy another one. Still, I feel there were times when some more amps (especially in cold weather) would have been helpful. The battery is much smaller than it needs to be; and I'd like some extra cold cranking amps. See where I'm going here?

Is there a lithium iron battery with a little more ooomph and the same size/post configuration as the original lead acid battery?
duh.

I think I'll...

Quote from: twocool on June 13, 2013, 02:48:01 AM
Get a Mottobatt......no vent tube...exact right size.....terminals are correct too...

AGM....

Battery is yellow color which is obviously better than not yellow battery...

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You could always get a more powerful Shorai.  Since the shorais aren't factory fit (much smaller batteries) all you need to do is make sure you get the right amp hours and the right terminal arrangement.  CCA at that point is whatever you want it to be.

BUT, Shorai will not warranty a battery that is used outside of their application.  So if the battery you use is out of, say, a GSXR-1000, they likely won't honor any dead cells down the road or anything like that.

The lithium iron batteries have a different procedure when cold. You have to draw some current for 20 or 30 seconds to warm up the battery. Then they start great.

Like watcher said, you could just buy a larger Shorai. By the time you approached the size of the stock lead acid battery you would have so much surplus CCA and storage capacity you would never have to worry about your battery again. I imagine Shorai batteries that size are well over $200.

Thanks Watcher and Bluesmudge. As this Lithium iron battery gets older, I'm having to "warm it up" on summer days lately. It's still working for now; but I'm not sure it will when it does get cold.

I'm not sure its worth the trouble/cost of getting a bigger Shorai since the Motobatt is the right size and cheaper.

I agree. I think these Lithium batteries were a little over-hyped. I have never been super happy with mine. That said, mine has been abused and neglected for the last 4 years and still works pretty good. I would have probably needed to purchases 2 or 3 normal batteries in that time given how I treat them.

I think the biggest drive for the Lithium batteries isn't the CCA or output performance as much as the size and weight savings.

Normal lead acid or AGM batteries are heavy.  Lithiums by comparison barely weight anything.  For a track bike it could mean a win.

Shorai sort of shot itself in the foot for a while there. I started using them for my race bikes ( for obvious reasons), where they excel, but they recommended way too small as power output originally for most bikes. I noticed on my Yamaha MT07 that the battery recommended had changed recently to a much higher rated battery. Replaced the original and have lost the starting problems. Luckily I had a bike that needed a smaller battery ( ie the GS500) for the old one to go into.
The battery that was originally recommended for my TR650 was literally HALF the later rated one.

That settles it for me.