Lithium Batteries

[Hagarr]

Looking for something a bit lighter than the Deka I just purchased.

Going in to the rear section and not much room and don't want the weight of the Deka working on my tail tidy.

Somebody mentioned they were now producing Lithium batteries for vehicles, anybody have any ideas or links to suppliers????

[Hillsy]

Google LiFePo4. They're the battery cells you want.

And this guy made one for his bike:

http://www.1000rr.net/forums/showthread.php?t=54463

[EXBEN]

http://shop.durbahn.de/shop/en/products/Batteries_superlight_%21

[Hagarr]

Cheers thanks guys!

[nick76]

google ripperton batteries.

he's an aussie bloke,make them himself,and alot cheaper than the US alternative.

[Redmohawk]

Be aware there are different types of lithium ion bat , and some (RC and mobile phone stuff) can and will turn your bike into a burning ball of flames if bumped to the point of dinting battery or over/under charged !!!! Other types are much more safe even bullet proof BUT they still need to be charged correctly (using a specific charger that you will have to add to your ALT and bike) otherwise they will shit there ass out in no time flat. You cant just wire them up in place of your lead acid batt and hope for the best , they will last about 4 hours then just die. And at about $200 a bat pack that will suck. You can get electronic packs to go with a batt to make it simulate a 12V lead acid but your prob going to pay as much for the control box as the battery (so up to $400 for both) and it still has a limited life.

Personally if you want light weight and small I would go down to a jacar shop or even supershit and have a bo peep at there small sealed lead acid stuff. If your just using your battery to start your bike keep it running etc , and not loading the batt up with heaps of shit you can down size to a smaller lead acid and get away with it as they usally have a higher CCA rating than wet lead acid. If your bike ran a 7 Ah (about standard) wet lead acid you will find a 4 or 5 AH sealed will start and run your bike just fine. If you want smaller just get 2 batts of a size that will fit in the area your planning on and parallel them.

Betty Runs a no name brand 5 AH sealed lead acid dimentions are 6 by 9 buy 15 cm you can get 12volt units down around 3 by 9 by 15 and 6 volt around 3 by 4.5 by 15 cm.

Or if you want smaller again and lighter try looking at Nicad or nical metal hydride as there a bit more hardy than lipo and charger/adaptor electronics is more common/cheaper.

[Hagarr]

As usual what you would expect to be easy becomes complicated

Thanks for the heads up!

[Redmohawk]

If you still have a hardon for a Lipo pack let me know and I'll do some digging on a charge intergrator for you but please 123 cells are the only ones to use !

[nick76]

Ripperton sells either the frames to hold together the A123 cells,or complete with the cells.
I think if any of the cells shits itself,you can buy them individually for something like $7 each??

[nick76]

<img src="http://i.imgur.com/WEX5N.jpg" alt="" title="Hosted by imgur.com" />

This is what the 8cell ones look like.
They are 89mm high,112mm long and 57mm wide,and weigh 744grams


edit: sorry,fkd up with the image uploading.I'll try later when i have more time.

[nick76]

http://i.imgur.com/WEX5N.jpg

Thats better,chose the wrong option.

[Redmohawk]

yep there the cells to use , BUT you still need to charge them the right way and protect them from over charge and distcharge or there fucked in no time flat. Most of the guys using these are using them for racing total loss system and running for 20 to 40 min at a time then using a dedicated off bike charger to recharge before next run. No good for a street bike without a controller to regulate it all on bike all the time!

Like Red Mohawk said, not recommended for a street bike. They work great in dragbikes, I have friends that are using them.

They MUST be removed and charged correctly with the right charger or they'll quickly become nothing more than an expensive paperweight.

I'd be heading to Jaycar and finding relief in their sealed lead acid range.

[swiftnet]

I've been eyeing these for the past week or two.
http://www.shoraipower.com
Light and made for bikes, some of those lifepO4 batteries are not up to the task. If you build your own pack make sure you get quality cells.

[Tony Nitrous]

Several guy's around Brissy using them on Streetbikes.
I see a ZX14 and a S1000RR in regular use.

Similar to these...
http://www.mavirykdesign.com/
"Our MDA123.12 is the go to unit for street use"

One of the guy's struggled with a 12 cell but changed
it to a 16 cell and its going strong.

[pommie02]

ive got one of those on the way from states, the guy gives a good warranty....ill give it a try, if not its back to the drawing board again

[Tony Nitrous]

I just used a stock factory Jelly filled Bandit 12 battery,
extended the leads by bolting on 2 super-cheap premade car
starter motor leads, gave loads of options where it could be moved.
Ran happy for years lay on its side, wasnt real small though.

[Hagarr]

Wow so many things to consider.

I guess ignorance is bliss when I asked the question.

Looks like lots of research.

Bike will be a regular (read: when I get Fat arse out of the shed, if its not too hot,wet,cold,sunny,windy etc) ride so will need to be charged by the bike not total loss as a race bike.

[Redmohawk]

stick with sealed lead acid mate easy cheap and you can get em anywhere. simple