Battery Swap

Trauma · Oct 10, 2012

I had another bike my Panigale battery would fit, so I went ahead and got the Shorai lithium. I was amazed how small and light it was. Probably .5lb compared to my Pani 4+ lb battery. It came wth several pads, to make sure it fit snug in the carrier.

Cobra700 · Oct 10, 2012

Nice! Thanks for the side by side pics. I might have to do this sometime.

littlejohn · Oct 10, 2012

oooo.. don't mean to be the bearer of bad news, but I think the recommended shorai is the LFX18
(Shorai Lithium Iron LiFePO4 Battery LFX18A1-BS12)

The LFX12 will still have plenty of punch to crank the Pani, but it's real Ah capacity is a little on the low side, so you may find that if you have alarms or other accessories, the battery may not last as long a you expect.

I'm not 100% sure, but based on the specs of the LFX18, it's real capacity is only about 6Ah. NOT 18Ah as the model number would suggest. So the LFX12 will only be 4Ah.

EDIT: discovered the the true capacity of the Shorai's are 1/3 of their Pb eq rating. Not 1/2 as previously estimated.

Trauma · Oct 10, 2012

littlejohn said:
oooo.. don't mean to be the bearer of bad news, but I think the recommended shorai is the LFX18
(Shorai Lithium Iron LiFePO4 Battery LFX18A1-BS12)

The LFX12 will still have plenty of punch to crank the Pani, but it's real Ah capacity is a little on the low side, so you may find that if you have alarms or other accessories, the battery may not last as long a you expect.

I'm not 100% sure, but based on the specs of the LFX18, it's real capacity is only about 9Ah. NOT 18Ah as the model number would suggest. So the LFX12 will only be 6Ah.

I am not were you got the LFX12 from, I purchased the LFX14 14ah, 210 cca - the YUSA I replaced (OEM) is only 6.5 ah, 120 cca. So I have some wiggle room if it dosen't quite live up to snuff. Not to mention 4.8lbs lighter. I actually bought this direct form Shorai, and the LFX9 (5.5 lbs lighter!) was their recomendation, for extended storage the LFX14:

ShoraiUsa - 1199 Panigale

littlejohn · Oct 11, 2012

Trauma said:
I am not were you got the LFX12 from, I purchased the LFX14 14ah, 210 cca - the YUSA I replaced (OEM) is only 6.5 ah, 120 cca. So I have some wiggle room if it dosen't quite live up to snuff. Not to mention 4.8lbs lighter. I actually bought this direct form Shorai, and the LFX9 (5.5 lbs lighter!) was their recomendation, for extended storage the LFX14:

ShoraiUsa - 1199 Panigale

my bad.. mis-read the label on your 3rd pic

Not sure if you're aware, but Shorai's specs are Pb eq. So their 14Ah is not true 14Ah..
IMO if you take a third of their Pb eq, you'd be on the money.

Mind you... 4.6Ah is not far off 6.5Ah of the OE unit.
FWIW, I'm with you on the battery swap. I installed the LFX18. It's made a pretty big difference in starting confidence.

Having said this, the LFX18 was a fair bit taller than the OE unit, so I couldn't use the battery hold down bracket. Motowheels supplied a big zip tie with the kit and a longer earth strap.

Trauma · Oct 11, 2012

I could return it and get the 18 I suppose - but whole reason I did this was for the weight. What are you suing to charge it? Theirs or just a normal trickle?

Xbox · Oct 11, 2012

Trauma said:
I could return it and get the 18 I suppose - but whole reason I did this was for the weight. What are you suing to charge it? Theirs or just a normal trickle?

Don't think you can use a normal trickle charger, so its their proprietary charger, or nothing.

littlejohn · Oct 11, 2012

Trauma said:
I could return it and get the 18 I suppose - but whole reason I did this was for the weight. What are you suing to charge it? Theirs or just a normal trickle?

I use my RC cars charger. You can pick one up pretty cheap from hobbyking.com.
Any multi chemistry charger will do. It just needs a cc/cv mode and be LiFe aware.

Trauma · Oct 11, 2012

littlejohn said:
I use my RC cars charger. You can pick one up pretty cheap from hobbyking.com.
Any multi chemistry charger will do. It just needs a cc/cv mode and be LiFe aware.

Ha - I have plenty of those!

Cloner · Oct 11, 2012

Xbox said:
Don't think you can use a normal trickle charger, so its their proprietary charger, or nothing.

They claim any nonsulfating charger will work.....like a Battery Tender. Already got several of those!

littlejohn · Oct 11, 2012

Trauma said:
Ha - I have plenty of those!

hehehe.. yep.. it's not rocket science. I don't know why some battery mfg / resellers make such a big deal of it.
For LiFePo4 (like the Shorai) batteries, the key things to note are the charger needs to NOT charge beyond 3.6V per cell. Motocycle batteries are 4 cell packs so max charge voltage of 14.4v and the charge cycle should be Constant Current up to about 80-90% then switch to Constant Voltage.
That being said.. the latter is a nice to have, but not charging beyond 14.4V is pretty important. Most automotive alternators are regulated to 14.4V or less, so the Shorai will never get full charge. This works as a buffer.... margin of safety.

NB. The cell count only refers to cells which are connected in series. Some brand will boast 8 cells, but they are 4 lots of 2 cells in parallel, which are connected in series.

Xbox · Oct 11, 2012

Cloner said:
They claim any nonsulfating charger will work.....like a Battery Tender. Already got several of those!

Oops, my bad

Does that mean the Ducati charger will work? It just has Trickle and Maintenance modes?

mig1199 · Oct 16, 2012

Trauma said:
I am not were you got the LFX12 from, I purchased the LFX14 14ah, 210 cca - the YUSA I replaced (OEM) is only 6.5 ah, 120 cca. So I have some wiggle room if it dosen't quite live up to snuff. Not to mention 4.8lbs lighter. I actually bought this direct form Shorai, and the LFX9 (5.5 lbs lighter!) was their recomendation, for extended storage the LFX14:

ShoraiUsa - 1199 Panigale

Hi Trauma, any noticeable difference in the way your bike starts this time? Do you get quicker starts?

How about handling? Having a lighter battery like that must have improved your handling a bit?

Please let me know, as I plan to go that direction too...
Thanks,
Miguel
1199"S" abs
Philippines

Trauma · Oct 16, 2012

Its just 4lbs, so only a 1% change. But it starts as well or better, and the voltage when I check it, is at 14v. I have not used a charger on it since I got it, so it holds a charge well. I only have time to ride it every few days, so holding charge is important to me.

mig1199 · Oct 16, 2012

Trauma said:
Its just 4lbs, so only a 1% change. But it starts as well or better, and the voltage when I check it, is at 14v. I have not used a charger on it since I got it, so it holds a charge well. I only have time to ride it every few days, so holding charge is important to me.

Well, 4lbs is quite a hefty weight reduction...that's like buying a shed load of carbon...Awesome. Hmmmmmmmm...thanks for that info Trauma.

Miguel
Philippines

Trauma · Mar 26, 2013

(trying to conserve threads, so used this one)

So my Shorai made it 6 months. I don't if I did it, or it failed on its own. It got so it would fully charge, then when I would try to start it, and it would just click, and be at 9v. So I contacted Shorai, and within a week I had a brand new battery and charger. They said there was a firmware upgrade for the charger, and could have cuased an issue.

Bottom line, love the weight savings of the battery. Turns over very fast, technically never needs to be charged. Downside, no local exhange program. We had snow here, so not the end of the world I couldn't ride.

youngR · Mar 26, 2013

Trauma said:
Its just 4lbs, so only a 1% change. But it starts as well or better, and the voltage when I check it, is at 14v. I have not used a charger on it since I got it, so it holds a charge well. I only have time to ride it every few days, so holding charge is important to me.

My daily .... weighs more than 4lbs. I just need to ride after I take a morning .......I be good.

Just kidding.

Dmk51 · Mar 26, 2013

In cold wheather I have the same problem to start my bikes I have ballistic batteries.

Stw · Mar 26, 2013

youngR said:
My daily .... weighs more than 4lbs. I just need to ride after I take a morning .......I be good.

Just kidding.

Tmi...

oalvarez · Mar 26, 2013

Going to make the switch myself. I have Shorai batteries in two of my other bikes and they've been problem free since their purchase. I've only used Shorai chargers on them which may have helped their longevity.

Thanks,

Battery Swap

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