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Did anyone here replace his battery yet with lithium battery?

23K views 24 replies 14 participants last post by  DarR 
#1 ·
the oem battery is very heavy & if it will die i wanna replace it with good lithium...any recommendation?
 

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#9 ·
I have the shorai sitting on my workbench just waiting for me to have time to drop the stock battery out. Super light. lithium comes with it's short comings for sure, like cold weather performance and potential to completely kill it by letting it drain. For me the benefits outweigh the negatives. used the shoria on my 796 after killing a couple of yuasa's by trusting a faulty battery tender Jr. did the wiring upgrade at the same time and the starting performance was about 1.7 billion times better. I could tell the weight difference on the 796 while riding, but the battery was under the tank. Being in the swing arm I don't expect to feel it as much on the 1200. just keep in mind, if you use a tender you will want to upgrade to a lithium compatible one. include that in your upgrade cost. I recommend ctek.
 
#12 ·
Thanks.

I read their operating manual for the lithium sx model and saw that their battery connection cabling does not allow for individual cell connections, nor does their literature include/describe cell balancing capability.

The Shorai battery has a cell balance port and their cabling connects to it. Their literature does not describe it in detail but it does include cell balancing as one of their charge process steps.

That may, or may not, be a consideration for some. Just one more decision to make and then wonder about. :|
 
#13 · (Edited)
Put a Shori in my 620. OEM weighed 8.9lbs, Shori 2.3. Even @ $189.00 it's the cheapest weight loss purchase yet by far. Since it's high on the bike you can really feel the difference.

If you use their charger (or another brand with the proper cables) you can cell balance. I haven't bothered yet, but will check it and if needed use my iCharger I have for my R/C stuff.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Been using a Shorai in my 2002 750ie for a little over a year now. Been super happy with it. I ride the bike almost daily unless it is raining so I have not had the battery on a charge yet and most likely never will. Lithium batts store better then lead acid. I just lift the tank and pull the neg cable whenever I will not be riding for a while. Simple and it works. Battery location is similar to the 620, high up under the gas tank.

Only problem was a few days ago. It did not want to turn over in the morning due to cold weather (31F). Turned the head light for a min or so to warm/prime the battery and it fired up second try. Has no problems in the low 40F range.
 
#18 ·
If you have the money and WANT to spend it, shorai is the most common and may be the best in lithium. I rather spend less on a good product that has proven itself to me. The deltran runs around $110 on amazon. I've had it on 2 bikes and never had any issues. I've never had to charge it either, but if I did, I'd just use the regular battery tender charger. It charges the battery the same way that your bike charges it, so I don't see a need to have an expensive charger that's battery specific. But again, if you have the money and you feel it will bring you peace of mind, shorai is a good pick.
 
#20 ·
My 1200S came with a bad battery, the dealer probably had it in storage for too long and killed the battery. I replaced it with a W Standard lithium battery, they make great lithium batteries for Ducati.

http://www.wstandardusa.com/

Other than weight, one major difference between regular and lithium battery is the cold start performance. With regular battery, you have to hold the start button for a few seconds before the engine would start. But with the lithium, one short press and the engine will fire right up.

:nerd
 
#21 ·
Which size did you use. They dont seem to have an option for 2014 M1200s on their battery finder. A problem I seem to having all over the place. Probably not too many of our bikes are needing batteries yet. Thanks!
 
#23 · (Edited)
I fitted the Shorai to my M1200 a few weeks ago. There's a good tutorial on YouTube, and it took about 30 mins tops.

I did two additional things in preparation that will save tons of time and avoid a lot of exasperation:

1. Drill the battery posts on the Shorai out to 1/4". This means you can use the standard Ducati post bolts. Believe me, you'll want to do this. Remember to use cutting oil or light machine oil when you're drilling.

2. Do the the Ducati post nuts what Shorai has done to theirs - cut a small amount of the adhesive foam and stick it to the underside of the nut so that it'll stay captive in the post.

Also, have a look at the images for the orientation of the buffer pads. Copy this configuration and all will be well.

Enjoy.
 

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