Shorai battery

Gerhard

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Last spring I installed a Shorai battery in my bike. The bike has sat since mid November without being connected to a charger, today the weather was 17?C when we got home so I checked the tire pressure and the temptation to start the bike over came me and I was surprised that the battery started the bike instantly. So almost for months without use and it had enough charge to start the bike. Maybe Friday afternoon I will go for a short ride, hoping for a bit of rain between now and Friday.

Gerhard
 

thumperjdm

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The Shorai in my ST1300 was over three years old when I sold the bike. Zero issues, and mine too was never on a charger.
 
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I had a Shorai in my KTM950SE. Worked fine for 2 years. Then the bike sat for 6 months +/- and the battery voltage dropped below 11 VDC. Never took a charge again. If I decide to get a Shorai again I may put it in 2 or 3 bikes and then will buy their charger. Also, on a ride back from Florida in February, the bike was parked out in mid 20's. It wouldn't turn over in the morning. I had to follow the instructions and turned on my headlights for a few minutes, and then it started just fine. Weird.
 

T_C

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Worked fine for 2 years. Then the bike sat for 6 months +/- and the battery voltage dropped below 11 VDC.
Do you still have it? I would like to dissect one, might be able to salvage it or at least a few parts.
 

SupraSabre

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I had put my Shorai in my '04#1, which hasn't been ridden since January 2015 due to a bad waterpump. After placing it in my shed last September, so I could get my new 2012 in the garage, I pretty much forgot about it.

Over a month ago I had to get in the shed for some reason and I decided to see if the '04#2 would start. Deader than a door nail! So I pulled the battery out, and hit it with my volt meter. It wasn't reading well at all. (less than 10v.) So I attached the battery to my Shorai battery charger, and after a few days, it came back to life! I thought it would be dead, period, since it had dropped so low.

I now have that battery in my 2010, my daily driver and after a month, no problems!

I think the trick is to use the Shorai battery charger.
 
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If you store the bike without disconnecting the battery, there is a small parasitic draw to keep power to the instruments, ECU, etc. This will eventually drain down any battery...... Also these lithiums don't like the cold (below 40F) and likely need to be woke up to work. For that reason, a few of my riding friends who had Shorai's have switched back to AGM.
 

SteveST1300

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I am replacing a 4 year old Shorai this season it starts the bike OK but the voltage drop is more than I like to see this battery has been dead a couple of times once when my alternator failed so I just don't trust it for long trips etc. I do use the Shorai charger. And it has brought the battery back a couple of times.
 
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Gerhard

Gerhard

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From what I was told, it is best not to keep the lithium battery on a battery tender constantly, they said it is fine to charge it but it is not good for the battery to be constantly charged. Apparently what the Shorai charger does is balance the charge in each cell which ensures the battery's best performance and longevity. I have had the battery for a year and have been happy with it. My previous battery was still starting the bike but after a few days of sitting it would struggle to crank the engine and we where going on a long trip last summer so I thought better not tempt fate and have the battery fail on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. I ordered a Shorai charger from Amazon and should have it next week. Hope the battery lasts longer than 3 years.

Gerhard
 

T_C

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I am replacing a 4 year old Shorai this season it starts the bike OK but the voltage drop is more than I like to see this battery has been dead a couple of times once when my alternator failed so I just don't trust it for long trips etc.
If you have no use for the old one.. I'll take it off your hands. I want to dissect one or two.
 

SteveST1300

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Shorai says if you store the bike use the store setting on their charger it holds the battery at 80% which they say is optimum for long term storage.
 

T_C

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use the store setting on their charger it holds the battery at 80% which they say is optimum for long term storage.
If you charge it to 100% witha good long ride and let it sit in the garage, it'll hit the 80% setting, eventually. ;)
 

T_C

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And then go lower, if not charged sooner or later....
Gotta ride!!! and then charged!!

If 80% is really the best way to keep a LiFePO4 battery I guess us frequent daily commuters will be hard on 'em. Mine is staying 100% charged year round.

In reality, I have heard this before that the 80% is best for storage. But in the same reality, I have yet to see any proof of it from anyone who had testing or years of experience like the manufacturers. (Shorai is not a manufacturer, they are just re-packaging.) Part of the problem is that this battery technology is so new, we just haven't had time to run long term tests. You can run charge/discharge tests, cycle life and rated capacity, takes a long time but I have seen the results. Long term storage under varying conditions, not seen a solid study done yet.
 

SupraSabre

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Gotta ride!!! and then charged!!

If 80% is really the best way to keep a LiFePO4 battery I guess us frequent daily commuters will be hard on 'em. Mine is staying 100% charged year round.

In reality, I have heard this before that the 80% is best for storage. But in the same reality, I have yet to see any proof of it from anyone who had testing or years of experience like the manufacturers. (Shorai is not a manufacturer, they are just re-packaging.) Part of the problem is that this battery technology is so new, we just haven't had time to run long term tests. You can run charge/discharge tests, cycle life and rated capacity, takes a long time but I have seen the results. Long term storage under varying conditions, not seen a solid study done yet.
I bought a Shorai battery a number of years ago, I left it on the '04#1 for over a year sitting in my shed, pulled it out and it was DEAD! Which you are NOT supposed to let happen. I hooked it up to the Shorai charger two or three times and it came back to life. I pulled it out of the '04#2 when I was going to sell it last year (which I couldn't sell it since it needed a waterpump) and the battery is still sitting on my shelf. I haven't pulled it down to test it, but maybe I should.
 

T_C

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the battery is still sitting on my shelf. I haven't pulled it down to test it, but maybe I should.
The batteries that do not have an active BMS (Battery management system) will sit pretty for a long time without being touched, if disconnected from everything else. Still, I'd hook it up once every 6 months or so... (speaking of that, need to do mine, thanks for the reminder). Now if you do have a BMS enabled battery (of which I think on EarthX is the only MC starter battery on the market) they will drain a little faster just in keeping themselves balanced. Balancing is a good thing, just a little pain to go along with the improvement it brings.

I did buy one of the EarthX models and I am so tempted to pull the case apart. I want to see how their design compared to the one I built for my 2004 ST. Until that warranty expires.. I'll leave the case in one piece, but the days are counted.
 

SteveST1300

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If you ride it and it stays at 100% that's fine its only recommended to store it for extended periods at 80% with our weather and road conditions in the winter it is hard to get out for a ride lots of pot holes and salt on the roads.
 

T_C

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Just for academic purposes... What is the difference in long term between daily riding staying at 100% and sitting idle for months at 80%? Understanding that sitting on a tricle charger and charged to 105% is not for the batteries best.
 
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T C, don't know if it helps or not, probably doesn't, but with phone batteries the advice is to never allow them to go lower than 50% and when charged to 100% remove from charger to commence discharge cycle. This would seem to imply that continuing to attempt to charge a fully charged battery is bad for its health, on a vehicle there are obviously built in safeguards to prevent overcharging but not so if attached to a charger, although I'm sure these are pretty clever too.
80% may be the optimum charge to extend life and as I've never been charged more than 80% I should last forever.
In reality though, it's witchcraft.
Upt'North.
 
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