Lithium Motorcycle Battery vs. Lead Acid Battery | MC Garage

Without a motorcycle battery, you’d have a tough time getting the bike’s engine fired. And when it’s time to replace the battery, is it worth the extra cash to install a lithium-type battery instead of the tried-and-true lead-acid battery? Today on MC Garage we take a look at lithium-based batteries.

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Is A Lithium-Iron Motorcycle Battery Worth It?
We’ve covered the subject of batteries more than a couple of times here on MC Garage, but as an integral part of your motorcycle’s electrical system, there is always plenty to talk about. We’ve covered the different types of batteries, how to replace them, and how to take care of them when you’re not riding. But often I get the question, are lithium-based batteries worth their higher cost?

The short answer is yes. They are lighter, have a slower discharge rate, and perform better in cold temperatures. But they are more expensive and could require special chargers depending on the type. So let’s weigh the pluses and minuses.

What Are The Cons Of A Lithium Motorcycle Battery?
First the minuses. Cost is always a consideration for when buying parts for your bike, and the difference between a lithium-based battery and your typical sealed lead-acid battery could be significant. Typically a lithium-ion battery could be anywhere from 50 to 200 percent more expensive than its lead-acid counterpart. But lithium iron phosphate batteries like the ones from Shorai are nearly the same cost. Do factor in that you will need a charger that works with lithium batteries, but any charger that does lithium will also do lead-acid. So maybe it was time for a new charger as well?

The only other downside is if you let the voltage drop below a certain threshold (which varies depending on the construction and brand), the battery could be toast. Lead-acid batteries recover from deep discharging better and more often than lithium batteries. Those are really the only two minuses, and there are plenty of upsides.

What Are The Benefits Of Using A Lithium Motorcycle Battery?
Next the pluses. Weight is always touted as the big reason to switch, and there is no denying that a lighter motorcycle is a better-handling motorcycle. This Shorai is a third of the weight of the stock unit in this KTM 790 Adventure. “So what?” you say, “what’s five pounds?” Well, the higher that weight is carried on the bike, the more you will feel it, especially when changing direction.

And on this KTM, that battery is above the seat, that’s higher than your waist when sitting. With all of the work KTM’s engineers did to lower the center of gravity on the 790 Adventure with a low-slung fuel tank and compact engine, it’s a shame to see an extra 5 pounds sat up so high on the bike. Cutting just a few pounds will make a difference.

Then there is the low self-discharge properties of lithium-based batteries. When sitting static batteries lose some of their charge, and as more time goes by, the higher loss from a lead-acid can be significant. If you haven’t ridden your bike in four months, a lead-acid could have lost up to 15 percent of its total charge—that’s if there is no draw on the battery. The Shorai, on the other hand, loses about 1 percent per month, without any draw, so storage life is much better. If you are storing your bike over the winter, just disconnect the negative terminal and you should be good to go in the spring.

Finally, cold-weather performance is superior. That might not be a huge concern for someone with a sportbike or a naked, but adventure bikes can see freezing temps when traveling the planet. At freezing, 32 degrees Fahrenheit and 0 degrees Celsius, a lead-acid will lose 50 percent of its capacity while a lithium iron only loses 10 percent. Just a quick note, lithium-ion batteries need to be woken up when it’s cold. Just press the starter, let the battery sit for 30 seconds and you should have all the cranking power you need.

So there it is, with lighter weight, lower self-discharge, and better cold-weather performance, all at a similar price (changer not included), a lithium-based battery’s pluses far outpace the potential downsides.

Thanks to Maxima Racing Oils

Videography/Edit: Bert Beltran

[bikesandoutdoors]

I ride daily year round, including below freezing temperatures. I gave my best chance for lead acid and lithium batteries. I ended up switching back to lead acid. Lithium works well in warm weather, but is easy to damage with a wrong charger, falls 'asleep' in cold weather when you least expect it (left garage fully charged), and is expensive to replace. Loved it when it worked and hated it when it didn't. Lead acid seems to be more predictable and straight forward.

[Hrafn]

Still pretty cold in the mornings here in Norway, I'll admit trying to wake up the lithium battery is more challenging than I expected. Even though the outside temp is 7-10 celsius, the bike can still be at 2celsius inside the garage from the night being colder. And the trick about "leaving your lights on for 2 minutes" is worthless when you got led lights all around. Still trying to figure it out, but the best solution so far is to try crank it a few times, then wait 2 minutes with the lights on. I have to check the battery is it shows 3 dots instead of 1, then I know it will start. This is my first spring with a lithium battery, worked fine all last summer/autumn.

[aricwilbur]

I'm starting restoring my dads old 83' honda nighthawk 650 and I've been trying to update and upgrade it to modern standards so this helped a lot.

[alanbuller]

Hmmm... I had a Shorai, they are not very good in the cold. You have to find a way to put a load on them or crank the bike several times to "wake " them up. I switched back to a standard battery.

[tntcyclespdx]

My shorai battery caught on fire when I was on the freeway. The reason was I didnt have the special regulator rectifier, my bike is a 1981 kz440 so it's old technology. Just a heads up for you classic bike riders.

[gonerydin]

If I need a special charger for the lithium battery, then how does the motorcycle's charging system adapt?

[gphilpot]

Buying a lithium battery was the biggest mistake I made. I have hated this battery ever since I got it a little over 2 years ago. I really tried to give it another chance after upgrading my voltage regulator. Now I am coming to my senses and plan to replace it ASAP with an AGM battery.

[sandyroadking]

Hi..
If the bike electrical system can charge both types, why do Li need dedicated chargers ?
Anything which gives 12ish volts, should be good enough right ?

[gimmecom]

My experience is the Shorai sizing tables recommend a battery that is much smaller than the compartment...and cannot keep up with the drain to run the electrics for more than 10 days (BMW R1200RT) before not cranking the starter. I had to buy and attach the expensive Shorai trickle charger on it after every ride. The stock lead acid would go for a couple months before it would not crank. I would use Shorai’s sizing table as a minimum size/capacity and move up from there while dimensions still fit bike.

[randombuilds]

I've got a lithium on a custom build, it's marginal as soon as temp gets below 55*. But I don't have room for an AGM with enough capacity. AGM is the way to go if you have space, cold doesn't drag them down like a lithium and the weight will not be noticed by the average rider.

Yes he talks about the cold affecting lithium less, but he doesn't mention they need to be "warmed up" to give the cranking power. So crank the bike 10 seconds, leave lights on and wait a minute, then you might be able to start.

[chrisk]

Nice video. Them rapper hands working great too.

[AevenSong]

One thing the video didn't cover, when cranking the motorcycle battery from a cold start, the battery needs to be warmed up as alot of people are saying, but there are problems.


1. Most modern motorcycles headlights don't come on until you crank the starter, which directly counterfeits the point of warming up the battery with the headlight on.
2. Accessories tend to drain the battery and they warm up the battery slower.
3. Some people recommends fast pulses of crank to "wake up" the battery, then again it counterfeits the point of warming up the battery before the crank.


Might be a very great idea to make a video or include in the video the several ways to warm up the lithium battery as most riders tend to stay away from it due to this problem ( i know i did and it costed me 2 lithium batts before i finally gave up )

[LTVoyager]

I have had two Shorai’s in my BMW during the last 8 years. The first one died after one year and was replaced under warranty. The second is still going, but I would not buy another Shorai. Their BMS01 character is faulty and is what killed my original battery (it failed to come back on after a winter power outage and let the battery deep discharge which killed it). It also will not start my bike at temps below 40 degrees on the first try. You have to turn the lights on and wait for a minute or two for the battery to warm up enough to crank the bike fast enough to start it. Yes, they are lighter, but they also are much smaller and don’t fit the bike’s battery holder without a bunch of foam spacers. No reason Shorai could not have made the battery case the same size as the OEM batteries and just leave on the inside. And the terminals on the Shorai are quite flimsy. When my current Shorai dies, it is back to AGM for me.

[wetnoodl]

How well will a lithium battery work in my T51b?

[jamesoren]

Just made the switch over Christmas.

Went from 130cca to 190cca for ~$100 (inc taxes - don’t live in USA).

Weight saving was 2.4kg, and after nearly 1 month and 1, 300km’s I couldn’t fault it - it’s just been a battery. No need to buy a new charger as the one I bought 4 years ago already supported lithium Apparently, and I ride enough to rarely need to tender.

Only downside I could find is that it was so much smaller that it was loose. To fix I had to rotate it 90 degrees and re-run my battery terminal leads, meaningit took 20 mins to install instead of 10.

Cost was easy to justify as in bike terms $100 isn’t much really, and they last far, far longer than lead acid and need less (almost no) TLC

[maxrod]

Why are the home chargers different when the bike charges both types equally or do I have to do some mod to my bike to use lithium battery?

[rickmancr]

Some lithium batteries claim to have built-in discharge/overcharge protection. I'm guessing that they are the expensive ones. Information on that feature would have been useful.

[rafaelortiz]

What about push starting if you leave your ignition on and drain the battery? Old batteries start right up with a push while a lithium requires a jump. Am I wrong?

[michaelscheller]

You should avoid using a lithium battery below 0 degrees Celsius. It might start well but the charge it receives after starting the bike kills it more easily. Even below 10 degrees Celsius you want to make sure that the battery has a good charge as to avoid excessive charging by the bike. In short -- good for race bikes and for warm climates, but definitely not for adventure bikes that are used in all temp ranges.

[joshberry]

This helped me choose a lithium battery over lead recently. So happy I did, great Information and the performance is much better 👍