Getting more difficult to start but only from cold - RESOLVED

[Tim Anderson]

FYI @dazzler24, you paid extra for the lithium, but in the long run I bet you will be happy with it. I'm not familiar with NOCO, but I had a Shorai lithium on my Concours C14 for 10 years and it was excellent.  Never any issues, always plenty of power, worked fine even down in the 30 degree temps. Lithiums also have very low self-discharge rates, so they won't go dead just sitting for a month or 2 like a lead-acid might. Over the winter in CT, I would check it every 6 weeks or so, and plug in my trusty little 15 year old Battery Tender for a few hours to bring it up from 80% to 90%, then unplug it again. I think the lithiums are a big improvement over the lead-acid, and the light weight is a great feature as well!

Tim

 

[skipperT]

Anytime, Daz. Glad it’s starting perfectly again. 
-Skip

[dazzler24]

3 hours ago, Tim Anderson said:

FYI @dazzler24, you paid extra for the lithium, but in the long run I bet you will be happy with it. I'm not familiar with NOCO, but I had a Shorai lithium on my Concours C14 for 10 years and it was excellent.  Never any issues, always plenty of power, worked fine even down in the 30 degree temps. Lithiums also have very low self-discharge rates, so they won't go dead just sitting for a month or 2 like a lead-acid might. Over the winter in CT, I would check it every 6 weeks or so, and plug in my trusty little 15 year old Battery Tender for a few hours to bring it up from 80% to 90%, then unplug it again. I think the lithiums are a big improvement over the lead-acid, and the light weight is a great feature as well!

Tim

 

I was unsure about how these Lithium batteries would work with the charging system on bikes like mine but it would appear that the one I've got (and I assume in most if not all modern powersport batteries) has a fairly sophisticated BMS under the lid to take care of all of the nasties that can kill lithium batts.

[Tim Anderson]

Yes, the BMS circuit that comes in the battery will protect it and ensure compatibility with the bike’s systems. The battery manufacturers have to do that in order to sell units that are broadly compatible with current bikes and cars.  My Shorai was trouble-free for many years with no special treatment from me…. Even used it to jump start my garden tractor a few times in the Spring when its lead acid battery was dead.  

[piotrek]

On 9/29/2024 at 4:02 PM, bwringer said:

The battery for this bike is teensy tiny...

Hmm... my OE Yuasa was on the bike for 8 years (90K km). Heated grips, heated jacket, aux-lamps, GPS, phone charger, often all going at the same time. I'd attribute early failures to either poor maintenance, improper accessory installation (parasitic loads), or a decline/inconsistency in quality control at Yuasa.

I suspected that 8 years was cutting it close for the OE battery, and my travels take me to some remote places... so I replaced it last Winter. It was still going strong though. On tender all winter, and off tender during riding season.