The future of battery technology is here TODAY!

After a very long winter, the sun shone long enough for me to consider taking my bike out from under wraps and testing the new Shorai battery.  My bike has been parked since late November and I can normally expect to have it out again by late March, in most years.  The winter of 2013-2014 wreaked havoc on the east coast and the midwest, and I am relieved to finally get back on the road.

I got the Shorai battery, along with a charger over the winter months.  My bike’s old, heavy lead acid battery was on a battery tender in the bike all winter long.  A few days before last weekend I pulled the new Shorai battery out of the box, along with its tender, and set it up to charge.  The batteries come almost fully charged but, as I had the time, I wanted to make sure that I started the season with a fresh, fully-charged battery.  

IMPORTANT NOTE:  If you plan to use a Lithium-ion battery for your motorcycle, make sure to buy a charger/battery tender that is made for this type of battery. It IS possible to overcharge one of these NEW types of batteries using the OLD types of chargers.  Make sure you upgrade your charger!

Shorai makes a tender that clicks into place effortlessly, through the use of a connector. There’s no guess work, no need for clamps on terminals.  It’s a “smart” charger, as well, and gives full indications of the battery status and when it’s completed.  Mine was fully charged in about 4 hours.

Saturday dawned with the promise of a near-60 degree (F) day and a short HONEYDO list.  For kicks, I rolled my bike out of the garage to fire it up, only to find that the old battery, which had been on a traditional tender, was DEAD.  Morte. Finito. Unreal.  The dang charger had been glowing green at me for the past 4 months or more.  So much for old technology!  Now to pull that dead weight out of the bike.  If you’ve ever tried to finagle an old, heavy battery out of a battery box with just your fingertips, you’ll appreciate how much fun I had.  With the old battery out of the way, the new unit slipped easily into place.  

The Shorai LI technology allows for a battery that is a fraction of the weight of a traditional batteries.  This is critical for anyone wanting better performance out of their motorcycle.  I can see how this weight advantage/savings would be critical to anyone doing any racing, or simply with a sport bike and looking to maximize their top speed.  On my cruiser, laden down with a heavy tool kit (and other baggage), the weight savings are appreciated, but less necessary.

Shorai provides everything you need to install the battery.  I hit a small snag on the install though.  The negative terminal connected easily but, when I got to the positive terminal, I saw that the positive lead had tabs around the edges, to assure a good connection.  Shorai provided adapters (see below) to allow for different mountings at the terminals, but none of these were a perfect fit.  I knew what the solution was; it just took me a half hour of fiddling (and to be sure that I had no other options) before I bent two of the tabs up and out of the way.  I finished the job by capping the charger cable end and attaching that to the bike with a zip tie.  Now, if I ever want to charge this battery, all I need to do is to reach into the bike and pull out this cable. Easy!  With the new battery installed, my bike fired up as if it had just been run.

Once the battery was installed, I set about putting the seats back in place and doing a light cleaning, to remove the accumulated dust.  While the bike could have used a good soapy wash, I was too eager to get out while I still had time.  I took a 30 mile ride on some local back roads, just to see how the bike was running.  Everything was great and, in my mind, I knew that I was 5 pounds lighter (thanks to the new battery) and therefore that much quicker.

If you want to lighten your load, improve your track times or just upgrade to the latest is battery technology, look into what Shorai has to offer.  There’s a battery for just about every motorcycle make and model and something for your other toys, as well.

I hope it’s a very long riding season this year.  We’ve waited so long since our last rides that I feel like I never want the riding season to end, ever again.  I’ll see you out on the road soon.

If you want more info on Shorai batteries, click the link in the first paragraph or use the QR code below.  If you have any questions about my experience, let me know in the comments field and I will get back to you. Thanks.  Have a safe riding season! 

A low, slow wave,

Joe Rocket