Bimota Forum

[oily]

...The time has come for me to invest in battery's for the "Big Bore".
Anyone have any recommendations? Motobatt, Bosch, Varta, Odyssey??
or are you just using cheap and cheerful ?

What ya using and what do ya think of them?

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SB6 mk1 (project mega light, big bore)
Sb6 mk2 ( Big Bore)
Sb6 mk2 ( Restored)
Sb6R fighter
Sb6 or Sb7 WANTED

[Vince186]

I ordered a Motobatt UB200 But I still waiting for it to arrive (They are in backorder)
So I can’t give you any advice ......... yet
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vince
A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. Albert Einstein

[sb6rdaz]

Yuasa are always a good one, but I've been stocking Nitro for some time now, and used one as my workshop jump battery, and that's been very good, so as a cheaper alternative, I'm happy to recommend.

Daz.
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It's mine and I'll wash it as fast as I like!

[Jonny B Bad]

Oily

Odyssey have only a limited operating temperature range. They claim high cold cranking amps, but there's not much happening below 5 degrees - I was using a hair dryer to warm it up before trying to start the bike! Conversely, my YB8 gets a bit hot in traffic and the battery would no longer run the motor until it had an hour or so to cool down. In summary, lighter and smaller than the lead acid but not practical.

Recently replaced my Odysseys with Ballistic Lithium Ion from the States. Weighs next to nothing and even smaller than the Odyssey. When it's cold - sub 5 degrees, it sounds like it's flat straight off the charger, but third crank and it starts her up good as gold - manufacturer says you should switch the headlight on for 5 mins before starting to warm the battery up. I haven't tried this as I wouldn't do it with a lead acid. Doesn't seem to have a problem with the heat either. Very happy to recommend Ballistic, but they are well north of £100 by the time you've paid the duty.
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What, Jonny's gone!

[Jonny B Bad]

P.S.

Given where the batteries sit on the 6, you would definitely appreciate the weight loss of Lithium Ion versus Lead Acid. You can buy them with 8 cells which are good enough for a normal 1000cc bike. I've put a 12 cell on my big-bore to be sure, which still fitted where the old lead acid did on my 6R. They even do a 16 cell, from which I should think you could jump start an artic
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What, Jonny's gone!

[brian]

Do the lithiam ion batteries need to be charged regularly by an external source or can they be charged in the normal way from your alternator? Depending on this i will probably go lithium ion when the sb6 betteries die.

Cheers, brian
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'99 DB4 #104, '96 SB6 #1165, '94 DB2 J #652, '99 DB4 #088, '08 VTX1800, '93 ZXR750R M1, '95 ZXR750, '95 ZXR750 Race Bike, '94 CBR400rr NC29 Race Bike, '94 CB250, '49 BSA C10 250, '61 BSA A10 650, '89 ZXR750, '91 Ducati 851

[Jonny B Bad]

Lithium Ion charges off the alternator and purportedly only loses about 10% of its charge if left unused for a year. Clearly, if you've got an alarm you still need to use a trickle charger.
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What, Jonny's gone!

[brian]

[SiBag]

Im running a Motobatt on my CCM.
It spins the 650 single up even on the coldest days after standing for a month.
They do a suitable 14A jobby (MBTX12U) that should let you run one bat rather than the two. You may be able to layit sideways to gain some space.
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Si...
SB6..CCM R30...GSXR-750-M...RGV-250-VJ22.. GSX-1100-EFE Project....Harris Magnum II project...

If its got Ti#s or Wheels its gona give you trouble

[oily]

Thanks for the reply's guys (keep them coming)

...I bought a Shorai a few months ago. It's the 14ah version so I had high hopes but it struggled to turn a standard SB6 engine fast enough to start.
Very disappointing at over £100 but after your reply JBB, I might look into this again and give it a second chance.
The cost of even cheap battery's these days is a bit of an investment so I'm planning on getting it right this time

...Any other suggestions/recommendations?

_________________
SB6 mk1 (project mega light, big bore)
Sb6 mk2 ( Big Bore)
Sb6 mk2 ( Restored)
Sb6R fighter
Sb6 or Sb7 WANTED

[Vince186]

It is a known problem with the lithium batteries.
When the temperature drops to low the power of the batteries drops also.

Place the batt in a warm place for a while and try it again.
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vince
A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. Albert Einstein

[oily]

[oily]

..Before I cycled the 3 miles to the parcel office to pick up my pre-load adjusters ( ) i thought I'd give this Shorai battery a bit of a bash.

On with the ignition....press the button.....nah, not enough umph.
on with the headlights for 15 seconds....press the button...no problem.
30minuets and six miles later...press the button, again no problem. Spins the engine over without effort.
seems they do work which is a good thing considering the cost
Now....which lithium battery has the longest guarantee?
Still not sure what to invest in. two gel battery's are roughly the same price as another Shorai or are other lithium battery's better/cheaper/longer warranty than a year?
_________________
SB6 mk1 (project mega light, big bore)
Sb6 mk2 ( Big Bore)
Sb6 mk2 ( Restored)
Sb6R fighter
Sb6 or Sb7 WANTED

[Vince186]

[oily]