Light Weight Battery = Save 3.35Kg !

Hi Guys,

Been looking for one of these for a while, but didn't like the price or the fit of some of them, especially the shrink wrap specials. So managed to find this & not used it much yet, but straight out of the box it started the Viffer with no problems.

If you want to lose some weight (3.35Kg) for not a huge amount of dosh, then here's one answer. I have no association with this company, but have included their web link, as they shipped next day as advertised, it's a UK site.

Lead-acid Replacement Battery - 13V - 4.6Ah

1. Old Batt 2.Its Weight 3.New Weight 4.New Batt




5, 6, & 7 Compare the two batteries



8, 9 & 10 The New Battery



11. New Batt in the holder 12. New Batt connected



Apologies for the last picture, its a bit blurry. The new battery is the same size as the old in 2 dimensions, those being depth & height, its not quite as wide so the white bits at either end of the battery are bits of foam I put in to stop it sliding from side to side in the battery holder.


I'll add a report when I used it for a while.


Enjoy


Chris W.

 

Neat. It's hard to see, but is that a 3kg weight difference?

 

Yeah 3.35 kilograms less ! Original battery is 4.35 Kg, new one is 0.96 Kg !

 

Thanks for the tip Mohawk. :thumbsup:

7.4 lbs of weight loss high in the bike's center of gravity is definitely worth looking into.

 

Wonder what the CCA are rated at and how shipping would be to NA

 

Imagine if you used Titanium bolts to attach the battery cables! ;-)

 

OH FOOOOOCK!!!!!! :scared:

Now why didn't I think of that? :lol:

 

Sorry for being a noob to riding, but how much difference in handling would 7 lbs up top make?? I own a heavyweight 3rd gen, so i might look into some weight reduction if it helps any.

 

Removal of high center of gravity weight makes a bike less top-heavy and aids in rapid side to side transitions OSA.

Take a ten pound weight,hold it at arms length directly out in front of you and wave it rapidly side to side in a big arc. Now take a two and a half pound weight and do the same thing.
That's the difference.

 

That battery is just like what my friend has been building (albeit, without the fancy plastic top). He's offering them for $85 each shipped. If anyone is interested just shoot me an email and I can coordinate getting you a pack.

 

If I could ask, what are the dimensions, i.e. will these fit the VF500F?

 

Ah yes, another source for a Lithium Iron Phosphate battery, definitely the new hotness. One of these will be my next battery, this really looks like a better mousetrap. Thanks for the link, I like the more normal form factor.
-VFRGeek

 

The battery is tiny, you can put at least two in the space of the stock battery, maybe three! The actual dimensions are 110mm x 55mm x 70mm (all max values). Packs come with ring terminals on the wires to connect with a nut and bolt to the stock cables. Wire lenghts can be specified but 6" leads are typical and normally is plenty.

 

Thanks for the post.

Will these work with the stock charging system on a 500 and can they be charged with a standard battery charger (i.e. Battery Tender)?

Also, about how long will these last before needing to be replaced?

 

No problem with the charging system. Battery tenders seem to have trouble with the higher nominal voltage of the Lithium packs. I've been able to feed a Li pack with my tender but it didn't fully charge it before kicking out. Lithum chemistry cells do not lose charge over time like lead-acid ones do, so there is no reason to use a tender over the off season.

The cells are rated at 300,000 cycles. I've not had one long enough to test that yet!

 

Thanks for the intel.

How do you go about charging these?

 

there are at least 4 companies now promoting the new lightweight batteries
will definately be a consideration next time I am due, but as my current one is only 2 years old, that won't be for a few more years probly

as to your question OSA, honestly, if you are still new, you probly wouldn't notice the difference, you might, but probly not. Eventually you will, if you ride enough, be that sensitive. If the weight was in the wheels, than you would probly notice it even now. The further out from the center of gravity of the bike, generally fairly near the physical middle of the bike, the more a difference in weight will matter. This is even more true of the wheel/tires since they are away from the center of gravity, so they affect in that way, but also with the wheels they are rotating, which increases the effect of weight, and you need to lean them to turn, which adds another layer of effect.

 

We use an adjustable power supply to bring the pack voltage up to a fully charged level. That is good several months of sitting, so there is plenty of time to get it shipped/installed. After that your bike's charging system takes care of the rest.

 

Thanks for the post.

This sounds like a great upgrade. My only concern is how to maintain the battery over the winter months (located on the East Coast).

Does your friend also offer a charger?

 

It shouldn't be an issue. Just disconnect the battery in the fall to prevent a slow drain on the pack. As previously mentioned, the chemistry of those cells is such that it won't lose charge over time like your stock battery. I've had one sit on the shelf for several months and I installed it without any recharge and it started the bike up perfectly.