8 cell lithium battery replacement for OEM?

[goggles]

Saw this on ebay and wondered it anyone had any knowledge or experience with them as replacement for OEM?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ballistic-EVO2-8-Cell-Lithium-Battery-Suzuki-GS550L-1977-1982-/320904148331?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4ab760b56b&vxp=mtr#ht_2219wt_1163

[fnkvn]

I will be installing one this week, so I will let you know how it works.

[goggles]

Great

Great! Look forward to hearing how it works out.

[AJ]

I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Here's some testing done by WebBikeWorld:

http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-battery/li-ion-motorcycle-battery/shorai-vs-ballistic-li-ion-motorcycle-battery.htm

FWIW, compared to the old fashioned wet acid batteries, modern AGM batteries work extremely well (much higher output), they don't leak acid, and they last much longer. I put a $65 Deka (American made) battery in my 1100e and it spins gonzo. The $60 MotoBatt in my son's 550 also works extremely well. You can see what I chose to buy instead of the expensive high-tech battery.

[chuck hahn]

Are th case size the same or do they require some added padding in the battery boxes??

[Agemax]

i just bought one, the 12 cell version. gotta wait for it to come from the states but that gives me time to rip out all the underseat crap and redesign it all ready for the new battery. the dimensions are in the listing, they are tiny compared to the standard battery
112MM L X 86MM W X 103MM H -

[fnkvn]

I just installed the 8 cell version, that is rated at 275CCA. The lead acid battery in the bike was rated at 250CCA, and weighed 8.75 pounds (measured by my UPS digital scale). The Ballistic weighs a whopping 1.85 pounds - thats right, 30 whole ounces! Nearly a 7 pound savings, and this battery could be mounted in any direction possible.

It spins the bike faster than the lead acid battery, but admittedly - the bike is still slightly warm. I just zip tied it to the old battery tray for now, but I will be making a new aluminum tray that will mount in the same three holes the stock tray mounts to. Here's a crappy cell phone pic:



Keep in mind - these batteries have some good points and bad. Extremely light and they hold a charge for a full year, only losing 10 percent of their original charge in that time. If they drop below 6 volts, they are done for. I am not sure what the voltage would drop to if you had trouble starting the bike and ran it too long, but I will report whatever findings I have as time goes on.

[brettwg]

I have been considering buying one of these and hiding it under my seat for my cafe project.. Very interested to hear about performance issues and do u trickle charge this or do u need a special charger since its litheum ion like power tool batteries?

[fnkvn]

It arrives fully charged, and as long as you don't have an electrical draw on your bike, the battery will remain fully charged - only losing 10 percent of it's charge in a 12 month period. Ballistic does recommend a special charger for them, but they don't seem to be affected by the charging systems in motorcycles.

[brettwg]

I was actually contiplating buying the cells from a123 and building my own pack so I could lay them flat in a row.