NT Battery Replacement

[Rich]

Update on my 1 year old Shorai. Now that the weather is just a bit warmer, it's been behaving OK. Until testerday.

Two weeks ago Friday (4/19 to be exact), I was headed out of the country with a scheduled return yesterday. So I figured lets give the "store" function on the Shorai battery charger a try. I do so and it looks OK, so I leave on my trip, not giving it another thought. I get back last night and both charger lights are flashing - indicating a severe over discharge. I put it on "charge" overnight. This morning both lights are still flashing. I put a voltmeter on the battery and it indicates 8 VOLTS. This is, indeed, serious over discharge and the charger has done nothing to rectify it.

I'll see what Shorai has to say, but here is the great irony: When I replaced the battery a year ago I put the original battery on a shelf in my carport where it sat for a year. It wasn't on a charger or anything and sat through the winter (though this ain't Wisconsin). I check the battery and it shows 12.4 volts. Hmm, not too bad, I think. So I pull the Shorai and reinstall the old disfavored lead battery in the bike. All the lights and instruments come to life and the bike fires right up.

 

[tawilke46]

Update on my 1 year old Shorai. Now that the weather is just a bit warmer, it's been behaving OK. Until testerday.

Two weeks ago Friday (4/19 to be exact), I was headed out of the country with a scheduled return yesterday. So I figured lets give the "store" function on the Shorai battery charger a try. I do so and it looks OK, so I leave on my trip, not giving it another thought. I get back last night and both charger lights are flashing - indicating a severe over discharge. I put it on "charge" overnight. This morning both lights are still flashing. I put a voltmeter on the battery and it indicates 8 VOLTS. This is, indeed, serious over discharge and the charger has done nothing to rectify it.

I'll see what Shorai has to say, but here is the great irony: When I replaced the battery a year ago I put the original battery on a shelf in my carport where it sat for a year. It wasn't on a charger or anything and sat through the winter (though this ain't Wisconsin). I check the battery and it shows 12.4 volts. Hmm, not too bad, I think. So I pull the Shorai and reinstall the old disfavored lead battery in the bike. All the lights and instruments come to life and the bike fires right up.

Hmmmmmm. Guess that eliminates the Shorai from my list of possible replacement batteries for my NT.
The OEM battery is still working fine. The battery is over three years old.

 

[Warren]

Sometimes new technology is not always better. I am on three years with the OEM AGM battery and it has never been on a charger. I commute on the NT all four seasons. Even though it does not snow much in Nashville its gets quite cold in the winter. My NT is outside under a cover and every morning it has started without complaint. When the battery finally gives out I will purchase another OEM spec battery. Why experiment when the OEM battery does a fine job and the weight savings of the new batteries is not of much benefit as it relates to the NT.

 

[Rich]

Sometimes new technology is not always better. I am on three years with the OEM AGM battery and it has never been on a charger. I commute on the NT all four seasons. Even though it does not snow much in Nashville its gets quite cold in the winter. My NT is outside under a cover and every morning it has started without complaint. When the battery finally gives out I will purchase another OEM spec battery. Why experiment when the OEM battery does a fine job and the weight savings of the new batteries is not of much benefit as it relates to the NT.

True. I thought I'd give the Shorai a try as an experiment. So far it ain't ready for prime time.

 

[tawilke46]

True. I thought I'd give the Shorai a try as an experiment. So far it ain't ready for prime time.

That is what I have been reading on other forums as well.

 

[banjoboy]

Has anyone actually had to replace their OEM battery versus an experiment. I've had my battery when I bought the bike in August 2010 and it has never failed and has never even slowed down in starting the engine. I'm just at 21K miles and I wonder if the riders that have many more miles (think Phil and others) have had an issue. My bike is due for service probably at the end of summer and I have considered simply replacing it at that time (37 months) to avoid any failure. Any thoughts?

Terry

 

[ARKNT]

I had to replace my battery at 15,000 miles. It seemed to be dragging the starter a little, then the clock reset a few times while cranking. After checking it out I got a new OEM from local Honda shop.

Brad

 

[Phil Tarman]

I've learned not to leave my Streetpilot 2720 turned on overnight. And if I'm not riding the bike for more than 2-3 days in the winter, I put it on the Battery Tender. This morning, after stopping in Fairplay because of the snow, I was slow getting going, figuring that I'd give the snow on top of Kenosha Pass plenty of time to melt and dry out. When I got ready to leave at 11:00, I realized the GPS had been on all night. The bike barely turned over, but it fired on the second or third revolution and none of my odometers reset.

I'll probably stick with the OEM battery when I do finally replace it.

 

[Rich]

I sent the Shorai battery and charger off to the manufacturer. It appears that the battery just flat failed, but the charger is OK. Why the battery apparently failed during the only time I used the "Store" function of the charger remains an unanswered question. They replaced the battery per warranty policy (proration involved).

But it ain't going back in the bike, since clearly the basic chemistry is not suitable for use in the bike unless you never encounter overnight temps below 40 degrees. The only reason I'm keeping it is I have a good use for it where its very light weight is helpful involving use of portable avionics devices in my airplane.

 

[Rmcapozzi]

I did a similar thing. I put the Shorai battery I had in my portable generator. Not having a convenient source for a tender hookup, it works well for this application. I do however have a lead-acid battery on stand-by incase I need to start the generator in cool to cold weather. LOL

I sent the Shorai battery and charger off to the manufacturer. It appears that the battery just flat failed, but the charger is OK. Why the battery apparently failed during the only time I used the "Store" function of the charger remains an unanswered question. They replaced the battery per warranty policy (proration involved).

But it ain't going back in the bike, since clearly the basic chemistry is not suitable for use in the bike unless you never encounter overnight temps below 40 degrees. The only reason I'm keeping it is I have a good use for it where its very light weight is helpful involving use of portable avionics devices in my airplane.

 

[DirtFlier]

I've always felt that voltmeters providing only voltage ranges, usually in colors, were generally a waste of money since what they tell you is so nebulous. Is it almost good or almost bad? My digital voltmeter drops to 12.4 v when I turn ON the key but while riding it registers 14.1-to-14.4 v depending on ambient temp.

 

[windsinthehills]

I've had a Shorai battery in my NT for over a year without any problems. I ride almost every day year round, garage the bike at night and have never had the battery on a charger. The original battery died after being completely drained 4 times when the key was left on.

 

[Ripshod]

I had a Shorai in my ST1300 before I got the NT and I still have one in the Super Sherpa. Both were left to languish all winter. Both cranked enthusiastically in the Spring. I'm sold on them and will probably get one for the NT when the factory battery goes tits-up.

Okay, so we don't get frigid winter temps down here in East Tennessee but it gets cold enough to keep me from riding.

 

[Rich]

The negative behavior of the Shorai is the temperature of the battery at the time you go to use it. Bike is in a carport (I do not have a garage). Every time I used it to start the bike where the overnight temperatures were below 40 degrees F or so it exhibited some degree of weakness. Close to freezing it might not start the bike at all. No real symptoms, normally, of losing charge over time.

Given the fact it failed utterly at less than a year old, perhaps mine is just an individually defective battery. But in retrospect the lead-acid battery I took out last year (original - probably manufactured in 2009-2010) sat for all that time on the shelf in that same carport, not on a charger, and started the bike right up gives me no motivation to put the Shorai back in the bike.

 

[Phil Tarman]

I've always felt that voltmeters providing only voltage ranges, usually in colors, were generally a waste of money since what they tell you is so nebulous. Is it almost good or almost bad? My digital voltmeter drops to 12.4 v when I turn ON the key but while riding it registers 14.1-to-14.4 v depending on ambient temp.

If you turn on the bike and the voltmeter reads 11.2, the odds of cranking your bike get slim. At 10.2, it won't crank. When the battery has been discharged below about 11.6, it's "iffy."

At 11.7, it'll nearly always crank.