When we moved recently, I started the bike in order to walk it up the ramp into the back of my truck. It cranked verrry slowly. I suppose it was the combination of a winter without a trickle charger, and the battery being about 7 yrs old.
Seven years is a pretty good lifespan for a lead-acid battery (my experience has been 5 years tops), so I decided to replace it, rather than to let it leave me stranded somewhere. I got on the internet, intending to replace it with a similar model, and found this website: http://www.atbatt.com/
I was surprised to learn that a company named Shorai manufactures a Lithium-ion battery for my bike. I was more surprised at the specifications of the battery - particularly the weight, capacity, and cycles.
According to the information available, the lithium battery is: "Up to 80% lighter than conventional lead-acid batteries, has up to 2000 cycles - up to 8 times longer cycle life, and stores up to 1 year without recharging." Impressive!!!
Here are the specs for a lead-acid replacement:
Chemistry Dry Charge AGM
Voltage 12
Capacity 2000 mAh / 2.00 Ah Rating 24 Whr
CCA 190
Length 6.00 inch / 15.24 cm
Width 3.43 inch / 8.71 cm
Height 3.69 inch / 9.37 cm
Color Gray
Weight 7 lb / 3.18 Kg
Here are the specs for a lithium-ion replacement:
Chemistry Lithium-Iron Phosphate
Voltage 12
Capacity 14000 mAh / 14.00 Ah Rating 168 Whr
CCA 210
Color Black
Weight 2 lb / 0.91 Kg
Putting the new battery in after removing the lead one, it actually felt hollow, like a battery with nothing inside it. But it cranked the bike really well.
I took the bike for a short ride down to the end of our road, to warm it up, then tried to get a wheelie out of it. I don't think it likes the altitude (2500ft)very much, cuz it really didn't want to wheelie. I guess the next thing to do is to have the Honda dealer do spring maintenance.
They look a bit lonely, don't they?
No comments:
Post a Comment