THE BEST LIGHTWEIGHT BATTERY IN THE WORLD FOR A 450 FOUR STROKE

Trust me, I have the titanium, the terminals look good. Just don't know about the case. These batteries tend to rub on the fender at the bottom lip and the curve of the fender. That is with zip ties and race tape.

This is why the first iteration of Lithiums (shrink wraped) failed prematurely and why all the "manufacturers" are scrambling to pack the cells in a more conventional (rigid) enclosure. The stresses inflicted by a dirt bike on a bunch of individual cells, soldered together and wrapped by a thin layer of plastic is the perfect mechanism for connector failure. But, ya know, ya get what you pay for... right?

I work at a battery store and get to make my own!

I read of a guy on a Buell Ulysses on a trip in Mexico had one of the Shorai's go bad. It looked like it heated up. there was burn marks where that cover is to plug in the Shorai charger. he called Shorai who said they had a problem with some internal connections (which they fixed) and offered to send him a replacement to Mexico.

Good luck with your purchase highdez. And give us a report on how well it works.

While I can appreciate your "low-price" view point... I think you are a bit mis-informed Krieg...I am a battery manufacture and just so you understand "low-price" is not everything, though it is definately an incentive for some consumers. The fact is Shorai builds the batteries in China and uses a vastly less expensive cell than we do.. my company is Antigravity Batteries . Additionally the labor is much cheaper...I also understand you saying that you don't like a shrinkwrapped battery thinking this leads to breaking... In fact it doesn't though a plastic case is more protection and looks nicer.. so for the average rider that is appealing... Also FYI the Shorai is not out of stock due to demand... they are out of stock because they had a few problems and pulled the batteries... they have had some problems...

I will try to give you guys a break down of batteries honestly... There are two forms of battery cells....Shorai offer a Prismatic cell which is the square cell wrapped in foil and incased in the plastic case, and we offer the A123 Systems 26650 Cylindric Cells which are incased in a metal cylinder then shrink wrapped. Though both these chemistries are Lifepo4, their characteristics are quite different. The Prismatic Cell offers a longer amp hour rating while the Cylindric form offer much more power in Cold Cranking Amps... So for example we make a battery that is 1" wide x 4" long x 3.25" tall.... that is HALF the size of the smallest Shorai yet puts out 120 Cold Cranking Amps...So that tiny battery makes more power than of Shorais smaller batteries yet is half the size....Then if you go up to our 16-cell battery it is almsot 2" smaller than the Shorai yet puts out 480 Cold Cranking Amps a FULL 200 CCA more than Shorais largest battery yet in a much smaller package and starts 2200cc (140 Cubic Inch), 220 horsepower high compression Drag bikes. So consumers should weigh what they are looking for in performance and riding style. What do you want Cranking Amps in the smallest package possible using a know performing cell , or longer Amp Hours in a nicer package...Its the Consumer choice which is great.

IF you've read Shorai claimes in thier FAQ about their LFX technology as having pedigree and used in submarines and stuff... try calling them and asking them who manufacture is... they do not have a pedigree... there is no such thing as a Shorai cell or the company Shorai offering a cell to the big companies of the world. But if you Google A123 Systems you will see they have contracts with Toyota, Ford, GM... have been used in Hybrid buses and vehicles all over the world... It has been tested by NASA, had had hundreds of independant lab tests and proven it worth in industry across the world. So when you talk of a cell with Pedigree and power and reliability the A123 cell is supreme. It is a technology developed at MIT and licensed from there http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A123_Systems

This was just to point out that some of us making batteries are using a more expensive cell and building in the USA and that is why the price is higher.... Not because we are just jacking up the cost... Antigravity is more expensive than MOTY, but we feel we go beyond what the others are doing and doing a better build with multiple spot weld points, silconing all the tabs.. brass terminals, an thicker battery tabs to get the most power and longevity out of the battery. So we are more than MOTY and less than Full Spectrum... Full Spectrum also uses A123 Systems stuff.

Now as far as other shrink wrapped batteries or manufactures batteries breaking keep in mind a couple things. Many of the manufactures that were making thes batteries were buying used batteries and building these packs... there was no really good source for the true A123 Systems cells. So many were getting by with farming them from drill packs or ordering them off the internet and building packes...crappy packs for sure so I can understand that frustration. But don't believe that a shrinked wrap battery is going to fail... we in fact are being used by the Factory Support KTM team in the AMA SX series J-start/JDR Motorsports... we do not sponsor them... They chose to use us after extensive testing... Why? Because we offer the smallest battery they could use that delivered the best performance. So if it can handle SX I'm not to worried about it breaking... Also we are in this months Transworld MX and you will see we offer a foam case for the battery...

Anyway I really didn't want to spam... just wanted to explain the difference so people could understand... My goal is just to inform people so they can make a choice.

If anyone has any questions I will answer regardless of what battery you choose.

In case it hasn't been posted yet, (haven't read the whole thread) The Shorai's are supposed to be back and stocked sometime this month. But if they aren't here yet, check the Irv Seaver BMW dealer in CA had some Shorai's left. FYI, Don't go for anything less than the LFX9 on a 450/510. I got an LFX7 for my 530 and I ended up ruining it cuz I was asking too much of it to crank over the bad bitch I imagine the LF9 would be a great place to start. FYI, after I ruined the 7, I jumped to the LFX14 so I wouldn't have to worry at all

Thank you very much for taking the time to give your perspective. I would like to replace the heavy lead acid battery in my Husky, and my biggest fear is getting a battery that fails in some way, just to save a small amount of weight.

Always chiming in Antigrav, way to inform the public. if I wasn't so stretched for cash when I got my battery, I would have loved to try an American-made like yours. Next battery I need will be yours or somethin similar in quality/design so I can compare it to my current shorai batt.

Judging from customer response (selling out the entire USA stock in a month or two... please, Antigravity, provide specific facts supporting your claim that the Shorai's were "pulled" due to defects), and my own unscientific experimentation (better starting performance, more robust case construction, more OEM-like mounting and connections, and the ability to survive more than 2 rides before falling apart)... I'll stick with Shorai for less cash... until such time as they prove themselves inferior. I've tried several of the round cell lightweights and they've all eventually let me down... NOT something I need 20 miles into the woods!
Sooo Mr. first post "I really didn't want to spam" (yet I conveniently linked my company's website )... I may be "mis-informed", but it is fact that I finally found a lightweight that works better than the OEM and costs less than the competition. I'm an electrical engineer who has worked in DC systems for over 29 years... and in my world, results speak louder than promises offered by engineering data that has yet to be proven by real-world proof testing. In fact, I can remember a similar technical rationale being shoved down my throat about 10 years ago by "valve-regulated" cell manufacturing "engineers"... let's discuss that debacle if you want to get all technical. My point: anytime you're dealing with the leading edge of technology, engineering calculations and data can "prove" anything the engineer wants... until you put it into real life applications. The proof is always in the pudding.

I bought a Moty 4 cell for two reasons, firstly the weight and secondly the OE battery was getting crushed by the seat base. It was shipped from the US to the UK cheaply, in fact cheaper with shipping than buying a UK sold item. Brian at Moty replied to my emails almost immediately. I fitted the battery I think late December/January time. It's sat in a freezing cold garage for months. Not charged at all. I finally got my bike built two days ago and thought it would take some starting and the battery would struggle. It fired her up in two jabs. Motor span up fine. I will probably revisit the mounting at some point, maybe source a hard enclosure, but if it lasts a year or two, I'll be happy.

I can't attest to their durability in an offroad motorcycle application, but I'm running a MOTYDesign lightweight battery in my street bike and couldn't be happier. They're comprised of the same A123 LiFePO4 as the Antigravity Batteries above, but I can guarantee you won't regret dealing with Brian. He's a true class act and knows how to run a great business.
If you live in the US, shipping is free on any of his products, and international shipping is still reasonable, as mentioned above.

Again, I don't have offroad experience with these things, but they have definitely proven themselves in my street bike (running an 8-cell in my 600cc sport bike). They have proven more reliable than the stock battery.
He may be able to address the specific application if you contact him. Info is on his website: http://www.MOTYDesign.com/

On your recommendation, I´ve now got the MOTY in my CCM where I´m trying it out before ordering another for my Husky 630. As of now, I´m entirely happy with the MOTY, but after reading through all the various postings, I´d like to know more about the real differences between the different makes. I´ve found the following:-
MOTY (see above),
SuperB: www.superB.com
Fullspectrum: www.fullspectrumpower.com
Shorai: www.shoraipower.com
All I´ve found is that some (partially or fully) use a shrink wrap outer casing and others a full battery case which makes it larger and heavier (but maybe sturdier). But is the technology identical? Which one is best suited for a Husky that needs light weight and sometimes takes a bit of a beating?

I´d be very grateful for clarification!

Patrick

http://www.antigravitybatteries.com/

http://www.super-b.com/ (the link above didn't work)

Thanx for that. the antigravity FAQ was more informative than the others. Wonder if the shrink wrapped cells are more prone to defects.

THE Shorai's IS BACK

And selling like hotcakes!

All of the Lithium Iron Phosphate based batteries are using A123 cells inside of them (Shorai, Motydesign, etc.). I have 800 miles on the MOTYDESIGN 8 cell battery, 650 of which were off road. I have mine zip tied down with thin foam underneath. I will buy from them again.

Thanks antigravity....good info and you have a good informative web site....sounds like your stuff is top shelf...

I got my Shorai from http://www.batterystuff.com

good service. battery has been AMAZING. I've had it going on 6 months. Love it.
No more battery tender, and a 2 YEAR WARRANTY.

I'm NO fan of Chinese parts or manufacturing, but this unit is solid.