Antigravity battery AG-801 8cell

wolfmclean

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I have a 1977 xs400 and want to change to an 8 cell antigravity has anyone done it if so, was there any problems
 
Welcome.

Will it work , yes. Will it last, no.

Our charging systems fluctuate voltage too fast for a lithium to handle it. The battery might last one summer. The 1977 XS has a mechanical regulator.

you can upgrade to a solid state and then youll have better chances with a lithium. I run the 4-cell Antigravity but I upgraded to a solid state regulator.

Id personally recommend a AGM battery with at least 120CCA if you plan on using the E-start
 
Are those as small as a anti, trying to hide the battery as much as i can, ps I’m new to all of this, it’s my first project bike. So if i change To solid state i don’t need a kick pedal to start?
 
A 120CCA would be slightly larger in size than a Antigravity 8-cell. Ive had no problems hiding the AGM. The 4-cell is also about the same size but its half the thickness of the 8-cell. Antigravity lists their specs for each battery.
Lithium puts out roughly twice the CCA as AGM and the price reflects that.

Lithium batteries are a little finicky. They dont go dead like a normal battery, instead they just shut off completely. They dont like the cold weather either.

A solid state is the form type of a voltage regulator, theres also the older mechanical type. Without getting too technical, solid state regs are modern and more reliable. A regulator has nothing to do with a kickstarter. Mechanicals regs have moving mechanical parts to switch voltage on and off.

The E-start requires a lot of power. A 120CCA battery will only have enough juice for a few cold starts. Its never left me stranded but I only use the E-start when I have to. Youll get about 15 seconds of cranking before the battery is dead.

I didnt even connect my starter this season so its not even powered. Im happy with a kickstart, its not like starting an old Harley..
 
Unless you take the battery inside with you and dont ride below 45 degrees Fahrenheit. I take my batteries inside when Im done riding for the season. The 1977 model year has a points ignition and that helps a lot with conserving battery power. Electronic ignitions demand a certain voltage and wont fire on low volts. You can probably get a points ignition bike to spark with a 9 volt smoke-detector battery.

So there you can see how a small battery with electronic ignition will not work well at all in the cold

All batteries have poor performance in cold weather, some types are worse than others. Personally, I cant justify the cost of the 8-cell lithium battery when the AGM is more stable and half the price. Both the 8-cell and a typical 120CCA AGM battery are about the same size dimensions so the only advantage would be the 8-cells is probably rated over 220CCA.

The factory battery is not powerful at all and its a lead acid type. My quick research tells me that the Yuasa 12N12-4A-1 battery is rated at 113CCA. I thought it was rated higher than that? I thought it would be at least 130CCA.

The mechanical regulator, while they do work to some extent, should be removed if you plan on getting any battery that isnt the stock lead acid type. Mechanical regulators can fry electronics ignitions and kill batteries when they over-volt. It happened to me and fried my Pamco ignition.
 
so I just Looked, and that’s what i took out a sealed ever start agm that puts out 160 cca it’s huge lol also I’m new question so if i got An 8 cell if have to remove regulator and switched to a solid state reg
 
I’ve had it for two weeks also it’s starts and runs
 

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You can do whatever you like. The easiest course of action would be to buy a new AGM battery for $75, install it, slap some plates on the bike and enjoy it for a while. Switching to a solid state regulator requires some wire splicing, not hard at all.

Get the bike tuned up properly and put some miles on it. I registered my bike a few years ago, my insurance has stayed at <$120 for the year and $80 for the registration fee.

Knowing how cheap these bikes are to register and insure, its just easier IMO to get the bike road legal and have all that (paperwork) taken care of. You really don't want to be working on your bike come the next couple months when its really nice out, TRUST ME.

Aside from a tune-up, your bike looks like its fairly complete and only needs a few things to be road worthy. enjoy it and plan as you ride it. Do some reading and get to know the bike.

The AGM battery will be fine with a mechanical regulator, unless the regulator fails. The previous owner could've changed it to a solid state too.

The major thing with our bikes is they need a good battery to run. The bike will not start without a battery and these bikes don't produce a whole lot of charging voltage to keep the battery charged while at a stoplight with your lights on. Like I said, I ride with a 4-cell battery and im risking it, but I installed a volt meter on my bike so I know whats happening.
 
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Yea she doesn’t need much but a seat hoop a seat pan and some wiring just wanted to relocate battery because I’ve seen how beautiful it looks under your seat without it ps thank you man you’ve been a huge help
 
Ive always wanted to mount the battery on the swingarm. Theres enough room there to get a decent tuck. Im not sure what your plans are, if this is like a beater bike or something you want to take more seriously? Its difficult tuning the bike to run with aftermarket filters. It will never be satisfactory. you should be able to find air filter boxes and an H-pipe in the classifieds here. It will make things much much easier, and faster. Tuning the bike as close to factory as possible will give you the best baseline with the least complications. Just my $0.02
 
Yea I’m running as far away from the original as possible lol going to change everything out going even strip it down completely and make the technology as modern as possible old cafe with modern touch
 
NewHaven, do you have any links to the solid state regulator you are running?
I am also running a lithium battery, and do not want charging issues
 
Electric is not my strong subject. But theres 2 types of solid state regulators. Bikes with points ignitions need a certain type. The ground polarity is different between the two maybe? Theres one or two threads here worth searching for if you want to know more about it.

The regulator is https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/bwd-voltage-regulator-r292/5430518-P. The unit I have is whatever brand Oreillys stocks. Its a generic design that a lot of brands made. Borg Warner made them too and theres other ones that have adjustable voltage output,

You will need to splice the replacement wiring. New plastic connectors are available and you can make it plug and play.

The yellow and orange wires on the R292 need to be spliced together. Then its black/black, green/green, and the last wire.
 
I think my regulator may be from Mike's XS. I grabbed a pic of it. And no- my rear master is not ziptied to my hoop, it is there as I bleed it (I have to rebuild the rear master)
IMG_5744.jpg


I am running a Full Spectrum Power battery, because it is the smallest thing I could find to fit in my tray.
IMG_5743.jpg
 
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