Battery options...

you should check out shorai batterys. they have plenty of power and are the size of about 2 packs of smokes
 
interesting thread and experience from another forum regarding these new light weight motorcycle batteries. i strongly suggest reading all the pertinent info in it.
http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=23613.0

basically what it boils down to is make sure your charging system is up to snuff and possibly upgrade it if you can.

there's a little pissing match between antigravity and Shorai supporters in this one.
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=648383
but you will read the same thing. make sure your charging system is working properly and is reliable.
 
What needs to be taken into account is that the automotive[and motorcycle] batteries are designed to stay at a high state of charge.Batteries from,say emergency lighting are as well.They stay connected to 125v all the time,then when power is interrupted,they turn on the lights,usually to light corridors leading to an exit.Then,when power is restored,they are charged until needed again.These would be a good replacement for a regular cycle battery.Power tool batteries are made to be almost totally discharged,then recharged at a fast rate.These would not last very long on a cycle,as staying at a high rate of charge would leave you stranded,as they will discharge by themselves,and heat is the worst thing for them.The heat of constantly being charged would quickly destroy the battery's insides.Lithium ion batteries should be stored discharged,or they will prematurely fail.An automotive type battery is the opposite,as they won't last long if stored discharged. lha:bike:
 
Found these somewhere. They are for sportbikes and the 4 cell is rated for 650cc to 750 cc's. They are litium batteries and I plan to get one. It weighs 0.7 lbs. Looks awesome: http://www.carbon-speed.com/prod.htm

battery.jpg
 
not sure, I put a 2.8 amp hr alarm battery on mine

DSC00718.jpg
I see no reason why this battery wouldn't work.They'll run two sealed beam lights for about an hour or so while doing their job as emergency lights,and after restoring power,they recharge quickly.The short time starting the motor,followed by charging by the alternator,should quickly recharge it.This would work even better with kick start. lha
 
I kinda like having the electric start. In rush hour traffic and as the light turns green and you stasrt off and stall the bike It's nice to just pull the clutch and push the button instead of fumbling to find neutral and kick starting while all the cars are blowing the horns.
I have thought of several options that are the same size as stock but much higher cca's, like 450 instead of the 180 most stock batteries have.
Leo
 
My bike['82xs400rj seca is electric start only,with no kickstart,so I need a high CCA battery. Not an issue whether I can kick it or not,nothing to kick! I still have a trickle charger to keep the battery topped off when I'm not using it for a while. lha
 
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Yeah,I know,I started riding at 13,got my license at 14,and now I'll turn 60 soon.I've almost broken my leg a few times on my old Harleys,forgot to retard the distributor to start it. On the old ones,there was a bail with a spring,one way to retard,other way to advance once started. forgetting to change that spring would make it kick like a mule.That's why people stand up on the kickstart to kick them over.At my age,electric start is a good thing. lha
 

FYI, I just wired up a little 4 cell A123 battery pack, like the small ones above. Got the individual cells off eBay, hot glued them myself, then I took them to a local battery shop to have them spot weld some tabs and run them in series to achieve 13.2 volts. Total cost is about $40 bucks.

I'll let you know my findings shortly. Not sure if I'll get a chance to hook it up today.
 
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