Recommendations for a replacement battery for a 961

I just changed my battery after 3 years on the bike BS. BTZ 14 S battery e bay about £50
 
Be careful, I changed mine last year going by what the manual they provide and the battery turned out to be too tall. I took it back to halfords and they swapped. I posed about it on another thread with pics. I will try and locate and post a link here
 
John, if you look at page 4 and 5

www.accessnorton.com

Flat battery start

I ended up buying a NOCO boost after countless flat starts and pointless discussions with Norton. I added heavy-duty leads to both the battery terminals and the jump leads. I keep the charger with me when riding. Only had to use it once so far but worked a treat.
www.accessnorton.com www.accessnorton.com
 
I tried several battery types and ended up with the Shorai Lithium - people have had mixed experiences with Lithium (and various chargers), but when coupled with the parent charger (Shorai BMS) I’ve have had no further problems. She sits on ‘store’ mode until the morning of the ride when I hit ‘charge’. On return I put it back to ‘store’ and forget about it until the next ride. Expensive option but she starts first push of the button - I’ll let the forum know about longevity as time passes.
 
Stephen_Spencer said:
I tried several battery types and ended up with the Shorai Lithium - people have had mixed experiences with Lithium (and various chargers), but when coupled with the parent charger (Shorai BMS) I’ve have had no further problems. She sits on ‘store’ mode until the morning of the ride when I hit ‘charge’. On return I put it back to ‘store’ and forget about it until the next ride. Expensive option but she starts first push of the button - I’ll let the forum know about longevity as time passes.
Click to expand...
That seems like a solution but if you take the bike on holiday for a couple of weeks and the bike is parked outside hotels etc
can it cope without been on the trickle charger.
 
MAK said:
That seems like a solution but if you take the bike on holiday for a couple of weeks and the bike is parked outside hotels etc
can it cope without been on the trickle charger.
Click to expand...

I also ran a Shorai on my 961 and the bike would sit for several weeks and still start. But for whatever random reason, I was one of the lucky few who’s bike didn’t suffer a stupidly high parasitic drain.

If a bike has a big parasitic drain, no battery is going to cure it, but you’re right in that a Li battery will drain sooner than a big LA battery, so it should definitely be taken into consideration if you have leaky electrics.

The high cranking amps of the Shorai are certainly welcome on the 961.

And for some OCD fetishists, the weight reduction is nice.
 
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MAK said:
That seems like a solution but if you take the bike on holiday for a couple of weeks and the bike is parked outside hotels etc
can it cope without been on the trickle charger.
Click to expand...
When you are on a "trip" with the bike , the bike will be driven daily for several miles correct ? This should keep the charge up.
 
TonyA said:
Why not use the MBTZ14S ? It has 190cca instead of 150cca and is closer in size to the original Yuasa ?
Click to expand...
When I contacted Motobatt about a replacement battery for the 961 thats the one they recommended.
 
MAK said:
That seems like a solution but if you take the bike on holiday for a couple of weeks and the bike is parked outside hotels etc
can it cope without been on the trickle charger.
Click to expand...
Hey MAK, can’t answer that as that’s not how I use my bike. I don’t tour on the Norton because I’m quite tall and she’s a Cafe Racer - I would be crippled by the end of the first day. I have other bikes for that purpose.

As others have said, it seems to be entirely depend on the extent of the parasitic drain (through the clocks mainly) how quickly the battery discharges. The consensus is that most 961’s need to be on a charger/tender of some kind when they are not being ridden. The lucky few have less of a problem it seems. There are multiple threads on the forum on the subject and on lithium batteries in particular. Happy touring.

Long live Norton
 
Not saying it's best for the 961, but I have had very good luck with Scorpion Batteries! Made in Japan but out last many others and reasonably priced
 
When my bike was delivered the dealer was so shocked by the lack of clearance to the tank they fitted a '9' battery (either that or they flocked off the original and fitted the cheap no name item)! Any how that little unit worked perfectly for a number of years as long as the bike was on a quality trickle charger to counter the parasitic draw many of these bikes suffer from. As part of some other fault finding I fitted a '12' battery which fits nicely and has no issues of course starting the bike given what was there before.

Battery size

Battery size

  • Media owner iwilson
  • Date added
 
A note to all who have installed lithium batteries: The battery location is the most atrocious location for a battery, temperature is extremely high and there is no ventilation. While a lead/acid battery might just lose capacity, a lithium-ion one will at some point "explode"!!! I did purchase a Shorai myself, the 190AH lead/acids last less than 9 months in Hawaii, BUT I installed it in the space above the swing arm pivot. The ground cable is more than long enough, a small mod is required for the positive side. The bracket blocks the direct stream from the cylinders and the back and sides are open to much cooler air and I have no worries. The battery is in a much cooler location. My 961 cafe racer came in late 2016, the original and two more batteries lasted till early 2018, switched to the Shorai, it is good as new today with hardly ever putting it on the individual cell charger.
Again, please do not install a Lithium-ion battery in the stock battery location if you ride your bike in hot weather. Sooner or later there will be serious trouble.
 
kanenas said:
A note to all who have installed lithium batteries: The battery location is the most atrocious location for a battery, temperature is extremely high and there is no ventilation. While a lead/acid battery might just lose capacity, a lithium-ion one will at some point "explode"!!! I did purchase a Shorai myself, the 190AH lead/acids last less than 9 months in Hawaii, BUT I installed it in the space above the swing arm pivot. The ground cable is more than long enough, a small mod is required for the positive side. The bracket blocks the direct stream from the cylinders and the back and sides are open to much cooler air and I have no worries. The battery is in a much cooler location. My 961 cafe racer came in late 2016, the original and two more batteries lasted till early 2018, switched to the Shorai, it is good as new today with hardly ever putting it on the individual cell charger.
Again, please do not install a Lithium-ion battery in the stock battery location if you ride your bike in hot weather. Sooner or later there will be serious trouble.
Click to expand...
I have been think along the same lines. Either buy or make a battery box and mount it over the front of the swinging arm. Do you have any pics of your setup you can share?
 
cliffa said:
I have been think along the same lines. Either buy or make a battery box and mount it over the front of the swinging arm. Do you have any pics of your setup you can share?
Click to expand...
I will send pics after my son finally 3d prints the proper brackets for the proper box I have made. It has been a while.
 
kanenas said:
A note to all who have installed lithium batteries: The battery location is the most atrocious location for a battery, temperature is extremely high and there is no ventilation. While a lead/acid battery might just lose capacity, a lithium-ion one will at some point "explode"!!! I did purchase a Shorai myself, the 190AH lead/acids last less than 9 months in Hawaii, BUT I installed it in the space above the swing arm pivot. The ground cable is more than long enough, a small mod is required for the positive side. The bracket blocks the direct stream from the cylinders and the back and sides are open to much cooler air and I have no worries. The battery is in a much cooler location. My 961 cafe racer came in late 2016, the original and two more batteries lasted till early 2018, switched to the Shorai, it is good as new today with hardly ever putting it on the individual cell charger.
Again, please do not install a Lithium-ion battery in the stock battery location if you ride your bike in hot weather. Sooner or later there will be serious trouble.
Click to expand...

Worth being aware of for sure Kanenas and although I don’t disregard the potential for fire through an overheating lithium battery, I fear you may be overegging the likelihood just a little. The Shorai Lithium has a BMS with safety mechanisms that protect against overcharge/overheat, and the temperatures at which the worst could occur are very high.

Gets pretty bloody hot where I live on the Sunshine Coast and no difficulties over the last couple of years. Also not sure what heat insulation, if any, is provided by the packing pieces provided by Shorai to pack out their smaller batteries in larger battery trays. Worth keeping an eye out for sure though. I may well try harder to seek out shade when parking mid ride, on particularly hot days.

Thanks for bringing this to front of mind again.

Long live Norton.

www.motorcycle.com

Lithium Motorcycle Batteries: Myths VS Realities - Updated

Let’s take a moment to acknowledge the lead-acid battery.Invented in 1859, the first rechargeable battery has been honed to an extremely high state of tune.In fact, it is so ubiquitous that almost every gasoline-powered motor vehicle on the planet uses them to start their engines.
www.motorcycle.com www.motorcycle.com
 
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