Another hot Norton

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ashman said:
Moral of the story don't run volicity stack without air filters and a leaking fuel tap, well I never ran VS after that, new K&N filter fitted straight away, but the worst bit a week after fixing it up my Boyar black box pooped itself from the fire 100 miles from home, to this day I still ride without my tank bolted down.

Ashley
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I had a similar experience, but due to an air cleaner that caught fire from an intake backfire. It was a foam filter that you sprayed oil on, don't remember the brand. Either the oil or foam was very flammable. Fortunately there was a garden hose close by and I put the fire out before any real damage could happen. My buddy wasn't so lucky - same air filter, same scenario. His 72 Norton burned to the ground by the time the fire dept arrived. A total loss.

When I start my bike in the garage or driveway there are 2 fire extinguishers close by. I'm seriously going to carry one of those mini extinguishers with me from now on.
 
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Klaus Monning said:
Hello,
I had the very same experience with my Commando. But I caught mine at a crossing directly at an emerge of the Autobahn. The thing was smoking like hell. I burned my hand trying to disassemble the batterie.
Anyway, the first thing I did after installing a new batterie, I also installed a volt- meter. After starting the bike I was surprised seeing up to 16 and more volts on the meter. So I threw away the cheap rectifier and changed that to a Podtronics. Now my volt- meter shows me 14.5 Volts max. Which even for a Lithium batterie is ok. I think that this is the point.
Best Regards
Klaus
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The rectifier was not the problem ,it only converts ac to dc ,more likely the zener diode was either not fitted correctly or had gone open circuit .How accurate is the voltmeter +/- % ?
 
Were any of these batteries that exploded Shorai brand?
These stories scare me as I have a complete new 3-phase system and everything charging correctly and do not even what to think about a fire
 
YING said:
Were any of these batteries that exploded Shorai brand?
These stories scare me as I have a complete new 3-phase system and everything charging correctly and do not even what to think about a fire
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Was going to ask the same question, because those Shorai are not Lithium Ion but Lithium Iron.


Another hot Norton


And as they say you can even charge them with an old charger, and never with the modern ones with a "desulfatation mode" which have to much power.

Another hot Norton


And they are still very light...

Another hot Norton


... For a 9A which have a 135A cranking power.
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The battery that failed in my bike was made by Antigravity. It was not a budget battery by any means although it was given to me by one of my suppliers to "try it out".

The voltage regulator was a highly rated pass style regulator approved for use with a LI battery. It is still in use and works perfectly.

I suspect my battery failed because of the heat, as it had been in the hot airstream behind the cylinders for several hours on a 100 degree day in Utah.

After I cut the cables and pulled it out, I threw it in the ditch.

It was still blowing smoke out of a small hole when I rode away, but I never did see any flames.
 
Li Po's on model aircraft are notorious for ' flame outs ' chargeing or in impacts .

Dunno if the let them onto airliners for that reason .
 
NKN said:
Was going to ask the same question, because those Shorai are not Lithium Ion but Lithium Iron..
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Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries are just one type of lithium ion battery. Lithium ion batteries all use some form of lithium compound for the cathode (positive electrode). Some are more prone to fires than others. Lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2), one of the most common for smaller batteries, is one of the most hazardous. Lithium iron phosphate is one of the alternative compounds, used by Shorai and Antigravity, as well as other battery manufacturers, and offers less energy density than LiCoO2, but is less likely to burn or explode. But all of them have some risk of doing so.

Ken
 
Peter R said:
In short : lithium batteries on old british bikes are a solution in search of a problem.
Just my 2cents worth of course.
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There is that. I like them for race bikes because of the lighter weight, but I agree there's really nothing else wrong with plain old lead-acid batteries.

Ken
 
But I like my Shorai because it NEVER needs charging. Doesn't self discharge with time and my Shindigen regulator keeps it topped off when I ride.
Jaydee
 
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