Battery confusion

Maybe a worth while check . Also , I might have used one of the foam pads at the top of the battery for you Alum tank owners. What you think of that ? Give more room between positive post and tank? Also maybe the cables don't need to stretch as far to top ?
 
Was the overnight charge on a Shorai charger? A regular trickle charger won't necessarily bring all the cells up to full charge. If a Shorai charger was used did you set it to 'store' overnight or 'charge'? 'Store' only gives you between 50-60% charge. 'Charge' will give you 100% capacity but the immediately switches off, the battery will be subject to a parasitic drain from the bike.

I use a Shorai charger and leave it on 'store' mode all the time then set it to 'charge' 30 mins prior to starting up. If you get a power failure the charger resets and doesn't provide a 'store' or a 'charge', that 'function' has caught me out a couple of times.
 
If I put my VDO in volts mode and press the starter button , I get the same LOW on the display . Of course my bike starts right up and the reading goes up just like Steve is saying . This in itself is not a problem .
 
Great input as ever, appreciated. Tried different approaches of course, lights on, lights off, with throttle and without. Watching voltage at various different stages and monitoring it via the instruments and using a multi meter. And of course changed the battery to a Shorai. That was the extent of my technical knowledge on the electrical system. Interesting additional information there about the the Head Temp Sensor and the TPS. It is not cold (in relative terms) at any time here on the Sunsjine Coast.

To the current (pardon the pun) situation. Again this morning the bike started immediately, first push of the button. No overt cranking or hesitation. It had been on the tender overnight. Lights off, no throttle, 13.5v shown. Not sure what has changed, maybe a longer period on the tender has resolved final battery voltage and this has made a difference? So I’ll monitor it obviously and go looking further if the problem raises it’s head again. Gonna give her a local run out on Sunday as the weather has changed to a better outlook.

As ever with this bike, there are random idiosyncrasies that are difficult to explain. Like why does my bike voltage decrease rather than increase when revved (most do the opposite). This sort of stuff does not phase me at all. I love this machine and the fact that in ownership you have to remain engaged with it to keep it running well. Machines are just supposed to work are’nt they? It makes you feel like this bike has a soul. Show me a Honda with one of those!
 
Hey guys, missed a couple of questions above due to my excitement; yes, I'm easily pleased! The battery charger is a NOCO Genius 3500. Great writeup, well made, Lead Acid 6v/12v and Li ion facility. About the same price as the Shorai I think. Purchase was as a result of incomplete research as I did not consider Shorai's own battery charger, DOH! We'll see how we go with the NOCO, its also useful for all of my other toys. The charger goes through the process of fully charging and then immediately switches to a maintain (not correct terminology) function, at full charge I guess. I like the sound of the Shorai chargers maintain function (60%) and then fully charging just before a ride but not sure which of the two approaches is more effective, or will prolong the life of the battery.

I have settled on starting the bike with lights off. I see no down side to this as there is slightly more 'oomph' in the battery to start the engine. Just gotta remember to switch them back on to give those post Covid drivers the best chance of seeing me. Just ignoring the low message on the VDO as you suggest Tony. The foam pads in the Shorai battery storage are really quite useful, they seem to have enough integrity to last and may be useful to the lucky buggers with the Ally tanks, to provide more insulation between terminal and tank.
 
I have settled on starting the bike with lights off. I see no down side to this as there is slightly more 'oomph' in the battery to start the engine.

Although it seems VERY counter intuitive, if you’re running a Shorai battery that is NOT the case. The battery has more cranking oomph if it’s warmed up a tad, by having the lights on for a short period before starting. It’s all in there somewhere, with the bumph that comes with the battery.
 
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Thanks Eddie, I’ll give it a go! I’m going for a blast tomorrow so we’ll see how she performs.
 
I like the sound of the Shorai chargers maintain function (60%) and then fully charging just before a ride but not sure which of the two approaches is more effective, or will prolong the life of the battery.
The 60% charge mode is the 'Store' function and Shorai claims that this gives the battery the best shelf life when not in use, so in an ideal world we would park up our bikes with 100% charge and not need to attach a tender at all, but we have 961's which eat batteries as soon as we turn the key off, or most of us do lol. The alternative to using 'store' mode is to not use a tender but simply put battery on charge prior to use but I'm an impulse rider and rarely plan that far ahead :)
 
I'm about due. The "UNIT" stayed on a little longer than usual turning the key on. The digital display froze on Trip and reset to 0 when I tried to scroll. Classic symptoms of a tired battery. 4 years , about 9K. No problem starting at all and normalized after about 25 miles of beating the snot out of it. (75 to 110 ). May go for the Shorai but can't complain about the performance of the lead acid Yuasa. Failed to mention...left it off the tender for 3 days.
 
I replaced my yusa batteries with Shorai batteries the day I got my Norton’s. The main reason was I didn’t want acid leaking and eating the finish.
I’ll never buy another Shorai battery again.
since having them in both of my Norton’s they been nothing but problems.
I keep them constantly on a Shorai charger in a heated and ac climate controlled garage.
Everytime I go to start either bike it’s always me waiting for the volts to display 12.5+ volts and letting the headlight warm up the battery only to get a “click click click” with some weak ass cranks.
after about 3 I’m lucky if they’ll start.
Once the bikes running the alternator takes over and all is good. God forbid if I don’t start my bikes at least once every 3 days to avoid this crap.

The Shorai battery in my Dominator is newer and even worse. Now I can’t even get it to change on the Shorai charger. It beeps and simultaneously flashes both the amber and green light 4 times.
total junk.

I’ve tried multiple calls and emails to Shorai with nothing in return.
my 2016 commando battery was installed in 2016.
My 2017 dominator battery I installed in 2017.

it’s ridiculous that the batteries are this bad for the price of money that you pay for them.
I even replaced the gauges in both bikes as it’s said that’s the cause of drain.
even with a drain, it’s constantly on the charger and shouldn’t be dead all the damn time.
 
Opposite experience with the Shorai so far for me Voodooo. Ate several Lead Acid batteries in less than 3 years, as stated above, although when they were good they started the bike no problem. Had the Shorai on for a couple of weeks now and she is starting first time again, no hesitation. Bike permanently on a tender. Guess we’ll see how we go.

It seems to me that each bike has its own starting characteristics, like the charging/ignition systems are different in some way for each! Some will start with 25v, others need 30+ to start reliably. When running my bike always shows 14.4v on the instrument, whilst other bike produce less. My voltage goes down when revved others go up - c’mon you rocket scientists, why is that the case?! I’m guessing the temp in our variously located garages would be a contributing factor. Think of poor Vlad in Siberia, wonder how he’s getting on?
 
Voodoo I had problems with my charger not wanting to do as I asked.... In my case it turned out to simply be the multi-pin connectors on the charger body itself, seems they need a 'wiggle' every now and then, I suspect that they oxidise slightly.
 
Voodoo I had problems with my charger not wanting to do as I asked.... In my case it turned out to simply be the multi-pin connectors on the charger body itself, seems they need a 'wiggle' every now and then, I suspect that they oxidise slightly.
I tried that. I have two chargers and two cords, I swapped them with no luck.
 
Try a Deltran Battery Tender with a LiFeP04 mode . I have been using a Deltran Battery Tender 1.25 A with good results for 4 years now. If I was going to buy again , I would get the LiFeP04 capable model they make now.

If you have a regular Battery Tender (Deltran) use that for now until you can buy the new model.
 
Try a Deltran Battery Tender with a LiFeP04 mode . I have been using a Deltran Battery Tender 1.25 A with good results for 4 years now. If I was going to buy again , I would get the LiFeP04 capable model they make now.

If you have a regular Battery Tender (Deltran) use that for now until you can buy the new model.
I have one of those too and sometimes swap that in a few minutes to get rid of the same 4 flash error message that Voodoo gets. Its really the "store" function on the Shorai charger I need otherwise I'd bin it.
 
I have one of those too and sometimes swap that in a few minutes to get rid of the same 4 flash error message that Voodoo gets. Its really the "store" function on the Shorai charger I need otherwise I'd bin it.

I have had really good success with the normal Deltran battery tender and my Shorai ? 4 + years still going strong , when I get to 7 years probably buy another Shorai Battery , not their charger . I can't fault the Deltran at all .
 
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Have’nt had the NOCO Genius 3500 for long enough to give a full review but have a look at the promo/utube videos. Very well made, working perfectly so far.
 
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