So after my lithium batter failure at the weekend, I thought it was worth a post, as there was chatter on the pictures thread.
A bit of a background. The battery cradle on my 961 had cracked, not only on the battery side, but the coil pack side, so I welded reinforcements on both sides, as well as welding up the cracks. I decided to go with a Lithium battery and I thought the lightness would be of benefit. I've been running his for around a year, making sure it was connected to the charger whenever it was in the garage, keeping it in storage mode. I just checked my receipt and it's dated 22 March 2021....so more than a year I guess.
I also bought the specific charger for this battery....which I was not overly keen on, as the connector isn't locking. I guess no real issue normally if the battery is easily accessible, but on our bikes, you can't easily access the battery, so you have to leave the lead attached.
Things have all been fine to date. I came to start the bike last Friday to go to the Norton rally and nothing. Dead. I did not notice if the status of the lights on the charger, however. I do know we had a power cut during the week...so maybe the charger did not come back on? I did not think to check. All my other chargers..I have 3 other vehicles on battery tenders...were fine.
Measured the voltage at the Norton charge connector at the tail of the bike. 4v. There's my problem. Connected the charger and both lights alternating then settles to green flashing, indicating charging. Left it for probably an hour, up to 12v and the bikes starts a few times, no issue. Happy days! Get my gear, off I go to Brooklands! Park up and Find MrBikerJon, who has bravely ridden his Domi from the hinterlands of Wales. Speak to the guys at the museum and ask if we can bring the bikes around to the Campbell gate and access the main site, as our bikes would not look out of place. They kindly agree and we start the bikes and off we go...it was maybe a mile or so to the other gate. Parked up, had lunch, looked around the museum. I was hoping after an hour on the road, voltage varying between 13 and 14v ish on the display, the battery would have had a good charge. We were at the museum maybe three hours, and after some photo's went to start the bike, but just a loud clicking sound, although turn on showed 12v on the display..but when trying to start, everything went blank. A separate volt meter would have helped here, but I suspect when I tried to start it, the current draw pulled the voltage way below 12v....10 and below is bad...indicating a bad battery.
After calling the AA, we got it stated and was advised not to stop until we got home...so off we went. Another hour or so on the road, got home. Stopped the bike. Immediately tried to restart. 12v shown then..same symtoms, display blank and loud clicking.
During the time with the AA guy, called our lord and savior Stu who gave me some points to check...removing and replacing the main fuse may have helped, but everything looked fine, but he advised just get a standard battery, as the reg/recs on the 961's may not be of the best quality (he may have used other terms, but his was the gist!). I bought the advised Yuasa ytz14s, installed in the bike and went happy on my way for the rest of the weekend, with no further issues.
The battery in question:
View attachment 99462
View attachment 99463
the charger
View attachment 99464
and the connector I don't like:
View attachment 99465
So, not sure what the warranty is (just checked - 1 year from the site I purchased from). Was the 14v I saw on my display too much? Could the power cut have caused an issue? I don't know. Right now my dalliance with Lithium batteries is at and end, as the Shorai is not cheap....currently £229.00 plus specific charger. I won't be tripping over myself to buy another!