Lithium batteries

Schwany said:

Luddite apocalypse will probably come first.

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Strange to think of myself as a Luddite but I am headed that way.
We have done about 60,000 miles of touring on the 47 Vincent, most of it two up and often in a group with other Vincent riders. They always had a chuckle at the modern things I would attempt to stick on the Vincent. First off was an Alton 3 phase Alternator. There were lots of predictions of doom for that one.
It failed on the first trip.
Next was a new single phase version of the Alton. It managed about 4 big trips and then the inner gearbox sheared off when we were coming home, but still about 400 miles out. We limped home dead loss on a borrowed battery.

Next I added a new thing called GPS, the version 1 TomTom rider. That was sneered at too but it actually worked, although it eventually died at about the 8 year mark. No complaints there, I have replaced it with a new version.
I also added indicators and a modern self cancelling module. The module has failed twice and currently needs replacing again.
After the second Alton failed I was supplied with another new design from Alton, this time direct drive. That worked perfectly for quite a few trips. It is a good design and I am currently using one of the same type.
Not content with the working lead acid battery and the direct drive Alton, around 2011 I bought the latest new thing in batteries, a Lithium job. That got very hot then died about 1500 miles from home. It took the entire charging system with it. We managed to limp home on dead loss with a lawn tractor battery in the top box hooked up with IV lines to the ignition. At night in the motels I would run an extension cord out the bathroom window to a battery charger in the top box. That gave us enough electrons to do 400 miles or so, lights off, other than when Police cars were spotted.
The irony is that in 2003 when I bought the bike, I expected many breakdowns would occur with the planned long distance travel using ancient machinery.
The reality is that the 1947 stuff, the bike much as built in 47, has given zero trouble and is still ready to go.
It has been all of the modern shit I've tried that has failed!
It's as though the bike is rejecting this modern stuff the way the human body tends to reject transplanted items. Perhaps I need to try adding some anti- rejection meds in the tank.

Glen

Another house lost here in my home town yesterday from a lithium battery fire, seems to be a common thing these days and a few cars have also gone up, see it on our local news all the time, million$$$ houses lost to $200 scooters and about 2 weeks ago a house and E car went up in smoke, caused by the battery car and it wasn't even on the charger.
I stick to my acid batteries that I normally get 5+ years out of them.

Schwany said:

Luddite apocalypse will probably come first.

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but not before the jackass comment apocalypse.....

If you had any sort of reading comprehension, I didn't say anything about whether lithium was better or worse. I stated that it's newer technology, so there's always an amount of time where the user statistics find the unknown issues. That's true of all technology and there's nothing Luddite about that. I wasn't advocating lead/acid as a preference. Perhaps you don't know what the term, "The devil you know" means...

I don't remember quoting anybody. It was just a silly comment. Hope you all get over it someday.

I'm so screwed up that I took it as a half assed compliment!

worntorn said:

I'm so screwed up that I took it as a half assed compliment!

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All of my comments are half-assed and not steeped in seriousness.

I should have included the smiley face.

Late edit: Sure would be nice if I never had to explain myself, but here goes.

It was a general comment meant to be humorous for everybody to enjoy, or as it turns out hate in a few cases. I was not picking on anyone or calling them derogatory names. 20 years from now using a Lithium Iron battery will be luddite worthy.

So many take things the wrong way, I try to put a bit of Aussie humor in things I put up but I have upset a few in doing so as they don't understand our Aussie ways lol, there are so many Americans who just take things too serious and it's not only here but on my RAT site as well, man have I got on the wrong side of few yanks there and don't say anything about guns, that just upsets too many of them.
Don't get me wrong, it's not all Americans, it's only a few who I have upset, too many of them just bite too easy lol.

Schwany said:

I don't remember quoting anybody. It was just a silly comment. Hope you all get over it someday.

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Dude,.. you made an snide luddite apocalypse comment right after I made a comment about the zombie apocalyse. You didn't need to quote me to get the reference that you were calling me a luddite.... Not that I care. It's just a weak play. You said your spiel about what you prefer. You seem to feel you need to make some sort of passive aggressive insult as well.

I know you said that you don't see a problem being a freeloader here,... but if your going to post so much, could you be less of a douchebag? hey thanks a lot...

worntorn said:

I'm so screwed up that I took it as a half assed compliment!

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I think that’s how it was meant… most of us on here are on the Luddite scale to one degree or another by definition of the fact we ride and fiddle with our antique old clunkers (for clarity… I’m referring to our BIKES)…

After the relatively mild cyclone to the north of us in the last week, many residents have lost power due to trees bringing down power lines. A substantial number are still without power.
I wonder if those stupid/unlucky enough to have electric cars have had any success walking down to the local servo for a 9l bucket of volts?

worntorn said:

Mike, it sounds like you have it set up properly so there shouldn't be a problem.
It's the charging that really seems to be where the danger is. With e bikes and power tools they are constantly being drained then put on charge, usually unattended and usually at night.
The photos I have of melted or burning lithium batteries in motorcycles are all taken out on the road. Presumably something went wrong while running, either overcharge, an electrical system short or damage to the battery case. The rider always got a bit of warning, some smoke and heat, which tells you to stop and get off.

Fifteen years ago when I installed a couple of Lithium batteries in old bikes, I thought they were fabulous little things. I didn't understand the charging voltage requirements and neither did the seller.
That didn't end well!

Nowadays I'm trying to reduce some of my risky behavior.
Then last summer I went for an innocent walk to the back of the place and nearly died in a cow attack!

Glen

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Glen,
That’s the first time I have heard of a cow attack.YIKES!
Did he charge after you?
Glad you are ok
Mike

Never walk your dog in a field of cows especially if they have calves with them. They see the dog as a threat and will attack the dog and whatever is close by, which will be you. Best advice if the cows start to move too close is to let go of the dog. It can run away and be safe and with a dog no longer close to you then you are less likely to be attacked. You unlike the dog cannot run fast enough to outpace a cow.

YING said:

Did he charge after you?

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She.

YING said:

Glen,
That’s the first time I have heard of a cow attack.YIKES!
Did he charge after you?
Glad you are ok
Mike

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It was an 1800 lb female . She came across the field to get me. Knocked me out with a bunt from here huge concrete block head then trampled and tossed me.
I came to about 100 feet away with her standing with both front feet on my chest. That would be about 1100 pounds on my chest, not sure why it didn't collapse. Then she lifted one foot and placed it on my neck to finish me. I was coming to as this was happening. She was just starting to put weight on my neck when I screamed and swatted her nose with my right fist. I tried the left but it wasn't working.
I think I was a second or two from death. If she had leaned harder on my neck that would be it. That was her plan but the scream and the swat shocked her a bit and she left.
I had broken ribs and many bruises all over. The left shoulder is permanently buggered, it can't be fixed. The MRI showed that two rotator cuff muscles are torn completely off and have atrophied.
Oh well, I think I can still ride. Maybe not for long days though.

Glen

Holy $hit!!
Don't give up on shoulder, tore mine up big time, a full year of OT and PT brought it back 90%.

Broken ribs truly and sincerely suck...Glen, that cow needs to pay a visit to the slaughter house.

Cattle can be damned dangerous, I never get in the same pen with them although I have seen others do so.
I used to have to sneak across a small holding field for a mean-assed bull to get to the pond we would fish in. He caught me one day and chased me up tree and kept me pinned there most of the day. I finally ran for it. He caught me and horn tossed me over/through the barbed wire fence.
After I got out of the ER I got in trouble for being in the field we were not supposed to be in while skipping school.
Bull stomped my fishing rod too. My dad said I guess you will now think about going around that field instead of through it.

We kept bulls here for a few years but it was just too dangerous to continue. I could only go in the field when sitting on a good sized tractor and even then the bull would try to fight the tractor.

Those were Angus bulls, claimed to be " gentle"

Lineslinger said:

Don't give up on shoulder, tore mine up big time, a full year of OT and PT brought it back 90%.

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I agree - I was down both shoulders for 6 months, had surgery on the left and then PT for 8 months on both. Left arm now works fine, but still a little weak. I have to be a little careful on the right - it works but my bicep tendon is well damaged. It has taken three years after PT for the right one to not hurt when using it for anything a little heavy.

worntorn said:

The left shoulder is permanently buggered, it can't be fixed. The MRI showed that two rotator cuff muscles are torn completely off and have atrophied.

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I recommend a new surgeon. When my left shoulder was torn up, three radiologists and two ortho surgeons told me it would eventually be OK. That was BS but I believed them. Six months later, my entire arm looked like a 6-year old girl's - basically all the muscle was gone. This was all from mis-reading the MRI. I went to another ortho after six months, did not take the MRI results with me, refused another MRI, and insisted that it be fixed. 14" cut, giant benign tumor removed to get to the joint, and Kevlar strings to the rescue.

Similar thing with my foot. Tendon shredded - no more walking possible without a special big boot. Ortho said it couldn't be fixed. Podiatrist got in there, again with Kevlar string and I can walk again - hurts a little but that's a lot better than never walking again without a big boot.

The experts mis-read the MRI?
That will put you on the warpath, sadly a common occurrence.

The Orthopedic Surgeon pointed me to a Mayo Clinic study of rotator cuff muscle reattachments in senior patients.
In the 70s and 80s it was common practice to surgically reattach all torn off shoulder muscles, even in 80+ year old patients. As he said " We thought we could fix everthing in everbody"
After awhile it was noticed that the failure rate was very high in older patients. It was nearly 100% in the over 80 year olds and close to 80% in my age group ( 69).
With the advent of MRI they were able to track the results and clearly see what was happening. The attachments were holding but the old tissue was letting go.
His age cut off for this type of reattachment is 55 years. He would do a complete artificial shoulder replacement for me if I was in constant pain, but I'm not. Even with the shoulder replacement they do not reattach the torn off muscles in old patients. So no strength would be gained, only possible mobility without strength.
I could throw both of my hands up when my team scores a goal I suppose, but I don't follow sports so that's not too important!
A friend in the US had this surgery done a couple of weeks ago and is currently in agony, so I think I'll hold off for now and work with what I've got. The recovery time for most types shoulder surgery tends to be quite long and painful from what I've read.
My bicep and tricep are intact so I can lift the same as ever in close to the body.
I can't swing my arm out to the side much, so I'll just turn the body instead.
I can still split firewood and shovel dirt or snow, just by reversing my normal grip.
It could be much worse, I could be in a wheelchair or dead.
Silver lining, the cow hit my head so hard that both hearing aids flew out, never to be found again.
$2800 later I have new hearing aids that work much better than the old ones ever did!
I think they might have lithium batteries, I wonder if my ears will catch on fire next?

Glen

Thank you for sharing your insight on the torn RC injury, very very interesting to hear of your experience.
I tore mine in early October and have been working my tail off ever since since to rehab it.
Its working. I have full mobility back, now working on building strength. I had no clue how debilitating a torn RC could be.
I did know it hurt like hell and my Orthopedic Surgeon is also a good friend and fishing companion advised me to pursue every option outside of surgery...
I will stick with the occupational and physical therapy. I used PT for my severe spinal stenosis and it kept me off the cutting board, so same therapy/work applied to fixing my shoulder.

This getting old stuff is not for pussies...

"I wish that I knew what I know now When I was young" Rod Stewart/Faces