Shorai batteries

Okay, so I am neither paranoid or crazy. The lab results for my battery and charger came back from Shorai and it turns out the battery indeed has a bad cell, the charger is fine. Unfortunately, I waited too long to report the issue so under the 5-year warranty I need to purchase a replacement from Shorai for 50% of the MSRP - about $100! So I took this opportunity to purchase the LFX19A4-BS12 model since I wasn't happy with the cranking power with either the Norton or the Triumph.

I sure hope this is the end of my bad luck with accessory parts. :rolleyes:
 
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I'm beginning to wonder if my Shorai battery and charger purchase was a costly mistake.

According to the charger manual the 'store' mode will charge or discharge(???) the lithium battery to a 60% charge state (optimum for lithium) then monitor the voltage until it drops to around 50% charge then bring it back up to 60%. My 961 really doesn't want to crank at this level of charge and after the first crank attempt the 961 gives me low volt warning (and other associated gremlins). There does appear to be sufficient charge left for me to try several more start attempts and the bike does fire up eventually. The manual says that 'store' really is for longer term storage and NOT a trickle charge maintenance :(

According to the charger manual the 'charge' mode will charge the lithium battery to 100% then shut down. If I put it on 'charge' the evening before I plan to run the bike then come morning the battery has lost sufficient charge that the 961 doesn't want to crank that well and after first crank attempt I get the low volt warning etc etc etc and eventually the bike fires up.

It would seem that the only way to use the charger is to initiate 'charge' mode an hour or two prior to starting the bike.... OR revert to using my Optimate and keep the battery trickle charged at 100% all the time, which isn't optimal for the long life of lithium... OR just put the lead acid battery back in :(
 
There seems to be something wrong with your charger or the battery.
Do you have a warranty?
 
I note you say it continues to turn over the engine and fire evantually.

If you read the instructions they also explain how, in cold, weather, the batteries like to ‘warm up’ and recomemd leaving the lights on for a little while before hitting the button. The current draw warms up the battery.
 
There seems to be something wrong with your charger or the battery.
Do you have a warranty?
I don't think there is anything wrong with either, just the nature of the beast which I hadn't researched. If the bike started 1st attempt from cold then I wouldn't have a problem but there appears to be insufficient charge capacity in the battery for 4, 5 or 6 subsequent start attempts. The problem is that the battery isn't 100% unless it has been charged immediately prior to starting, and charging a battery just before I go for a ride isn't something that I've been accustomed to doing lol. I can keep the lead acid battery at 100% on a trickle charger but there is no option for this on the shorai dedicated charger.
 
I note you say it continues to turn over the engine and fire evantually.

If you read the instructions they also explain how, in cold, weather, the batteries like to ‘warm up’ and recomemd leaving the lights on for a little while before hitting the button. The current draw warms up the battery.
1st attempt from cold (4 or 5 cranks) provides a powerful crank. Subsequent attempts get more and more sluggish to the point where you think that you've heard the final turn past compression.... then the darn thing fires up! Just like the 850MkIII good old days lol
 
If you read the instructions they also explain how, in cold, weather, the batteries like to ‘warm up’ and recomemd leaving the lights on for a little while before hitting the button. The current draw warms up the battery.

Ok I must admit I haven't read the instructions for the battery, only the charger!
 
The ‚warm up‘ for the Shorai is known to me and never had problems with starting after having the Shorai in storage mode...
 
The ‚warm up‘ for the Shorai is known to me and never had problems with starting after having the Shorai in storage mode...
I will give the 'warm up'a go. I also note that when my bike refuses to start from cold (air temp <10degC) it fires up wen I give it a little throttle, so I will try this in future as well. I will persevere with the Shorai up to the first service as I suspect that the new map will help things as well. From a hot start and from a luke warm start she fires up first crank.
 
Okay, I admit that I never tried to start the bike at below -10 C!
 
I don’t think giving it some throttle is a good idea.

Also, aren’t you supposed to off / on the ign switch after a couple of failed start attempts?
 
I don’t think giving it some throttle is a good idea.

Also, aren’t you supposed to off / on the ign switch after a couple of failed start attempts?
Not heard about the ign on/off! I turn on ignition, wait for fuel pump to prime then crank engine, single press of starter, maybe 3 or 4 revolutions... nothing, not even a hint of firing. I frown, press starter again, maybe another 3 or 4 cranks, nothing, I frown deeper. It is at this point I get low volt warning but can see the voltage rising a little. I press starter again, maybe 3 or 4 sluggish cranks, nothing. Out of desperation I press starter one last time, sluggish cranks, I open throttle a little and she fires and dies. I press starter again with throttle slightly open, she fires and catches and settles into a nice tickover, throttle is a bit fluffy for 15-30 seconds but after that no probs, I can even turn ignition off and restart again! She is behaving just like my twins of old, except I don't get to tickle the carbs anymore lol
 
Mark... perhaps one should consider RTFM...!

Check the handbook, it states something about not trying the starter consecutively too many times without giving it a 15 sec rest. But it says it’s for the battery to cool down and recover, so, with a Shorai, that may not apply.

It also says that in cold weather you CAN open the throttle slightly when starting to ease cold starting! Counter intuitive to us old skool boyz, but looks like you were right with this!
 
It also says that in cold weather you CAN open the throttle slightly when starting to ease cold starting! Counter intuitive to us old skool boyz, but looks like you were right with this!

I have some good news at last... yesterdays ride up into the 'Wolds' didn't go as planned as I came across roads that still had snow drifts on them and lots of running water so needless to say the bike was plastered in all sots of crap off the road. I put the bike away last night in the filthy condition but fearful of road salt I decided to drag her out of my barn today and hose her down. After a thorough wetting down I decided to start her up and ride her back into the barn instead of pushing.... I didn't put battery on charge last night as I wasn't planning to start her this weekend so battery had whatever charge was put in from yesterdays ride, I turned ignition on, fuel pump primed, opened throttle slightly, press starter and before the third crank she fired up!

I now have other issues but will put them in a separate post :(
 
I put battery on 'store' last night. This morning I turned ignition on, waited for fuel to prime, opened throttle slightly and hit the starter... she fired up on the 3rd crank. I think I have found her cold start pattern :)
 
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