Advice needed on a lithium battery 51FL

Electrical issues
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17L1
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Advice needed on a lithium battery 51FL

#1

Post by 17L1 »

I am considering replacing my battery with a small lithium one. I am using an led tail/brake light which draws very little power. No electric starter and most of my riding is daylight so headlight drain is not a big concern. My question is will the charging system work on this the same as a lead/acid
battery? Does anything need changed (regulator, etc) to be compatible with a lithium battery? Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
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Re: Advice needed on a lithium battery 51FL

#2

Post by 59Panman »

17L1,

Are you still running a 6 volt system? Why not just get a standard battery?
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Re: Advice needed on a lithium battery 51FL

#3

Post by 59Panman »

Here is a discussion on these batteries.

6 V Lithium LiFePO4 Battery inside stock box write up
1951 adam
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Re: Advice needed on a lithium battery 51FL

#4

Post by 1951 adam »

6 or 12 ? The nice thing about a standard 6v is the fact that it's such a deep cell battery and the standard charging system is designed to work well together. Depending on how you use the bike , I'm personally not a fan of the gimicky batteries . From experience I've logged a lot of miles with standard lighting and a stock charging system. They have to be maintained like anything on a vintage MC

Adam
17L1
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Re: Advice needed on a lithium battery 51FL

#5

Post by 17L1 »

It's a 12v system. The motor is in an aftermarket frame and there's not a lot of room under the seat for the battery.
My original battery crapped out and I figured that a small lithium would be a good way to go. No electric start, no daytime headlight, led brake light.
Not much current needed to run things. Looking at a small Ballistic brand battery that I can build a small box for and mount near the oil tank. My main
concern is whether the charging system needs any mods to work with a lithium battery. I plan on charging it at home between rides.
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Re: Advice needed on a lithium battery 51FL

#6

Post by awander »

Many lithium batteries contain charge-control circuitry. The reason for this is that overcharging these batteries can cause a fire.

You need to look at the battery you are considering, and see if it has a charge controller built in. You should also make sure it is designed t be used in a motor-vehicle charging system.
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Re: Advice needed on a lithium battery 51FL

#7

Post by fredotwowheels »

I have had bad experiences with the lithium batteries. So much in fact it helped me go magneto only and not look back. I would recommend them for race bikes or something that needs to shed any weight it can, and you dont expect much from them as an everyday runner, they will for sure leave you stranded one day. You cant trickle charge them without their own proprietary charging system, so most the time you are SOL until you buy another. You can bump them (I had to for a few days once) but once they drain, they are boat anchors. They wont even come back as a slacker.
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Re: Advice needed on a lithium battery 51FL

#8

Post by Little Stan »

I too have heard bad stuff about jell cells and lithium batteries. A nice alternative is to go to Walmart and get a ES5LBS battery, its a sealed battery that will fit your oil tank. It runs just over $30.00. I run two of them wired parallel, stacked on top of each as I'm running spot lites and bullet lites on the rear. Last set lasted over four years.

-'lil stan
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Re: Advice needed on a lithium battery 51FL

#9

Post by flat38 »

http://www.alienmotion.com/am4.html
I have one of these in my UL chopper and it is working fine so far. I'm using a Cycle Electric generator with it and it seems to do the job.
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Re: Advice needed on a lithium battery 51FL

#10

Post by john HD »

I have 6 volt 18 amp/hour gel cells in 3 of my 6 volt bikes now.

I have been getting them from Batteries plus for around 25 dollars, they are stand by batteries for exit signs.

all working fine.....

john
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Re: Advice needed on a lithium battery 51FL

#11

Post by awander »

Hey, John, it's amp-hr or amps times hours, not amps per hour(amp/hr)
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Re: Advice needed on a lithium battery 51FL

#12

Post by john HD »

Andy,

Duh, you're right. should have typed - instead of /.

john
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Re: Advice needed on a lithium battery 51FL

#13

Post by awander »

Well, don't feel too bad, man, it's a common error.

That, and referring to torque in feet per pound.....
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Re: Advice needed on a lithium battery 51FL

#14

Post by panhead_kicker »

awander wrote: Mon Jun 12, 2017 2:26 am Well, don't feel too bad, man, it's a common error.

That, and referring to torque in feet per pound.....
You sound like dang engineer... :wink:
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Re: Advice needed on a lithium battery 51FL

#15

Post by awander »

panhead_kicker wrote: Tue Jun 13, 2017 6:01 pm
awander wrote: Mon Jun 12, 2017 2:26 am Well, don't feel too bad, man, it's a common error.

That, and referring to torque in feet per pound.....
You sound like dang engineer... :wink:
"Dang"? Them's fightin' words! :)

Guilty as charged.....
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