Best Motorcycle Battery? Lead-Acid v. AGM v. Gel v. Lithium
Best Motorcycle Battery? Lead-Acid v. AGM v. Gel v. Lithium
It’s all about that chemistry, baby. We put the best motorcycle battery types through a series of practical tests and see what cranks and what tanks. [Details below]
Lead Acid Conventional Batteries : https://frt9.co/3k346i
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Gel Batteries : https://frt9.co/u8u5y6
Lithium Ion Batteries : https://frt9.co/h18cpk
Battery Tender Junior 800 Charger : https://frt9.co/fexf9t
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Cinematographer & Editor : Aneesh Shivanekar
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We need a revision on this exact topic. Battery technology has evolved a lot in 5 years
The answer is to buy the same size lithium as your normal motorcycle battery.
It’s not fair the lithium battery is not the same physical size as the others but smaller
Fantastical. Thank you.
Building an 85 CB450SC cafe racer, with a rear monoshock conversion. I went with an antigravity lithium ion battery for it. Its tiny size makes it easy to hide somewhere.
The best tip I have about batteries is to not hook them up backwards. It can easily be done if not paying close attention to which terminals are positive and negative. It can damage electronics beyond repair and difficult to diagnose which components will need replacement.
I switched to Li because I became fed-up with the short life of the aftermarket lead-acid batteries. My last Yuasa lasted just three years. The Li is currently on 6.
so many real-world variables wrong with this. 1st people aren’t buying garbage lithium so the 3 ah comparison was a fail.. most lithiums I shopped are double that. a battle born lithium for example can discharge 100 amps of power in an hour and recharge it at a similar rate. quality of lithium builds is everything, whereas the others are pretty much standardized.
would love to see this revisited
Please redo this test with the more appropriately spec’d LFX18A1-BS12. You used the second smallest capacity battery in their lineup and then complained about capacity… lol… come on Ryan!
That’s like putting a 300cc slapper up against 650 twins, and complaining about torque!
PS: I’m glad I wore my D30 armour a couple weeks back. Direct hit to elbow and knees… guess what… not even a bruise and was at the gym same night! 😉
I use cheap ($6) Harbor Freight float chargers on my bikes. They use about $10 of electricity/year and allow me to use cheap batteries that last 4 or 5 years, even on my 1290SAS which is notorious for eating them.
TO EVERYONE IN YOUTUBE LAND
I’m an electronic engineer
If I need a special lithium battery charger to charge a lithium motorcycle battery
THEN WHY AM I NOT CHANGING THE ALTERNATOR AND VOLTAGE REGULATOR ON MY BIKE (THAY ARE FOR LED ACID )
the BMS ( Battery Management System ) in the lithium battery dose this for us !!!
please do not give out False info . the battery is made at the factory as a direct replacement (hens the name "motorcycle" battery) for a led acid battery
AND "DOSE NOT REQURE A special CHARGER" !!
I put a Lithium battery in my ATC 70 (125m motor ) bolted sideways up in the frame in 2013 & never looked at it since.2024 it still cranks fast & never gone flat.
wheel bearing grease on lead terminal never corrodes lithium starts fire right after starting bike driving in – 12 deg fahrenheit . all stick with lead thanks
Soo lithium is best for the most part ?
Probably gonna try lithium next time which is right around the corner next spring. Seems like my lead acid original battery only lasted three and a half years.
This is 4yrs ago. I believe lithium batteries are now cheaper and has higher capacity.
I would like to see a vibration test on the batteries. It’s been my experience that MC have higher vibration issues than cars. I replace more batteries in my bikes than my cars. ??????????????
Lead acid AGM in jail are essentially the same thing they’re all lead acid batteries so just pull them all together they’re all shit no matter which way you look at it I’m surprised you didn’t have a Cobalt battery in your lineup there they suck too if it ain’t one of the variants of lithium batteries it ain’t worth two cents
Love how lithium battery users lying them selfs that battery last much longer, and there is weight saving. What will be lighter is only your wallet after buying one of those. It will last x time longer x times price you paid. And your weight saving won’t be noticeable after first taco or kebab you ate on your day out
Nah, I got an Antigravity ATZ-7 Restart model (has built-in jump start tech) for $76 to my door. You can’t kill it, the low voltage cut off enters sleep mode creating a reserve, just enough for a couple starts after you hit the "restart" button.😁 Saved 4 lbs off my crf300, will never be stranded and don’t have to winter battery tend any more! Gotta know how to shop around, find deals and choose wisely!😉
I have a MotoBatt battery in my suzuki bandit 600. This battery has never let me down. Cold starts in the snow and even after being sat up for 2 years, after a few hours on the charger, it still started the bike. USA Motobatt is absolutely amazing. I will always buy this battery on any new bikes i purchase. Even a brand new bike i would get rid of the stock battery for a motobatt because theyre so good.
So if you have to get a special charger for a lithium battery… how can your bikes charging system charge the lithium battery safely without modification?
Because you didn’t use a big enough charger on the Ilfepo4. It can take a way higher charge rate. I think for average guy it doesn’t matter. You are going to throw the Lithium on a charge once a month over night to top it off, so a few minutes doesn’t matter. But you definitely could go with a 3-amp charger on the lithium vs an 800 Mah charger and charge it in 40 mins.
Really wanted to giveLiFePo4 batteries a try but I’ve been reading around solar and boat owners the LiFePo4 batteries can fvck up your charging system.
is there any possible problems from upgrade to lithium battery on the bike that was built for lead acid/AGM battery, since they both require different voltage for charging
…like in puberty some drops is normal… Brilliant!
I notice a lot of complaints about retrofitted LiFePo4 bike batteries. LiFePo4 cells get permanently damaged if discharged below 2.5v per cell. They are also less tolerant of overcharging. For a bullet proof battery an LTO pack might do well if space is available.
So if you have a lithium battery in a quad that’s parked outside and it’s -10F, is it going to destroy the battery once you start the bike?
Well today this would be completely different with Lithium.
I’d like to see a retest
Interesting stuff about batteries. I’m currently testing LiFePO4 batts in my lab at work. In another lab next door they’ve been doing it for 10yrs. They had their 10yr old batteries xrayed and chemically analyzed to see what their charging methods were doing to the batteries. 10 years of incorrectly charging the batteries. This means removing cold weather protection from the internal BMS. Basically the batteries stayed on and took charge and discharged regardless of temp. In our field work we have batteries at high altitude and artctic/antarctic conditions. They have similar situations in their deployments. The results showed that the batteries were damaged but that it was so miniscule that it didn’t matter. They made it 10 years. So they didn’t really need the xray exam or chemical analysis to point that out. But they got it done. Great video. Side not I run li Batts on my vehicles and house.
did not mention how BMS in Lithium can decide on the dime to turn the battery off and leave you stranded
Motobatt AGM has always done me good
I bought a 2006 Kawa KLX250 in 2014 or early 2015 that had a Shorai Lithium in it. Battery had been in it about a year. Used the bike to teach my daughter to ride and then nearly ignored it for the rest of the time I had the POS. Sold the bike in 2022 with the SAME battery in it and it would still crank like mad. Sold me on the things.
My 2006 Yamaha FZ6 got one this spring. Not going back.
BUUUUUUUT the lithium isn’t dead after discharging to complete zero, only if left there. If you catch it after just an hour or so, it can be saved
this should be revisited
I’m betting there’s a few reasons why the lithium battery charged longer.
1: Modern lithium batteries quick charge up to 80%. Beyond that, they’ll switch to a trickle charge, but we don’t know if that charger is capable of quick charging either.
2: The charger doesn’t "know" the battery, unlike your tool batteries with matching charger that can quick charge because the electronics are tuned to each other. The charger could be set to "play it safe" mode.
3: Who knows how the battery is constructed. A lot of cheap lithium batteries out of China are usually made cheaper (therefore, more dangerous) and are often rated lower than their stated capacity (and in some cases, higher).
Haven’t watched the video. Lithium is prime.
Also, 5 years later, and you can find a 3A battery for $40.
The lithium battery on my bike has 290cca and 4ah. Designed to last 2000 cycles or 10 years, can be charged with a normal 12v car battery charger, sit in any orientation and can sit unused for a year without losing charge.
Lithium is far superior IMO, especially in the right conditions – Sydney, Australia has a subtropical climate so 8°c is about the lowest it gets and I’m not running any accessories.
I’ll never fit another Lithium battery to any bike ever again, sure they save a pound or two in weight, but the fire risk is way too high, having had one literally expand and wedge itself in the bike and come very close to exploding it’s a chance I’m not willing to take. If you’re worried about the weight, you’d do better to lose those two pounds off your waistline. AGM for me, GEL second.
ps. Loved the clip of the "Play it safe" advert from HEC Tasmania. 👍
Yea so gel battery it is
given current prices, I find it crazy that non lithium stuff still exists
Ty this is a very excellent vid!
This is to much fixking science. I wanna know in short story what’s the best battery lol
Interesting video. Thanks a lot for the work done !
I am however not convinced about the suicide mission when the time for complete discharging is checked.
Lithium may discharge itself quicker, but from what I know, lithium should have less irreversible damage.
compared to Lead acid battery that will have irreversible damage, or even be dead dead.
Think I want to try a lithium battery with some kind of an adapter frame so I can use the saved space. A place to store some roadside godsends
Gel had a faster recharge time than Lithium? Really? Stuns me.
As soon as I hear "Lithium Battery" in connection with a vehicle I remember all those videos of electric scooters, motorcycles, public buses, etc. catching fire and burning like a small volcano.
If you live in a climate that allows it (or just don’t care how cold it gets) and ride throughout the year, the sitting discharge advantage of lithium becomes irrelevant. Thus, year-round riders only need to choose between AGM or Gel.
10:37 oh fudge.