How to save 5.75 pounds off your bike in 5 minutes

[Hellgate]

Simple, call the friendly folks at Motovation and get a Ballistic Lithium battery!

I had a little mad money so I sprung for a new battery on the R6. I've no idea if what I took out was stock as the bike is very much modded, but the new battery, an eight cell, is much lighter. The install took about 5 minutes, tops. The battery is about $156. $ per pound it is about the least expensive weight reduction mod you can do, aside from losing the center stand and tool kit. Will I be able to tell a difference? Probably not, but it is cool.

Once I hooked it up the bike fired right up, no fuss, no muss. Over the course of a year these are only supposed to lose 10% of their charge. I'd guess that for the FZ1 the weight savings would be even greater, closer to 7 or 8 pounds.

Answers to all of your questions: Frequently Asked Questions - Ballistic Performance Components

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[mxgolf]

Cool Pete! Can you charge that with the battery tender? Thanks

 

[Hellgate]

No you need to use a regular charger, not a trickle charger. With the instructions it tells you how long to charge, ~15 minutes. The max you want to go to is 14.4v.

They are charged out of the box which is nice. No acid to mix, etc.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Yes they are incredibly light. I had an opportunity to check one out.

Just make sure the terminals never gets crossed, otherwise you will never be able to put out the fire after it explodes.

 

[Norbert]

Just make sure the terminals never gets crossed, otherwise you will never be able to put out the fire after it explodes.

srsly?

 

[Erci]

Looking forward to seeing how well this battery will hold up. Lots of conflicting opinions on Lithium so far.

 

[FB400]

Because the footprint on the new battery is so much smaller.. doesn't that create some slop in the compartment where the battery is installed? I kinda like the perfect fit I get from the oem battery

 

[Hellgate]

I shimmed it with the foam packaging that it was shipped in. Snug as a bug in a rug.

As far as lasting, I'm not worried, 1) the R6 is garaged, 2) it has a three year warrenty.

 

[sharethesecret]

Because the footprint on the new battery is so much smaller.. doesn't that create some slop in the compartment where the battery is installed? I kinda like the perfect fit I get from the oem battery

Speaking of footprint...the lead acid batteries are 100% recyclable...Lithium are hazardous and only one place can disassemble them.
TOXCO Inc. - Safe Recycling Processes

 

[callmegandhi]

Wanna lose 5.75 lbs? Get on a treadmill!! Your bike will thank you!:justkidding:

 

[Kamloops]

‪World's Most Dangerous Battery!‬‏ - YouTube

 

[VEGASRIDER]

When I went for Hazardous/Dangerous Goods training for shipping by air, next to radioactive material, lithium batteries were considered the next dangerous thing. The IATA (International Air Transport Association) manual has practically been rewritten because of these batteries. Crossing terminals, or any storage of batteries outside their intended electronic devices is considered very dangerous. You just can't store your spare camera, computer, etc, batteries anwhere, they must be kept in it's original packaging or an approved container.

The frightening thing is, the average person who happens to carry these spare batteries onto the plane have no idea that they can litterally cause a mid air disaster. Once they are on fire, good luck putting it out, practically impossible. Kind of like a tire catching on fire.

But they are great long lasting batteries.

 

[Wolfman]

No you need to use a regular charger, not a trickle charger. With the instructions it tells you how long to charge, ~15 minutes. The max you want to go to is 14.4v.

They are charged out of the box which is nice. No acid to mix, etc.

Hmmmm, i like the convenience of a trickle charger...especially when you can leave connections to trickle charger attached to bike at all times...just saves so much fuss when you do need to charge your battery....not having to unbolt the tank, and put terminals on, etc...

Stil, if it was for a racebike, i would be buying one of these in a second!

So, great buy! Thanks for sharing Pete.

:thumbup:

 

[Wolfman]

wanna lose 5.75 lbs? Get on a treadmill!! Your bike will thank you!:justkidding:

lmao! :d:d:d

 

[DownrangeFuture]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. 99% of lithium batteries come with short circuit protection. If it detects a short, it simply closes the hot terminal. The biggest worry about plugging things in backwards is damage to the device. You could damage it and cause a short, but...

Lithium batteries do burn in a class "D" type fire. Meaning that as it burns it makes it's own oxygen. And then 90% of normal fire fighting methods won't work. There are chemical extingushers that will put out a "D" fire for a short time, giving you a window to cool the object or eject it safely.

However, the ignition point is near the 1000*F point so the chances of the battery heating to ignition point without someone noticing, or other things catching on fire first, are kind of slim.

If you're truly worried... Don't keep anything flammable within 10 feet or so if its storage point. And don't overcharge it. In fact, since it's lithium and it'll put out the same number of amps until right before it dies and it won't lose charge unless something is draining it while it's off, you shouldn't ever need to charge it. If you're not riding it for a few months, then unplug the battery. It'll crank right up come spring.

Just realize that it can catch on fire, and respect it. But lead acid batteries can explode, and do so quite quickly. Although modern batteries with vents aren't as prone to. Either one catching on fire in your garage would be devistating. You'd probably lose the house with all your accelerants in the garage. Paint, cleaners, gasoline, etc.

 

[Hellgate]

Wanna lose 5.75 lbs? Get on a treadmill!! Your bike will thank you!:justkidding:

At 6', 168lbs, there isn't much left to lose. Beside this is a race bike that has anything street related removed so making is lighter is a good goal. Hell with the FZ6 you can lose about 20 lbs off of it as you prep it for the track. Once that is done the bike feels much better.

 

[Hellgate]

Speaking of footprint...the lead acid batteries are 100% recyclable...Lithium are hazardous and only one place can disassemble them.
TOXCO Inc. - Safe Recycling Processes

So I now expect you to jump on people when they gut their cats and remove their AIS, fair is fair...

 

[mrphotoman]

Looks like a nice battery, what is the reserve capacity on it compared to stock?

 

[Hellgate]

Answers to all of your questions: Frequently Asked Questions - Ballistic Performance Components

 

[p-dawger]

Thanks for this post. This is an excellent mod and a great idea. I am always looking for lightweight parts for my racecar and now this can transfer over to the bike...didn't know there was that much to be had - 5.75 is alot and a great mod and bang for the buck.

People have no idea the effect weight has on performance. They buy things to add power for big $$ when you can shed weight for nothing and the improvement is twice what the power mod was.