Incredible. This is the shortest tech in history and partially because of the new product. Batteries are dirty, grubby, heavy, nasty bastards and they throw sparks when you least expect it.
About 10 years ago, the whole battery acid nastiness disappeared with the sealed batteries, a major step in the right direction. They kept improving and becoming more reliable, and then some mastermind started to develop lithium ion batteries.
For awhile, Matt Hotch and another industry designer scrambled to build a little dinky battery capable of spinning over any 124-inch stroker motor all day long. Those puppies were amazing.
I know Anti-Gravity batteries started to bring the technology to the general market, but now Biker’s Choice and Twin Power have taken the technology mainstream with a complete line of lithium ion batteries for stock application and we were fortunate to get our grubby hands on a new one for a test.
Here are the high points:
The most advanced high-power lithium iron phosphate battery technology from Twin Power.
Ultra high-cranking amps from a super lightweight battery. Only one-third the weight of a lead acid battery, if that.
Cylindrical cell with energy storage. Welding technology for higher output.
Built-in charge and equalizing protection board, preventing battery from over-charging.
Remarkably low self-discharge for extended storage periods up to one year.
Suitable for low temperature environments.
More that twice the service life of conventional lead acid batteries.
Superior vibration-resistant construction allows multidirectional installation without damage.
No corrosive liquids and no toxic heavy metals make Twin Power lithium ion batteries environmentally friendly.
Two-year warranty.
If you are not familiar with lithium ion technology, you need to read the benefits once more. It will take awhile to soak in. Imagine if someone handed you a flashlight battery and said, “This will crank your stroker motor all day long, and you can mount it anywhere, even upside down.”
Let’s look at the Twin Power cautions:
Do not short-circuit the battery terminals or reverse connect the terminals. Do not connect the battery with a power socket directly. Do not open or damage the battery case.
Although the battery is water-resistant, do not drop the battery into, or expose the battery to water like we did with our Anti-Gravity battery at Bonneville. We buried it with wet salt.
Avoid impacting, throwing, and twisting the battery. Keep the battery away from children or pets. Do not allow discharge below 12.8 volts (resting voltage). Do not allow charge voltage in excess of 14.8 volts. Please fully discharge before disposing the battery.
Charging:
Installation:
Okay, so Jeremiah jammed over, since he was beginning to experience problems with his stock Dyna battery. It was begining to act sluggish during charging.
I wanted to check his charging system before we installed the new battery. It’s a major bungle to replace a down battery with a new one before the system is right. You don’t want to damage a new battery with a faulty charging system, especially when it’s a breeze to check.
We pulled out Jeremiahs voltmeter and set it on 20 volts DC, and without the motor running we check across the battery terminals and it read about 12.4 volts. We started his monster and it jumped to 13.91 volts indicating a charge even at an idle. Then we revved the engine and it continued to rise to just over 14 volts. His charging system was fine.
I recommended we clean all the terminals, and especially ground terminals. Here are the Biker’s Choice installation instructions:
Check the battery voltage before installation. Make sure it’s above 12.8 volts. If not charge the battery.
Make sure your charging system is working properly. See, I told you.
Remove the original battery from your bike.
Follow your manual’s recommendations for battery installation.
Jeremiah’s Dyna was very straightforward. He removed one Phillips fastener under the battery box on the right side of his silver bullet. Then, with both hands on the cover, lower front and rear, he lifted slightly and pulled.
It took slight jiggling, but the cover is locked to two bungs on the top of the battery frame like a puzzle. You just lift and pull and off comes the cover.
Jeremiah, with a 10-point metric wrench loosened the ground strap and removed it. The circuit was then broken. Then he removed the front or positive strap and pulled them aside.
One more operation and the old battery, was free. He reached around the front of the battery following the rubberized strap. He pushed the end of the battery strap in toward the center of the bike and front. The rectangular metal loop slipped away from the battery frame hook and freed the bulky stock battery for removal.
This battery fit very snug in its factory case and must have weighed over 10 pounds. Actually, I weighed the stock battery and it came in at 15.6 pounds.
We pulled the new Twin Power battery from Biker’s Choice out of the box and it flew into our hands, feeling like it weighed just a few ounces. Amazing.
It fit into the case easily and Jeremiah reversed his operation with the rubber strap. Then he cleaned his wire ends and attached them with a Phillips screwdriver to the included fasteners, and then a 10 mm box end wrench. They should be torqued to 9-13 foot-pounds, so I bitched at Jeremiah to back off his heavy arm-twisting.
We noticed the hot lead protective boot caused us some issues. He loosened the fitting and pushed the boot out of harm’s way, and then retightened it.
He then attached the ground, and this time slipped his Dyna cover over the case nubs and lowered it into position. We checked the new battery for the appropriate amount of charge before installing it.
Finally, Jeremiah returned the Phillips screw to its rightful place and tightened it.
He replaced his Le Pera racy seat by hooking the front under the tank rear mount, and tightening the short Phillips fastener into the fender lug. Again, I had to warn him about over tightening. I would rather use a little blue Loctite and go easy on the fastener.
Jeremiah pointed out the fitting he uses to keep his batteries topped off. It’s directly connected to the battery for an easy connection with a Battery Tender.
The job was complete and his bike fired right to life.
Natch, he immediately peeled out. Something about a girl…
Later he called me. “That battery still trips me out, how light it is, 3.5 pounds. It even had a rubber pad on the bottom to enhance the grip. Installing the new battery due to its feather lightness and fit was effortless.”
He was and is impressed.
Sources:
Biker’s Choice
Le Pera
J&P
