Lithium Iron Battery

[alienwulf]

Thought I would post a review of a lithium motorcycle battery I purchased for my trike. Bought July 15 2016 for a price of 194.00 tax and shipping installed July 17. Trike started right up after install noticed starter turned over very fast and was impressed at the cranking power it had. By Aug 10th I started to notice starting problem again like the starter dragging made the mistake, assumed it was the starter as had new battery..wrong a load test on the lithium showed it had failed. Reached out to BateryTender maker on Aug 24th called them was told to send it to them with RMA# they will only pay for ground. Sent next day took 5 days to reach Fl. and 3 days to check it in. Sent Email for up date and was told 10 to 12 business days before they ship back ground. Went out and purchased a Duracell AGM from local firm and no more problems. I would say IMO is BatteryTender has very poor customer service and Lithium is not ready for motorcycle use.

[rhino 2]

Thought I would post a review of a lithium motorcycle battery I purchased for my trike. Bought July 15 2016 for a price of 194.00 tax and shipping installed July 17. Trike started right up after install noticed starter turned over very fast and was impressed at the cranking power it had. By Aug 10th I started to notice starting problem again like the starter dragging made the mistake, assumed it was the starter as had new battery..wrong a load test on the lithium showed it had failed. Reached out to BateryTender maker on Aug 24th called them was told to send it to them with RMA# they will only pay for ground. Sent next day took 5 days to reach Fl. and 3 days to check it in. Sent Email for up date and was told 10 to 12 business days before they ship back ground. Went out and purchased a Duracell AGM from local firm and no more problems. I would say IMO is BatteryTender has very poor customer service and Lithium is not ready for motorcycle use.

Thats why i try to buy from local business.. [When i can] Business with poor customer service , Tend to go out of Business ...

[CrystalPistol]

I ain't sold on them L-ion batteries in my MCs either ..... got 12 years out of a Odyssey PC680 AGM on the trike and it was still starting reliably ..... so last winter ordered two more, one for the trike and one for the 1200 .... and have that 12 year old as a "portable power source" or I'll hang it in a bag and hook up to use when I ride my '74 Triumph that just needs a small battery (kick start).

But a buddy put one on his 1200 a couple years ago .... it's still going with a new owner whom we see often.

[87Trike1200]

I've had excellent service with Odyssey batteries - mine are about 3 years old. Have then in both trikes. Due to health issues my '95 Wing recently sat about 9 mo's - no tender - nothing. Tested starting it recently and it started right up after about 5 short bursts to get the gas flowing. No hesitation, starter spun "normally". Going from memory they were about $130 including shipping. Highly recommended.

[FRR]

I don't know about Battery Tender, but I do know that in the case of charging a battery you can NOT use a standard charger on a Lithium battery. I would think a tender would have the same issue. It may not be the tender's fault.

I've used Jr Battery Tender for years on cars, trucks, motorcycles, and golf carts and never had a failure. But, never used it on a Lithium.

[rhino 2]

I've used Jr Battery Tender for years on cars, trucks, motorcycles, and golf carts and never had a failure. But, never used it on a Lithium.

When/If a Lithium Ion Battery go below 2.8 Volts you need a charger made to charge a Lithium Ion battery's , Standard chargers/tenders won't do....

[alienwulf]

I don't know about Battery Tender, but I do know that in the case of charging a battery you can NOT use a standard charger on a Lithium battery. I would think a tender would have the same issue. It may not be the tender's fault.

I've used Jr Battery Tender for years on cars, trucks, motorcycles, and golf carts and never had a failure. But, never used it on a Lithium.

When I purchased the Lithium from Amazon it came with the charger so unless it was defective? I will find out when they have serviced it. I feel my beef was more about the turnaround time than an item going bad, it happens. I feel a month is a little to long to expect a person to sit and wait. I had the money to replace it, but now I will have an extra battery I no longer need or really trust.

[rhino 2]

When I purchased the Lithium from Amazon it came with the charger so unless it was defective? I will find out when they have serviced it. I feel my beef was more about the turnaround time than an item going bad, it happens. I feel a month is a little to long to expect a person to sit and wait. I had the money to replace it, but now I will have an extra battery I no longer need or really trust.

I agree with you' Things sometimes go wrong.. What they should of done was send you a new battery , With a return packing slip, So all you had to do was to put it in the box and return it to them...
It sounds like they don't trust their customers..[ BRP] CanAm Spyder Was that way when i had a Spyder [Might still be that way?]... They didn't trust their dealers..i.e. when they took a part off [Warranty] The dealer would have to send it back first 'Before BRP would send back a new- not a rebuilt but new part..

[Phu Cat]

Most of the time AGM batteries are the way to go now. When I bought our present bike (a TGlide) I traded in a '98 EG that had a 7 year old AGM battery that was still going strong. But this Tglide's AGM's battery only lasted 2 years. Since batteries are considered a "consumable" I just replaced it with another AGM and it's been fine since. Naturally, about 10 months later I found out HD got a bunch of bad batteries and did warrant them if only I'd of asked. What a dummy.

PC

[mhgoldwing]

I ain't sold on them L-ion batteries in my MCs either ..... got 12 years out of a Odyssey PC680 AGM on the trike and it was still starting reliably ..... so last winter ordered two more, one for the trike and one for the 1200 .... and have that 12 year old as a "portable power source" or I'll hang it in a bag and hook up to use when I ride my '74 Triumph that just needs a small battery (kick start).

But a buddy put one on his 1200 a couple years ago .... it's still going with a new owner whom we see often.

NOTE: OP said lithium IRON battery - not ION. Totally different technology. I purchased a Shorai lithium iron battery 3 years ago and it is still going strong. It came with its own charger which I have only used 3 times during the winter to top off; usually less than one hour. I also saved 11 pounds in weight. So far so good.

[1dn5up]

Have a Bissell dust buster with ion battery only 2 yrs. Bat will not hold the charge any more. Getting the queen to bi**h. Not a big ion bat fan.

[consitter]

Thats why i try to buy from local business.. [When i can] Business with poor customer service , Tend to go out of Business ...

I'm with you. Did that today and bought our camper a brand new (reconditioned) battery. The place that I buy from is only about a mile from our house, has been in business for years, and stands by their products.

- - - Updated - - -

Have a Bissell dust buster with ion battery only 2 yrs. Bat will not hold the charge any more. Getting the queen to bi**h. Not a big ion bat fan.

I have a black and decker drill with a lithium ion battery, that's 2 years old, and so far it's been the berries. Maybe I'm just lucky.

[1dn5up]

Called bissell about bat problem, sending replacement at n/c and get to keep old one.

[Bikerbozo]

NOTE: OP said lithium IRON battery - not ION. Totally different technology. I purchased a Shorai lithium iron battery 3 years ago and it is still going strong. It came with its own charger which I have only used 3 times during the winter to top off; usually less than one hour. I also saved 11 pounds in weight. So far so good.

Actually, a lithium "iron" battery is a form of lithium "ion" battery. The big difference over other ion batteries is that the iron one gives out a steady 3.2vdc per cell, all the way down. So 4 cells gives us 12.8vdc. I read all this on Wikipedia. And we know the Internet never lies??? As far as reliability, my stock HD batteries last many years. Not that I give them a chance to loose the charge.

[1dn5up]

Being it's on the Internet it's got to be true

[consitter]

Being it's on the Internet it's got to be true

Bonjour...

[87Trike1200]

I've had excellent service with Odyssey batteries - mine are about 3 years old. Have then in both trikes. Due to health issues my '95 Wing recently sat about 9 mo's - no tender - nothing. Tested starting it recently and it started right up after about 5 short bursts to get the gas flowing. No hesitation, starter spun "normally". Going from memory they were about $130 including shipping. Highly recommended.

If still looking for a battery, check: batterymart.com. They currently have Odyssey on sale for $106.95 - 2 year warranty... Best wishes.

[alienwulf]

Update got an Email from Battery Tender they found it defective and have shipped a new replacement. Which is fine but it will go on the shelf since the Duracell Ultra 18L-BS AGM for 116.00 is working just as it should. Purchased it thru Batteries Plus Bulbs online will ship to you did store pickup. They stated Duracell makes H-D for them same battery nice to know.