Is BIGGER better?

[Wacked]

Last weekend I got invited to do some riding in the hills South of Billings. 

The mighty DRZ was in hibernation from the winter and the battery was done, dead, caput .....  yea, even last spring/summer I knew it was getting weak.  So my buddy says I need to replace it with a new Lithium battery.   

"Dude, what are you talking about?",  I'm clueless.  After a quick internet search, I want one. 

For maybe 20% more cash, I got:
- 60% reduction in size
- a 3 year warranty
- no winter-time drainage
- 75% reduction in weight
Heck, even if you are KLR cheap, these numbers make sense. 

I ended up with a Ballistic battery from Thumpertalk just in time for a great day of riding.

Check them out if you're in the market - I never heard about Lithium bike batteries until 2 weeks ago.

Wacked

[jacin theis]

The question is: Are you going to model that fancy battery at the spring rally? Where have you been?

[Wacked]

Well yea, I'll be showing it off at the June rally!  May also bring a guy from Billings named Todd; he's a single track type of guy and will likely bring his Honda 450.

So, this past 6 months, most my time is spent commuting between Fargo and Billings- doing the move stuff .... packing/hauling/organizing/throwing.

Weather out west has been so sweet that I've been able to take some sort of bike ride almost every weekend.

Have you been able to ride most the winter in Rapid?

Wacked

[Hank]

DRZs are known for eating batteries.   I think the speedo/computer combo has a pretty high draw even when the bike is off, so with that said I'd still unhook the battery if its going to sit a while.    My DRZ's battery is toast and it was only two years old, although it was a cheapo scorpion (not lithium).   

I'm glad you brought this up.. I'll be ordering one too. Thanks!

[jacin theis]

I have been able to ride a lot to work. Never enough though. On batteries, i rotate a tender through the fleet. It never seems to need to be on more than half a day and it says fully charged. I do leave it on a few days for each to make sure it has a nice deep charge. Cant wait to see everyone again. We need to get some hard riding in. I am tired of the dusty, cold pavement.

[Lonesome Dave]

I think I heard or read that lithium batteries don't stand up in the cold and you need a special charger, don't know, just asking?
I do know my lithium battery powered impact drill is worthless when its been sitting in the cold garage, but that's a big step from tool to bike!

[toadl]

The Lithium batteries are the future.  The biggest problem is if you leave something on, like the DVD player on your DRZ and the battery gets completely drained.  Then your battery will not charge properly unless you buy on of there expensive charger. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vbs_hDZRdts

Here's a video of a guy starting his bike at 33 degree.  A lot of people claim Ion batteries are not good in the cold.  If it's real cold they take a couple cranks and the battery warms itself up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k9ctSJsu1Q&feature=related
Here's a guy starting his car with and 8 cell Lithium battery.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS6GLFn-8Ss&feature=related

[Wacked]

Call me the DDSR Guinea Pig .....  We'll see how this pans out. 

I spent a couple of minutes looking for one locally so I wouldn't have to pay big shipping.  The local parts guy claimed he started selling them this summer and couldn't keep them on the shelf - loved them.

Like I said, they're new to me.

Here's photo comparing old to new.

Wacked