LESS WEIGHT MORE POWER

When you’ ve got to pick your bike up multiple times a day( which I typically do …), reducing the strain of each lift seems appealing to my ageing back. My GasGas ES700 comes in at 160kg with a full tank of gas, Giant Loop tank bag / side pockets, handguards, heated grips, Puig screen, AXP bashplate and Perun luggage rack. As an adventure bike ready to go, that’ s pretty light already. But it could always be lighter … I’ ve replaced the battery on it after the original Yuasa started to leave me stranded after twoor-so years of use. The bike only takes a relatively small battery anyway( a YTZ10S), so there’ s not a heap of juice in there to start with, but if I left the ignition on for any length of time it often wouldn’ t start. So, I’ ve now fitted a lithium battery. Most modern MX and Enduro machines now run lithium batteries, primarily for their starting power, small size and light weight. I went for a lithium battery from BS, the BSLi- 04 / 06. It’ s physically smaller than the YTZ10S and considerably lighter due to the LiFePO4 chemistry. To prevent over-charging, there’ s a built-in equalising charge protection board. The standard YTZ10S is a lead acid battery, coming in at 3.1kg. The BSLi-04 / 06 comes in at a featherweight 960g, saving a not inconsiderable