2.14kg. Mix in other aftermarket parts like a aftermarket muffler and there’ s the potential to save a fair chunk of weight on most bikes just from a couple of parts. And any weight I don’ t have to lift up off the floor is fine by me.
FITTING Fitting wasn’ t quite as simple as just plonking it into the battery compartment, but it wasn’ t far off. As I said, the lithium battery is smaller, so the space left empty needed padding out. The BS battery comes packaged with a heap of adhesive foam spacers / packers to get it all snug and prevent it rattling around. Five minutes with a craft knife and the new battery was nestled in there lovely. The terminals are made from brass, so they should last and be resistant to corrosion. Another benefit of lithium for specials builders or racers is they can be mounted in any orientation- sideways, upside down, whatever- without causing any issues. Being smaller and lighter, there are more options for placement too.
over 10 hours( BSLi-04 / 06 is 4AH and the YTZ10S is 8.6AH). The new battery does seem to turn the engine over more quickly, spinning it into life noticeably faster than before. I’ ve not had any problems in cold weather, but there are stories of some lithium batteries needing to be‘ pre-warmed’ by leaving the ignition on for 20 seconds or so to warm the battery up before starting. I’ ve not started it from subzero temperatures yet, so I’ ll keep an eye out for that. BS reckon these batteries are good for 2000 cycles and 5-8 years of service life. The lead acid battery my bike came with died after two years, so if it does last that long it’ ll be a bargain as well as a weight saver. To replace the standard Yuasa battery is $ 399, so, the BSLi-04 / 06 coming in at $ 325 isn’ t‘ cheap’, but it’ s cheaper than getting a like with like replacement, and in terms of weight saving per dollar($ 162.5 per kg), I don’ t think there’ s much out there to beat it( certainly not a fancy titanium exhaust, anyway). Less weight, more starting power, better cold starts, less drain if left standing and there’ s a handy state of charge indicator on the top. BS has a range of sizes in the lithium chemistry to suit the majority of bikes, covering the spectrum from road to adventure to dirt.
Model: BSLi-04 / 06 Lithium Battery Price: $ 325 Click this box for more info.
PERFORMANCE A big benefit of lithium as a starter battery( other than the considerable weight reduction) is the cold weather starting performance. The new battery kicks out 280CCA( cold cranking amps- the all important starting the engine number), which is almost 50 % more than the traditional lead acid battery the bike came with at 190CCA. The Amp-Hours are roughly half, but it’ s the CCA that matters for starting a bike, not how many Amps the battery can put out per hour
46 KIWI RIDER