Matt Hotch Designs is working with a company to develop a new motorcycle battery. They are a Lithium-ion Polymer battery which can be built in a variety of configurations with the leads positioned wherever they are needed. They weigh about one quarter of the weight of a conventional battery, but what makes these different is what they can do.
There is a video on their website that shows Matt Hotch running a test on a custom V-twin with a 113 inch engine. He pulls the plug wires and begins to crank. After one minute and 45 seconds the battery is still cranking fine but the starter is smoking so he stops for about 30 seconds then cranks again for another minute or so until the starter begins smoking. He waits another 30 seconds and then cranks until it finally quits, at which time the starter is practically on fire and the rubber insulation has melted. Watch the video, these times are not exaggerated. This is a super battery.
Of course batteries like this are not cheap, we’re talking many hundreds of dollars but for high end customs or any other high end bikes, these might be worth looking into.
Link: TekBattery
F451 says
Love the idea of weight/space saving, but loathe the idea of a 344 percent upcharge over a conventional battery (that based upon a $100 conventional battery, and the starting battery cost of $444 for these batteries). Until the price comes down or unless it is show bike, then I’ll stick to what’s readily available. Prices will hopefully come down over time.
coho says
If the battery is robust enough to use out in the world, that’s indeed cool. Lighter batteries (especially ones with more juice) mean more efficient and sporty hybrids and all-electrics for us to play with.
They won’t be extra expensive forever.
palegreenhorse says
i’ll be curious to see if these catch on. the potential for problems in terms of the charging circuitry is a bit worrisome (overcharging or incorrectly charging could mean hydrogen evolution or lithium zero instead of lithium ion which gets explosive with any moisture). but the good thing is that there are only 3-4 cells instead of 6 to get to 12 volts and the light & small aspect is awesome.
Chris says
A cure for the electic car?
todd says
I think the money is better spent on a mechanic who can actually tune the bike to start right up instead of after a couple minutes of cranking….
-todd
RH says
People pay a whole lot more than that for titanium parts that remove a whole lot less weight.
GenWaylaid says
Electric car batteries, these aren’t. The price for bare Li-ion cells currently sits between $1 and $2 per watt-hour. Even the largest of these motorcycle batteries sells for over $5 a watt-hour. The weight is similarly double that of bare cells of equal capacity. The size is more compact than a DIY battery pack, and the price and weight are partially explained by the need to have a durable casing for automotive use.
At that price nobody’s going to be buying the 100 or so that would be required for an electric car or even the 30 to 40 required for an electric motorcycle with decent range.
There’s a serious potential issue with drawing high amps from Lithium cells, for instance to power a starter motor. The “thermal runaway” that led to that recall of Dell laptop batteries, which is also related to the problems Palegreenhorse mentioned, could cause a battery fire. All conventional Lithium batteries require thermal and/or current regulation to avoid bursting into flames.
As batteries for gas-powered motorcycles, these are overkill unless you have a large engine and lots of electronics going.