I'm shopping for the perfect truly minimal dependable rechargeable affordable 12v battery for a total loss / bump start F1 based racer. Does something like that exist? Recommendations appreciated.
Thanks, Bill

Hi Bill,

Ed, TT2 , member may be able to help? He had some very small battery's for total loss.
Send him a pm.

Graeme

Bill, the battery that was in the F1 when I sold it to you.
Paul

O.k. Paul, you're right, I just had to find out for myself. It's just that I'm determined to make "Walter" a sub 300 lb ready to race bike .
Bill

Try a Ballistic LiFe cell. Smallest 12v unit is 2 x 2 x 3 1/4" & 0.5Lb - Ok if you have a charging system. Found on ebay in CA for $40! Shipped to the UK for 20 more. Biggest box I've ever seen with the smallest battery within. I guess you are supposed to use the foam packing to take up space in your old battery box.

For total loss their 8 cell looks better 4.5" (L) x 2.5" (W) x 4.25" (H) 1.7Lb.

http://www.ballisticparts.com/products/ ... /8cell.php

No connection with them (a bad pun) but they do seem to make the smallest, most affordable, modern technology cells for bikes.
MIke

Thanks Mike. I almost bought that little Ballistic, but it's only a 1.0 Ah battery. Talked over the min. Ah rating we would need with Bruce, and he figured min of 5.0 or better yet 5 to 7 Ah. My TT has the 7 Ah Shorai in it. It works fine, but my bike also has a charging system (and starter). So I called Shorai to run the 7 Ah by them working a total loss system, and he explained somehow that the Ah rating on a lithium battery is really about a third of an equivalent Ah rating on a lead acid battery. So he highly recommended the 14 Ah Shorai, which comes in the same case size as the 7.0, it's just a little heavier. Oddly enough, the 14 Ah Shorai is what Paul had put in the bike to begin with, so we had the correct battery under our nose the whole time. Even better, I already have a Shorai charger. It won't fit up on the front sub-frame like the little Ballistic 1.0 Ah one would have, but I'm a lot more confident that the plugs will fire all the way thru a sprint race. And we can put the battery money into more Ti bolts. Incidentally, I was finding the best prices for any battery I was looking at when checking on Amazon.
Bill
p.s. Thanks Paul

Hi Paul,

I think UK & US prices are somewhat different! Amazon UK is far pricier than its US equivalent to the point its often worth importing direct from the USA rather than deal thro a UK firm offering the same product via Amazon. In the case of the Ballistic it was even cheaper to buy from Ebay which is very unusual.

I agree with the need for a higher Ah capacity battery for a total loss system; higher CCA for one using a starter motor and a road bike with a demand for power which just about balances the generator output. If you have a working genny & just the ign to power a small battery will work ok.

If you were to rely on a battery just to power the ign circuitry for the period it takes to bump the bike up & the genny to cut in the battery Ah rating is almost irrelevant. A 1Ah capacity battery will be flat in 15 minutes if it was to power an ign system drawing 4A (probably stop a bit sooner as the voltage drops). Even my feeble attempts to bump a bike don't take that long!

I've been using a 3Ah on my RITA ignited "bump" Norvin & a 6ah (130CCA) on my electric start TT2 with no problems. Both have working charging systems.

I wonder sometimes if the firms selling batteries are always the best ones to consult re. which to buy. In my experience they always over specify. Am I being cynical if I say its no loss to them to sell the more expensive "overkill" option?

Mike

You are dead right, Norvin! However, let's not forget that the lightweight battery market is still very immature.
I am also looking for a small lightweight battery to go in my (theoretically) road-going TT2. Right now, I'll go for a "Racing Batteries" unit, but test it first on my road-going Suzuki 125 here in Philippines.
I'm hoping to find a battery to fit near the electronics plate under the tank at the front of the bike..........

Poison