Is anyone using the Scorpion Stinger LiFePO4 battery

grizzdan

.040 Over
Joined
Oct 25, 2009
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94
Location
Port Orchard
I bought a scorpion lithium battery I thought it would work good on the Rocket as it has 500 cca. It is a four post battery and I thought i could hook up engine power on one side and accessories on the other. I only got hardware for two terminals so I called up BatteryStuff.com. They told me to only use the terminals on one side of the battery at a time. As we talked and I told him my bike had gotten to where it wouldn't start at all in the cold the other day. He asked how cold and i told him it was 20 degrees. He said he wouldn't recommend this battery to be trusted in that cold of weather 30 degrees would be ok but 20 would be risky. The battery is half the weight and twice the cca's of most batteries so i was wondering if anyone had any experience with this battery? I do know about all the starting upgrades thats not what this is about I'm just looking for input on batteries. I'll most likely send this back and get another Odyssey.
 
LiFePO4 batteries work differently to lead acid (incl AGM) batteries. CCA is such an artificial measure of power it's funny.

The best is a decent Lead acid and a smallish LiFePO4 in parallel. The Lead acid will attempt to keep amperage up and the LiFePO4 will keep the Voltage up. More important is to make sure the FAT cables are man enough. i.e. Fit fatter ones.

LiFePO4 work best if they're given some load before you hit the starter - lead acid quite the reverse. What is the cycle dischage rate of the Scorpion?. My homemade LiFePO4 has a 70C discharge rating (A123Systems cells) it runs alongside a Motobatt. This on my old Guzzi - The Motobatt looks after the bike - the A123 the starter.
 
Grizzdan,

There are a few of us (including me) on this board that have tried the Scorpion; with the general consensus that it is not a good battery. We had a good thread on it; what we found wrong with it but a search of the board can't find it at this time.

Marcus is rebuilding the search indexes; so that we can find past posts. Then the posts will be available for your review. Be prepared to turn the Scorpion into a paperweight.
 
I don't have the high power requirement of a Carpenter bike.
Unless you have some existing problems with the current battery life or big power draw, a single battery should suffice.
As for batteries, the Yuasa HP ytx-20 is perfect for MY Rocket. You can buy three for the price of most single LI ION batts.
I have all of the draw accessories (dual temp heated corbin seat and triumph grips and triumph AUX lights and GPS and three aux power outlets -USB and Cig lighter-type),
There is plenty of power for the standard Rocket.

Upgrade the cables!
Put in a battery tender and tap it when you park. this alone should give your NON Lithium battery life for years.

The battery thread covers everything. it will be back. give admin a couple of days.

I have a converted word file for the headlight and starter relay and ground cable upgrade if you can't get it back form the site.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The battery isn't necessarily the solution. I use just a standard AGM Scorpion battery: http://www.batterystuff.com/powersports-batteries/sYTX20HL-BS.html



The only real solution is to perform 2, possibly, 3 mods.

1. Upgrade the negative battery cable. Simple, cheap and the most effective.
2. Upgrade the starter motor. Change the stock 1.2 kW out to a perfect fit 1.4 kW motor from a 99 Toyota Solara 2.2L. 15 minute effort.
3. Starter relay mod. I haven't done this but it makes sense.

With the first two mods I have been starting with no problems in temps down as far as 20 degrees. Before, no joy if it dropped below 40.

Some of the other guys are just brute forcing the situation with stacking batteries and a bunch of exotic tricks. The above mods are simple and have proven to be quite effective. I no longer worry about riding in cold temps and not being able to get back home due to a dead battery.
 
Like I said I was looking for input on the Scorpion lithium battery. I sent the battery back and will get another Odyssey.
 
Grizzdan said:
Like I said I was looking for input on the Scorpion lithium battery. I sent the battery back and will get another Odyssey.
Click to expand...


Grizzdan. Don't order it. Odyssey sucks too for the Rocket. Had one previously. Save your money.

Like has been mentioned; a thicker gauge battery cable is best bet for really improving cold weather starts. Many of us (again remarked above) have also gone with additional enhancements; like wiring a Ballistic EVO 16 cell Lithium battery in parallel with current battery; starter upgrade and more.
 

Agree. Don't waste the money on an Odyssey. The battery is not the issue. I have an Odyssey sitting on my shelf cause it sucked so bad.
 
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