Still not starting in cold whether. Anyone have idea what I can try next.

I changed the stock Yuasa in my 09 R3T this past sept. with another Yuasa. I couldn't be happier with them. Never failed to start in the cold and I seldom use a battery Tender.
I never seen a need to switch to Lithium batteries but to each his own.

rocket51 said:

If the battery is bad it is the 3rd one from shorai. I bought the 24 amp in the summer and it worked fine till it got cold. I talked to shorai about it and they gave me a free upgrade to a 27 amp battery and it couldn't stand the cold either. I talked to them again and they offered me a upgrade to a 36 amp battery which I think is there most powerful one, but it still is not starting after being in the cold for a number of hours. The battery is still under warranty. I don't have a Lithium battery charger except for my drill/impact. I hate to return the battery after they have tried so hard to fix my problem. I will probably keep it and not ride the bike when it has to be in cold weather for extended time.

Click to expand...

If it were me I'd have a LONG HARD chat with Shorai. Seems to me they've underestimated something along the R+D line. i.e it's a design limitation.

If they're even vaguely interested in having a competitive product - they'll do something. The last thing they need, is it getting out that their (BLOODY) expensive leading edge battery cant hack it in the cold.

btw - can you borrow a load tester from a workshop close to you - or maybe even have them test. Yes I know it's a PITA - but ....... Knowing is always better than not.

If it were me - I'd send it back - Buy a Yuasa and a small 5aH LiFePO4 wired in parallel with a QD Anderson connector. Then you have the option of taking the LiFePO4 inside with you.

Something like this http://shop.i-tecc.de/media/catalog...427/l/i/lifepower_5000_starterbatterie_1_.png note they build in separate wiring circuit for cell balanced off vehicle charging. i-tecc are EXPENSIVE too. But for me a better bet as they're within the EU and our consumer laws are tough. Them being in Germany does not harm either - their laws are REALLY tough.

Oh and BE PICKY. Do not get confused by aH ratings. There are LiFePO4 batteries and there are A123Systems LiFePO4 batteries. The A123 are SIGNIFICANTLY better at DUMP DISCHARGE - often 300% better than others. a 10aH A123 will DUMP 450amps - run constant 300amps. And that's conservative. I've measured 560A dump from A123 8aH cells.

rocket51 said:

If the battery is bad it is the 3rd one from shorai. I bought the 24 amp in the summer and it worked fine till it got cold. I talked to shorai about it and they gave me a free upgrade to a 27 amp battery and it couldn't stand the cold either. I talked to them again and they offered me a upgrade to a 36 amp battery which I think is there most powerful one, but it still is not starting after being in the cold for a number of hours. The battery is still under warranty. I don't have a Lithium battery charger except for my drill/impact. I hate to return the battery after they have tried so hard to fix my problem. I will probably keep it and not ride the bike when it has to be in cold weather for extended time.

Click to expand...

Maybe you should consider not installing another Shorai. Maybe the most expensive isn't the best option. Try an AGM this time. The Scorpion that I have installed has done quite well after the other mods.

I am wondering if your Starter might be the problem and not the battery. Just curious as I have not had these problems and only get between 13 and 13.2 on my batteries when they are charged. Maybe when its cold the selinoid is just not getting enough thru it from the contacts inside it. I by no means am a expert just bouncing things around a bit. It would seem the start mod is not very expensive and pretty easy to do. I have that on my bucket list of winter projects amongst others.

mport said:

I changed the stock Yuasa in my 09 R3T this past sept. with another Yuasa. I couldn't be happier with them. Never failed to start in the cold and I seldom use a battery Tender.
I never seen a need to switch to Lithium batteries but to each his own.

Click to expand...

This is the battery i use also and it's been good to me. Be leary of any sealed battery that's been sitting on the shelf. A battery ages from the time it's sealed. I always buy the ones direct from a dealer that allows me to add the acid and seal it myself,very easy to do. I have always kept it on the tender for good measure.. Just treat her like a lady keep a roof over her head,keep her warm and juiced up.. There's nothing worse than a frigid woman..

I had wanted to upgrade/do dual batteries, but it now seems unnecessary, even after installing the Carpenter kit, it starts fine. I did do the starter upgrade, very happy with that.

Just installed a new battery with 310 cold cranking amps that I bought from ORiealys auto parts. I installed the battery and the next morning started the bike to see if it would drain to point where it wouldn't crank like the OEM Yuasa battery.
The outside air temperature was 12 degrees. The bike started without no trouble. I have even noticed that the bike's starter turns faster than it used too.
I don't know the CCA of the OEM battery but do know that this 310 CCA battery works great!

Battery part number: ETX20L

Super Start Platinum, absorbed glass matt technology, no need to add acid, ideal for ATV, and motorcycles

I just want to say thanks for all the information in this one thread. I don't have any issues with my new 2014 R3T at all being that it is new. Unfortuantely I must keep it outside under a cover. It hasn't let me down yet with many sub 10F mornings on my way to work. This thread gives me plenty of ideas for the future...

FWIW I determined that the Shorai was nothing but an overpriced Paperweight. That's said, given how light it is, it's not even a very good paperweight. My bike is proof positive that it is not required. You can buy several of the more powerful starter motors for the price of one of those batteries, and to be honest, it doesn't take much longer to swap the motor than it does to swap out the battery. I know what it's like to be stuck with a bike that won't start and I also know how it feels once the problem is solved. Not that I would ever ride in temperatures such as this but my bike will now start at -10°C or less with no issues.

I know some don't like the link at the beginning because it takes you to some foreign land but, in fairness, some of the links there bring you right back here

Mine has been refusing to start when its cold and I have a fairly new AGM battery in it. I am going to change the ground wire to a larger size and Advanced Auto carries the Part # 17610 starter and my guy gave me a price of $89.95 and their website shows $119. I have to do something as I want to ride it equally with the Storm and Ms. Wales only rides pillion on the Rocket. Its presumably a rebuilt Toyota starter, imagine that. A car starter to start a Rocket.