104 replies to this topic

[SpudRider TT Bronze Member]

clc3251 said:

...I weighed the battery box and frame. 3lb 3oz...

After I completed my Shorai battery relocation, I weighed the items I removed from my bike. According to my bathroom scale (not a precision instrument), the items I removed weighed approximately 4 pounds. Besides the battery box and frame, the items I removed also included the battery retaining strap, bolts, starter relay holder, et cetera. ;)



The Shorai battery itself weighs about 5 pounds less than the stock battery. Therefore, the net weight loss from my Shorai battery replacement was approximately 9 pounds. :)

Spud :)

[snakeriverrangerider TT Bronze Member]

I never said the Shorai battery wasn't a bad idea. I might get one some day when I need a new battery but it's going to go the BATTERY BOX where it belongs. Honda knows what it's doing. The have some of the best engineers on the planet. If they came out with a bike that had the battery in the air box, you would think twice owning one. Point is that Honda knows what it's doing and people who get too carried away with mods that don't do anything actually make things worse.

[millerjohn82 TT Member]

snakeriverrangerider said:

I never said the Shorai battery wasn't a bad idea. I might get one some day when I need a new battery but it's going to go the BATTERY BOX where it belongs. Honda knows what it's doing. The have some of the best engineers on the planet. If they came out with a bike that had the battery in the air box, you would think twice owning one. Point is that Honda knows what it's doing and people who get too carried away with mods that don't do anything actually make things worse.

+1 battery belongs in battery box, air belongs in air box. I would think electrics in airbox would disturb airflow and expose components to moisture and dirt. I was able to remove 15lb from up high on my bike just by excercising and dieting, it's amazing how much better my bike handles.

[XR650L_Dave TT Addict]

I think there is some over-thinking going on here, which I am going to happily contribute to: back in 1992, honda put the large, heavy lead-acid battery in just about the only place they could, it was more the only place vs the best place.

My battery box has always been sealed, but I will tell you it is a nasty place after 8000 'Dave' miles, mud, bugs, sticks (sticks?! How the heck did sticks get in there?!), dust, dirt, you name it.

I don't think anything is going to be worse off under the seat or in the air-box, except that yes, it's up to you to make sure the air-flow is sufficient. Little heat from the engine, but the CDI or batt won't be soaking in it.

If getting rid of the big bulge aids your riding or enjoyment, that is worthwhile to you- who else is it supposed to be worthwhile to?


Dave

[clc3251 TT Bronze Member]

XR650L_Dave said:

I think there is some over-thinking going on here, which I am going to happily contribute to: back in 1992, honda put the large, heavy lead-acid battery in just about the only place they could, it was more the only place vs the best place.

My battery box has always been sealed, but I will tell you it is a nasty place after 8000 'Dave' miles, mud, bugs, sticks (sticks?! How the heck did sticks get in there?!), dust, dirt, you name it.

I don't think anything is going to be worse off under the seat or in the air-box, except that yes, it's up to you to make sure the air-flow is sufficient. Little heat from the engine, but the CDI or batt won't be soaking in it.

If getting rid of the big bulge aids your riding or enjoyment, that is worthwhile to you- who else is it supposed to be worthwhile to?


Dave

Well said!

[n16ht5 TT Gold Member]

Just thought I would share some pictures...
mine is mounted a bit differently.



I cut off the right bracket for the airbox. still sturdy as can be.. I might fab another one up here soon in a diff location. this way the airbox top is more open and the fuse block and more electrical is under the seat on top.
I am going to glue some screen material on the right side of the airbox now. seems to get more air with the holes. they are underneath the side panel so it stays pretty clean in there. I noticed a little improvement after this in the butt dyno.. it is easier to pop wheelies.. I can pop wheelies through 3rd gear pretty easily now. 2nd gear throttle wheelies nicely too


battery size comparison.. the shorai might as well weigh NOTHING compared to that behemoth of a battery.


how it looks now.


I started with a bone stock XRL, and now with all the crap I removed and modded out, it is actually light enough for single tracking to some extent. it feels like a completely different bike! to think that keeping the battery setup stock seems ridiculous to me.. look at the CRF450, the batt is under the seat. if honda made a new XRL, this is probably closer to how it would be IMO. no nead for a boat anchor on the rear fender.

and NO, dirt and crap doesn't get into my electrical any more than it used to. I don't exactly baby my bikes either..









not using a kickstand here...
'

https://lh5.googleus...40/IMG_2250.JPG

Edited by n16ht5, 04 June 2011 - 11:22 PM.

[n16ht5 TT Gold Member]

snakeriverrangerider said:

I never said the Shorai battery wasn't a bad idea. I might get one some day when I need a new battery but it's going to go the BATTERY BOX where it belongs. Honda knows what it's doing. The have some of the best engineers on the planet. If they came out with a bike that had the battery in the air box, you would think twice owning one. Point is that Honda knows what it's doing and people who get too carried away with mods that don't do anything actually make things worse.

:lol: the same engineers that took the kickstart OFF the bike... :lol::lol:
:bonk:

[Chorbelt TT Bronze Member]

snakeriverrangerider said:

I never said the Shorai battery wasn't a bad idea. I might get one some day when I need a new battery but it's going to go the BATTERY BOX where it belongs. Honda knows what it's doing. The have some of the best engineers on the planet. If they came out with a bike that had the battery in the air box, you would think twice owning one. Point is that Honda knows what it's doing and people who get too carried away with mods that don't do anything actually make things worse.

nothing like a cherry coming in and talking crap.....:lol:

[snakeriverrangerider TT Bronze Member]

n16ht5 said:

:lol: the same engineers that took the kickstart OFF the bike... :lol::lol:
:bonk:

Just a dumb statement. People have this fantasy that the XR650L after so many mods is going to be some great offroad machine. That's the the 650R is for. The L is a Dual sport bike. They knew exactly what they were doing with they took the kick starter off the old 600R and made the 650L. It's the same reason they added a keyed switch and a steering lock - to make it harder to steal.

[Jboat TT Silver Member]

snakeriverrangerider said:

I never said the Shorai battery wasn't a bad idea. I might get one some day when I need a new battery but it's going to go the BATTERY BOX where it belongs. Honda knows what it's doing. The have some of the best engineers on the planet. If they came out with a bike that had the battery in the air box, you would think twice owning one. Point is that Honda knows what it's doing and people who get too carried away with mods that don't do anything actually make things worse.

Dude, we get it already. You don't like this mod. Now go start you own thread to piss on...

[XR650L_Dave TT Addict]

snakeriverrangerider said:

Just a dumb statement. People have this fantasy that the XR650L after so many mods is going to be some great offroad machine. That's the the 650R is for. The L is a Dual sport bike. They knew exactly what they were doing with they took the kick starter off the old 600R and made the 650L. It's the same reason they added a keyed switch and a steering lock - to make it harder to steal.

*snort* it's a great offroad machine as soon as you put better tires on it and fix the jetting.

It'll get you anyplace a bike can go, and I've been to a few places I couldn't get anyone to follow me no matter what they were on.

A bike does not have to be the fastest to be great.


Dave

[n16ht5 TT Gold Member]

snakeriverrangerider said:

Just a dumb statement. People have this fantasy that the XR650L after so many mods is going to be some great offroad machine. That's the the 650R is for. The L is a Dual sport bike. They knew exactly what they were doing with they took the kick starter off the old 600R and made the 650L. It's the same reason they added a keyed switch and a steering lock - to make it harder to steal.

dumb statement? troll :lol:

I must be living the dream then, my XRL does great offroad :P

why dont you post pictures up of you riding some tough trail thats too much for the L?

[FBJR TT Bronze Member]

Got mine today from NiceCycle, and was told it was the new style. This is a great mod and something I have talked about in earlier threads. However I did not want to deal with "poly" types packs as they are not made for any rough use. If you want more capacity, they have the same size for another $40, but I didn't see the need.

If I had wanted an R, I would have bought one. Dual sports are great and modding them is half the fun!!

[SpudRider TT Bronze Member]

FBJR said:

Got mine today from NiceCycle, and was told it was the new style. This is a great mod and something I have talked about in earlier threads. However I did not want to deal with "poly" types packs as they are not made for any rough use. If you want more capacity, they have the same size for another $40, but I didn't see the need.

If I had wanted an R, I would have bought one. Dual sports are great and modding them is half the fun!!

Good for you! :) I am pleased to report my Shorai battery relocation is still performing superbly after 7,700 miles of riding. :)



Spud :)

[n16ht5 TT Gold Member]

not to beat a dead horse or anything, but here's a Spud-modded XR650L rippin it up in Alaska... after I rode 1500MI to get here :ride:




Originally Posted by snakeriverrangerider View Post
Just a dumb statement. People have this fantasy that the XR650L after so many mods is going to be some great offroad machine. That's the the 650R is for. The L is a Dual sport bike. They knew exactly what they were doing with they took the kick starter off the old 600R and made the 650L. It's the same reason they added a keyed switch and a steering lock - to make it harder to steal.


yeah this thing just can't keep up with real dirt bikes :bonk::bonk::bonk:

not to mention the worn out 50/50 $50 a set cheng fling cheapo tires
:p:p

so lets see your proof, Snakerider :moon:





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFSkUB2Q3RQ

Edited by n16ht5, 20 June 2011 - 10:58 AM.

[lrutt TT Bronze Member]

This has been a great thread, so much so I thought I'd give it a try. I took a littlle different route. The goal was not to mount anything in the air box, everything under the seat. So I stripped back the harness all the way to the tank so I could re-arrange the wires as in the first picture below. Then tucked the relay in the small space next to the battery. I had to only trim a small corner off the airbox air inlet to clear the solenoid connector. I then mounted the CDI and fuse box on top of the air box but under the side cover. There was enough room, just barely. The connector on the CDI is a fully sealed connector so no worries there. And the CDI should get good cooling air. The cover on the fuse box keeps that sealed. First picture shows everything mocked up. I only had to shorten the ground and starter cables.



Next picture is taken from the other side. I put a sleeve over the solenoid and it's cables to further prevent the possibility of a short. You can see the fuse block and CDI unit under the side cover. I routed a large portion of the harnes around the back of the air box intake under that frame cross brace. Then taped it all back up and tucked away.



Last picture is a repeat of what many others have shown. I nice tidy XRL but this one with an uncompromised air box.



Great mod and thanks to Spud for taking the lead. It is truly unbelievable how small and light that battery is. I really did not expect it to crank the BRP over but crank it does. Amazing and a very worthwhile mod. Between the electrical case, passenger pegs, plastic gas tank, tail light removal, etc. I've probably shaved at least 25lbs off the old gal.

[SpudRider TT Bronze Member]

You did a nice job, Irutt. Thank you for the kind words, and thank you for documenting your work with photos!

I weighed the items I removed from my XR650L. However, I have not weighed the items I added to my bike. Therefore, my final, weight reduction figure is an estimate, but I believe it is a fairly accurate estimate. Without further ado, here are my calculations.

Weight of items removed from my XR650L:

Stock Battery & Battery “Suitcase”: 10.25 Lb
Stock Fuel Tank: 7.0 Lb
Stock Exhaust Header, minus heat shield: 3.0 Lb
Stock Headlight and Bracket: 3.0 Lb
SMOG Pump, Hoses, and associated hardware: 2.0 Lb
Stock Tail Light & License Plate Holder: 2.0 Lb
Passenger Foot Pegs: 1.5 Lb
Fuel Tank "Elephant Ears": 1.0 Lb
Engine Guard: 1.0 Lb
Fender Subframe 1.0 Lb

Total Weight Removed: 31.75 Lbs

Weight of items added to my XR650L:

Clarke 4.7-gallon Fuel Tank: 3.5 Lbs (estimate)
FMF Hi-Flo Header: 2.5 Lbs (estimate)
Baja Designs Headlight: 2.0 Lbs
Shorai Battery & foam: 1.25 Lbs
WPS Tail Light: 0.5 Lbs (estimate)

Total Weight Added: 9.75 Lbs

Net Weight Loss: 22.0 Lbs

Most of this removed weight was highly placed on the motorcycle. Here are my weight reduction modifications, listed in order of weight removed.

Net Weight Loss Figures

1) Shorai battery relocation: 9.0 Lbs
2) Clarke 4.7-gallon fuel tank replacing the stock fuel tank and air scoops: 4.5 Lbs
3) Removing SMOG pump and associated hardware: 2.0 Lbs
4) Removing Passenger Foot Pegs: 1.5 Lbs
4) WPS tail light replacing the stock tail light and license plate holder: 1.5 Lbs
5) Removing Engine guard: 1.0 Lbs
6) Removing Fender Subframe: 1.0 Lbs
7) Baja Designs headlight replacing stock headlight and bracket: 1.0 Lbs
8) FMF Hi-Flo Header replacing stock header: 0.5 Lbs

You can probably remove 1.5 pounds with an aftermarket muffer. I kept the oil separator on my bike; you might lose 0.5 pounds by removing it. You might lose 1.0 pounds by replacing the stock dashboard and speedometer cable with a Trail Tech Vapor computer. Perhaps you would lose 1.0 pound with aluminum handlebars. You can certainly lose significant weight by carefully choosing your tires. Installing the Tu-Bliss tire system will also drop weight from the bike.

I did not set out with the intention to remove a large amount of weight from my motorcycle. I realized the XR650L is fundamentally a heavy motorcycle, and I didn't think I could "make a silk purse from a sow's ear. " Therefore, I have made all my modifications for performance, appearance, and maintenance reasons. However, I am very glad I removed the 22 pounds of highly placed weight from my XR650L. My bike feels much more nimble after the weight reduction.

P.S. If you examine my figures, you will note almost half of the total weight loss from my bike resulted from my Shorai battery relocation.

Spud

[brianhare TT Platinum Member]

Hey......where`s the skidplate in your list of added weight and rack and suitcase........smarten up

B

Edited by brianhare, 04 February 2012 - 03:22 AM.

[SpudRider TT Bronze Member]

brianhare, on 04 February 2012 - 03:21 AM, said:

Hey......where`s the skidplate in your list of added weight and rack and suitcase........smarten up

B

You got me, Brian.

I merely listed all the stock parts I removed, and the parts I needed to install to replace them. Of course, if you start adding other "goodies" to your bike, such as a skid plate, luggage rack, et cetera, the bike gains back some of the weight you removed. However, my bike is still 22 pounds lighter than it would be if I just installed extra parts without making the modifications I listed.

How's the weather up there? The temperatures are unseasonably mild down here, and we have had very little snow this winter. The mountain trails are going to open up a lot earlier this year!

Spud

Edited by SpudRider, 04 February 2012 - 02:05 PM.

[brianhare TT Platinum Member]

Yeah,i`ve seen the snow you get,holy smokes

Well we got the first snow here this year,about 10 inches....temps have been above freezing mostly till now,,just got colder the last few days...i think i`ll have to get my Honda lawnmower out of the back of the garage and put the Ariens snowflinger in it`s place




B

Edited by brianhare, 04 February 2012 - 02:41 PM.