Battery options

[Erik Marquez]

 

For some the benefits of a Lithium battery are worth the cost and downsides of the battery type (less capacity , though more energy available for the short term)

 

For others a good quality AGM lead acid battery with more AH than the stock YT7B-BS 6.5 AH battery is a better choice.

 

The YTZ10S is that battery.

With some simple mods to the battery box and a fabricated bracket you get 8.5 AH (more capacity then a LI battery that fits)

 

There is no wrong answer just what is better for your use.

 

 

 

 

 

[woods-rider]

What do you use the battery for that you wanted the extra AHs? Headlight on for extended periods with the bike off?

[MotoDox]

Thanks for the tips Erik!

[74jimbo]

There is a kit from Happy-Trail.

https://www.happy-trail.com/find-your-bike/suzuki/drz400s-sm/battery-box-drz400s-all-years.html

[Noble]

The benefit of a larger battery is more cranking amps for starting.

An approach I have not seen posted is to move the whole battery box in toward the wheel 10mm.  Requires cutting the mounting bosses and fabing a replacement retaining strap.  The Happy Trails box looks good, wonder if it holds up to rough abuse with the weight of a lead/acid AGM 10 battery

[Erik Marquez]

1 hour ago, woods-rider said:

What do you use the battery for that you wanted the extra AHs? Headlight on for extended periods with the bike off?

Ever get stopped on an obstacle, stalled it 5 times?
Ever  been riding with kids, or riding friends and found yourself stopping at every trail intersection, hill base, hill top?

Li batteries are outstanding at putting out the majority of their stored energy all at once (Cranking amps, not the same as Cold Cranking amps)
What they are less good at is stored energy measured and available in capacity say, needing to start your bike 10 times in an hour.
Li batteries excell in fast recharge over a lead Acid battery (if you have a charging system up to the task),,, but they still need run time to charge. 
And then you have cold weather... Li can work in most cold weather, by warming them up (one or 2 staled starts "warms" the battery up and a third start will fire up) But they do have cold weather issues/ concerns. Maybe not an issue for most but something to consider. 

And then you have folks that want to run accessories from the battery motor off .. same deal... Lead Acid has more capacity to do that then a Li battery.

I love Li batteries, I built them years ago from A123 cells and now buy batteries like the shorai for most of my bikes.. But sometimes I want more capacity, and that's when a a good Yuasa AGM battery fits the bill.

That is what this rider wanted / needed, so that's what he got.
 

 

[ptgarcia]

I ran the YTZ10 for a long time after buying a Sisneros Speed Works super-start kit off Eddie Sisneros close to 10 years ago. It served me well all those years. I only replaced it with a lithium a few months ago in an effort to cut weight. Otherwise, I'd still be running it. I definitely recommend it if you don't mind the extra couple pounds.

[roleyrev]

On ‎2‎/‎16‎/‎2019 at 3:05 PM, woods-rider said:

What do you use the battery for that you wanted the extra AHs? Headlight on for extended periods with the bike off?

Fuel injection - not that I have battery issues but the extra capacity would be handy in the stall 10 times situation. You can never have too much battery power IMHO

[Beta300REcat]

Running their 150 on the DRZ

This one is a 280.....................

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017DX6V2W/ref=sspa_dk_detail_2?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B017DX6V2W&pd_rd_w=iDx8M&pf_rd_p=80559f3c-f83b-49c1-8a72-40f936e9df7a&pd_rd_wg=r5KOO&pf_rd_r=TD3QF4FCT4Q6W57BYEAK&pd_rd_r=40e37b26-3b90-11e9-adc1-07d663083cc6

Replacement for YTZ10S, YTZ12S, YTZ14S and YT12B-BS

 

$99 and enough power to crank a liter class sportbike. Should fit into the stock battery box. ?

[TX-SANDMAN]

After using the stock sized battery …. And having it on the last 18 to 20 months. I think I’m finally ready for the upgrade to a larger battery. Thx Erik

[GuyGraham]

On 1/1/2023 at 6:54 PM, TX-SANDMAN said:

After using the stock sized battery …. And having it on the last 18 to 20 months. I think I’m finally ready for the upgrade to a larger battery. Thx Erik

You're doing something wrong / buying cheap batteries. A larger AmpHour battery won't cure your problem

My first Yuasa (the OE battery) lasted 8 years

I replaced it with another Yuasa and that is now 10.5 years old and still going strong

Edited January 3, 2023 by GuyGraham

[DrzDick]

My last battery was a Bosch (standard size) and it lasted years and cranked well.

My current battery is Numax (standard size) and it has always been weak.

My next battery will be a supercapacitor module, which I'm gonna buy shortly.

[ZDuster]

On 1/3/2023 at 12:50 PM, GuyGraham said:

You're doing something wrong / buying cheap batteries. A larger AmpHour battery won't cure your problem

My first Yuasa (the OE battery) lasted 8 years

I replaced it with another Yuasa and that is now 10.5 years old and still going strong

I'm a new guy to the dirt bike world and stators so I have to ask, can you have to big of a battery?

And, which Yuasa are you currently running?

[GuyGraham]

3 hours ago, Uncharted said:

I'm a new guy to the dirt bike world and stators so I have to ask, can you have to big of a battery?

And, which Yuasa are you currently running?

I am  running the stock YT7B-BS

As regards size, I suppose no you cant have too big a battery but why would you want to.. It wont last longer in terms of life if your charging system is destroying them/ or you are letting it sit discharged.. Yes it will will have more capcity so you can do more starts before it runs flat but I have never found the stock battery wanting in terms of number of starts as my charging system keeps it topped up

 

First step is to check the charging voltage is between 14.0 /14.5 volts. Above this you reg/rec is frying you battery, below it is not being charged efficently/fully.

 

Edited January 8, 2023 by GuyGraham

[Beta300REcat]

On 1/8/2023 at 2:30 AM, Uncharted said:

can you have to big of a battery?

Too big how?

[ZDuster]

15 hours ago, Beta300REcat said:

Too big how?

Cold cranking amp's, storage capacity etc. Not physical size.

[Beta300REcat]

6 hours ago, ZDuster said:

Cold cranking amp's, storage capacity etc. Not physical size.

nope

[Mdrz440]

A bit of a revival but I just HAD to clear up some of the wrong information posted above. 
lithium batteries are far better with energy density than SLA AGM GEL for the given size.

if you believe the marketing teams then yes, the battery that’s 50% of the size has the same cca but less capacity as the lead acid but if you buy the largest LI battery you can fit in the box, you’ll have more power than you’ll ever need.
 

As lithium can have a power density around 150wh for the cheap knockoffs and as good as 400wh/litre for midrange cells.

While the best lead acids are pushing less than 100wh.

The only downside to lithium is the price (if you use your brain and FILL THE BOX), cold conditions aren’t a problem these days as running accessories for a minute warms them up not to mention more and more are coming from the factory with self heating.

[roleyrev]

9 hours ago, Mdrz440 said:

are far better with energy density than SLA AGM GEL for the given size.

Also far more complicated.  To do the job well there needs to be a battery management system at a cell level. BMS needs to know how to manage the charging from the vehicle. Certain types of chemistry use a flammable organic liquid in the cells to allow electron flow. 

By my reckoning LiFePO4, although down on density compared to other chemistries would be ideal for the DRZ application.

LMFP is also a good contender.

I'll round this out by saying the availability of good quality Lithium batteries into the 2nd tier market is going to be a slow process.  With the current knee curve in the adoption of BEV's taking most of the production at the moment. 

[Mdrz440]

1 hour ago, roleyrev said:

Also far more complicated.  To do the job well there needs to be a battery management system at a cell level. BMS needs to know how to manage the charging from the vehicle. Certain types of chemistry use a flammable organic liquid in the cells to allow electron flow. 

By my reckoning LiFePO4, although down on density compared to other chemistries would be ideal for the DRZ application.

LMFP is also a good contender.

I'll round this out by saying the availability of good quality Lithium batteries into the 2nd tier market is going to be a slow process.  With the current knee curve in the adoption of BEV's taking most of the production at the moment. 

Nearly all li cells have better energy density just by the shear fact that DOD is most 100% for all li but sla and agm is what,40% at most? So equal size, you get around 50% more capacity straight off the bat(tery) lol