Lithium Batteries in Sport Bikes: Opinion

Are lithium batteries good for use on sports bikes? Lithium motorcycle batteries are lighter in weight, which is a plus, but they also require special chargers to keep them working, which could be seen as a minus.

Partzilla’s motorcycle expert John Talley hosts live Q&A sessions on our YouTube channel every Friday at 3pm Eastern. In this session, John was asked for his opinion on using lithium batteries in sports bikes.

Lithium battery in sports bike

Lithium Batteries in Sports Bikes Q&A

What do you think about using lithium batteries in sport bikes?

John Talley: I don’t have a problem with that. Even on the Grom project, we went with what they call a gravity first or specific gravity — that doesn’t sound right — “gravity something” battery. [Antigravity] They’re lighter. I mean, the less weight you’re pulling along, the more acceleration you’re going to have. Less weight is like adding more power to the machine. So I don’t have a problem with lithium batteries at all. Just be careful when you go to charge them. You don’t want to throw on a regular old buzz box charger. It’ll destroy it. You’ll have to use a smart charger to do that. Now, I have worried in the past that since I don’t have a smart charger on a motorcycle, is it a problem? No, it’s really not because the charging is so well regulated. But what a lithium battery doesn’t want is for you to shove 14 volts down its throat constantly for two hours and then shut it off. That’ll burn it up. It wants to be taken to a certain voltage and then tapered off at the end of the charge. And that’s basically what the regulator does inside of a modern sports bike or motorcycle. But yeah, I don’t have a problem with those at all.