Battery?

wgsvintage

I'm shopping for the perfect truly minimal dependable rechargeable affordable 12v battery for a total loss / bump start F1 based racer. Does something like that exist? Recommendations appreciated.
Thanks, Bill

Mr.R

Bill,
If it's for a race bike I wouldn't bother "Turd Skinning" * it could F'ck up your weekend...
Lash out on a small Balistic, 😉 or a small Hawker Odyssey or buy 2 or 3 cheap as chips lead acid jobbies and turn up at the track with them all fully charged.

*A "Turd Skinner" is someone who'd skin a turd to save a couple of pennies.
Do I need to explain what a turd is anyone?

Steve R

wgsvintage

Wouldn't the turd be lighter though, when it's skunned?

Speedmade

Bill,
Get one of these. They weigh about 1/4 of the standard Ducati battery with all the cranking amps.
http://www.shoraipower.com/Products/batteries/

Bag the charging system, but I would recommend leaving your starter.
One season I ran bump start, I killed the bike several times on the grid and was left for dead.
Plus, once you feel the weight of those Shorai batteries, you can keep the starter.

Reed H

Mr.R

wgsvintage wroteWouldn't the turd be lighter though, when it's skunned?

Skunned... Is that an Americanism/bastardised English word chap???

Back to the subject, lead acid batteries don't like vibration/can be unreliable, you pays your money and makes your choice.
I'd go for the ones I recommended either the small Hawker Odyssey (possibly the PC 353?) or the Ballistic.
Years ago (30 years back now) in the Classic Race scene over here everybody who was serious about their racing fitted an Interspan ignition, you charged it up and it lasted for the weekends racing.
It wasn't cheap but you knew you'd get your racing in without problems.

edit...When I was looking for a lightweight battery for my 851/916 I looked into the Shorai ones, but found a few reports on the web of the terminal posts breaking so I went for the Ballistic.

Steve R

lordmoonpie

Shorai are good batteries but you really need the proper charger so you can add another £100 to your £100 battery. You also cannot flatten them or earth them - that kills them dead and you need then to buy another!

They are fantastically small and light but the potential to lose them altogether outweighs (no pun intended!) the benefits for me. I ran one in my CR750 Honda and it was stressful having to be so careful not to earth the thing when moving it around and connecting/disconnecting wires.

I'm with Steve, I'd go with a Hawker Odyssey - bloomin' great batteries!

wgsvintage

Thanks for the inputs. We had figured we needed a 7Ah battery for a total loss system. While talking to Ballistic tech, the guy said for lithium batteries you should double the min. Ah rating. As I have in use two other Shorai batteries and have the Shorai charger, we went with the small case 14Ah Shorai.
Bill