Weight loss - really?

[tgessner]

Admittedly, the Rocket 3 does not lean itself toward tuning measure involving weight reduction. On the other hand, one of the first measures I am taking with my lightweight builds (The T509 Speed Triple Build, if anyone is interested in an example), is to replace the stock battery with a lightweight lifepo battery. That must be the cheapest way to lose several kgs of weight on any bike.

Would that not be pointless on a bike with a curb weight of 320kg? I thought so - until I removed the stock battery from the bike for winter: The things weighs shocking 6.2kg! I quickly decided to make the usual swap for a Shido lithium battery, which weighs about 1.2kg. A five kg weight save is not a small amount on any bike, I would say (add to that the rider's effort to match the five kg weight loss).

Why would anybody try to shed weight from a cruiser motorcycle? My answer would be: Because the R3r is not a cruiser, but a very capable roadster that does much better on alpine roads and passes than I hoped it would.

 

[Hatata]

Admittedly, the Rocket 3 does not lean itself toward tuning measure involving weight reduction. On the other hand, one of the first measures I am taking with my lightweight builds (The T509 Speed Triple Build, if anyone is interested in an example), is to replace the stock battery with a lightweight lifepo battery. That must be the cheapest way to lose several kgs of weight on any bike.

Would that not be pointless on a bike with a curb weight of 320kg? I thought so - until I removed the stock battery from the bike for winter: The things weighs shocking 6.2kg! I quickly decided to make the usual swap for a Shido lithium battery, which weighs about 1.2kg. A five kg weight save is not a small amount on any bike, I would say (add to that the rider's effort to match the five kg weight loss).

Why would anybody try to shed weight from a cruiser motorcycle? My answer would be: Because the R3r is not a cruiser, but a very capable roadster that does much better on alpine roads and passes than I hoped it would.

I wanted to ask you a couple of questions. Did you have to change your battery tender to accommodate the new battery ? I live in a
Climate that could have quite cold spring mornings and from what I understand lithium batteries don’t provide optimal cranking power when they are cold. Let me know what your experiences are as this is a big win in weight savings alone obviously.

 

[Tripps]

I removed windshield, bags, brackets, hitch, passenger floor boards and a few misc things from my Touring, 106 lbs!

 

[warp9.9]

So we're talking about weight reduction.

Why ??????

 

[tgessner]

I wanted to ask you a couple of questions. Did you have to change your battery tender to accommodate the new battery ? I live in a
Climate that could have quite cold spring mornings and from what I understand lithium batteries don’t provide optimal cranking power when they are cold. Let me know what your experiences are as this is a big win in weight savings alone obviously.

Yes, the lithum battery requires a different type of charger that charges with a maximum current of 15V. You cannot use a charger for standard batteries.
Starting in cold weather is not a forte of lithium batteries. What does help though, is switching the ignition on and waiting a few seconds before hitting the starter button.
So far, my experience with lithium batteries has been mostly positive, looking back at six or seven bikes I have used them on.

 

[Hatata]

Yes, the lithum battery requires a different type of charger that charges with a maximum current of 15V. You cannot use a charger for standard batteries.
Starting in cold weather is not a forte of lithium batteries. What does help though, is switching the ignition on and waiting a few seconds before hitting the starter button.
So far, my experience with lithium batteries has been mostly positive, looking back at six or seven bikes I have used them on.

Dankeschön! Looking forward to visiting Germany again one day when the world returns to normal.

 

[KildeRouge]

I have tryied lithium battery and I quickly return to lead battery . I live in the North of France and when you are below 10°C
Lithium is a pain in your arse ! The trick to turn contact on is not very usefull There is 2 cases . one , you try to start but
not enought currant and your battery is empty . Case 2 you put on the lights and wait for the battery to warm up a little
then you start the starter and , phock the battery is empty ! Unless you check the tension with a voltmeter you never succeed
to be at the good battery temperature !
But if you like russian roulette , take the precaution to insulate thermically your lithium battery during winter !

 

[Tal]

Weight loss?...i recently had the Cat box removed on my GT...we weighed it and it was 13kg!...The boombox we put back on was about 6kg so a 7kg loss of weight was achieved. In the racing world, 1 kg of weight removed is equivalent to 1hp gained.

 

[Boog]

Yes, the lithum battery requires a different type of charger that charges with a maximum current of 15V. You cannot use a charger for standard batteries.
Starting in cold weather is not a forte of lithium batteries. What does help though, is switching the ignition on and waiting a few seconds before hitting the starter button.
So far, my experience with lithium batteries has been mostly positive, looking back at six or seven bikes I have used them on.

My trials with a Lithium battery concluded they are useless on a R3T in cold weather. I ride year round with temperatures down to 0F (-18C). The Lithium battery I used had 710LCA but those are only available 10 degrees above freezing. Warming the battery for several minutes was useless as well.

I wet back to an AGM battery that has worked well for two winters now.

Saving weight is not important to me, riding the bike is.

 

[tgessner]

Weight loss?...i recently had the Cat box removed on my GT...we weighed it and it was 13kg!...The boombox we put back on was about 6kg so a 7kg loss of weight was achieved. In the racing world, 1 kg of weight removed is equivalent to 1hp gained.

That is unfortunately not an option here in Germany. Each vehicle needs to pass the bi-annual mandatory emission test remain be road legal. Tampering with the exhaust is a big no-no here. The Rocket 3 passes the Euro 5 regulations. This means that any legal aftermarket exhaust would need to match this criteria. This pretty much kills the exhaust aftermarket here in Europe.