Hyper Shorai Battery Install - Ducati.ms

ajpags · Feb 16th, 2011, 9:21 pm

Hi there...

Just installed the Shorai 18AH battery in my Hyper, and thought I'd post a bit of detail on it. Sort of a how-to with crappy phone pics, but some valuable data I hope. Enjoy:

First, the weights: Stock battery

Yes, that's heavy...

Now the Shorai...

Hell yes - that's a savings of 6.5 pounds! Ok, on to some more detail...

Box stuff:

More

And finally a size comparison:

Ok - on to the install...
If your battery compartment looks like mine - shame on you - clean that thing up! If you have the velcro in the bottom, congrats, that means your dealer did the battery tie down TSB for you. You can leave it or remove it - doesn't matter either way.

Make sure you pull the bolts out of the Shorai, take the nuts out, and cut little pieces of foam to attach to the back of them. That will aid dramatically in getting the bolts to actually interface with the nuts later. Trust me on this one...

Sorry - limited to 8 pics - will post the rest shortly...

ajpags · Feb 16th, 2011, 9:23 pm

I took the thickest piece of foam from the Shorai box and cut it to about 4.75 inches so it would fit in the battery compartment:

Then peeled the back and stuck it to the compartment wall:

Straighten and bend your tie down bracket so it looks vaguely like this one does (note, you might need to bend the tail end to more than a 90 degree angle so it clears the subframe). I hammered the tail end straight and then introduced my own bend to it. I opted not to cut the tail end off in case I ever put a stock battery back in place (although I don't think this thing does much good as designed).

Drill a hole in it about an inch or so into the plastic housing (ymmv here, so I'm not posting exact location). Note, I opted to have the battery pushed to the left side of the compartment so I could make better use of the battery tie down. Then using the existing bolt and only one spacer, install the bracket. These tools are invaluable for this job as the nut on the bottom is a total pain in the arse to tighten (note the ratcheting box end).

Install pic:

Closeup of the install:

Should look like this installed, and be much more secure than your stock setup:

ajpags · Feb 16th, 2011, 9:23 pm

Then all you need to do is connect your battery terminals, your battery tender leads (you do have a battery tender right? c'mon now...at least grab a Schumacher), and you should look like this:

Note, those nuts with the foam would have enabled you to do this easily. Now go back and try that trick I mentioned before. Just cut a small piece of foam from the stuff they packed the battery with. Put that little piece on the back of the battery nut, and put that nut in place where it normally goes. It will raise the nut enough and keep it in place to make the battery bolt reach it easily.

Reinstall your seat using the Pags-Mod bolt you undoubtedly made yourself a while back:

And you have a new battery setup and a bike that's 6.5 pounds lighter for about $185 (I got my battery from Motorcycle Batteries, ATV, Car, Marine, and Solar Battery Products | BatteryStuff.com no affiliation whatsoever, just a nice easy transaction).

Hopefully your bike looks like this now:

And sounds like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23G1HM9jrtU

Thanks for reading...
Pags

johnchypermotard · Feb 16th, 2011, 9:27 pm

probably a great post ... if the photos actually loaded.

ajpags · Feb 16th, 2011, 9:31 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnchypermotard

probably a great post ... if the photos actually loaded.

Ugh - I'm so bummed - hopefully a moderator can see what's up there - I used the in-house [IMG] tags that should have done the trick - all the pics are up in Picasa.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr...even the youtube vid of my ride didn't show...

(****PICS FIXED****)

Rikosintie · Feb 16th, 2011, 11:46 pm

Oh, Shorai girls! What were we talking about?

Shorai Models

Michael

Decreasing Dave · Feb 16th, 2011, 11:48 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rikosintie

Oh, Shorai girls! What were we talking about?

Shorai Models

Michael

YEAH!!! BABY!!!!

Happy Holidays!!

Dave

moto · Feb 17th, 2011, 12:08 am

Nice install!

-M

joelpatrol · Feb 17th, 2011, 3:00 am

Just a couple of comments;

1st......nice post and very informative.
2nd......I thought that with the Shorai you should not use a battery tender. The beauty of this beast is that it doesn't lose charge. That's why I just installed one in my S4Rs as I don't ride it very often.
3rd.........The Pags-mod bolt is in my opinion very average. I tried it today and found that you can get very little purchase with the key ring to tighten it enough. That is only judging from my wrist torqu-ometer, so I may be sounding a little harsh.
BUT.........thanks for posting.

ajpags · Feb 17th, 2011, 6:39 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by joelpatrol

3rd.........The Pags-mod bolt is in my opinion very average. I tried it today and found that you can get very little purchase with the key ring to tighten it enough. That is only judging from my wrist torqu-ometer, so I may be sounding a little harsh.
BUT.........thanks for posting.

Oh no doubt....it's not a "great" mod at all, but a stepping stone to give folks some ideas and perhaps have a real quarter turn dzus put in place at some point. Right now its more of a ghetto mod until something better gets worked up.

As for the charger deal, they recomend their own brand of trickle charger...or minor charging on occasion if not in use for a long time. In theory, the bikes charging system should be good enough to keep it fresh if used fairly regularly.