Best lightweight battery

[d90rick]

I read the threads & looks like the ballistic & shorai are the lightest. I figured by now a peeps have had some time & use with both. Any updates? I need a new battery for my XC race bike so any input would be super. Thanks!

[JOHNDOE83]

Battery weight is the last thing to ever be concerned about.

If your worried about weight then wheels, sprokets, nerfs, air shrouds, extra coolers, bumpers and skid plates should all be removed or replaced with smaller and lighter.

Shoot a stock 400ex steering stem weighs almost as much as a battery does.

I would try and see how many starts a 12v cordless drill battery will get you, if it can start once then charge and possibly start 2-3 more times then I would use 12v drill battery during races.

[d90rick]

Thanks for the input. A battery is not my first mod or attempt at trimming wieght off the bike or myself. Now, for anyone who has actually used a shorai or ballistic...

[HondaRacing83]

Ive only had Yuasa and TMS. The Yuasa was a standard battery and it went bad even after keeping it on a battery tendor so i bought this cheap tms gel battery for like $35 and its light and starts my quad so hey works good for me seems to turn over faster now too

[cheater13]

Originally posted by HondaRacing83
Ive only had Yuasa and TMS. The Yuasa was a standard battery and it went bad even after keeping it on a battery tendor so i bought this cheap tms gel battery for like $35 and its light and starts my quad so hey works good for me seems to turn over faster now too
That's the orange one off ebay right? I plan on getting a new battery and i think that is the one that your talking about.

[ish416]

I've been running the CV4 CV4B003C, which has 275cca and weighs 1lb 10 ounces for a few years on my KFX450R.

So far it has been a great battery. It is a bit pricey but it has worked out extremely well so far. It has no issues priming the fuel pump, and turning the engine over very quickly on the notoriously slow to start KFX450R. I will be picking up another one for my WR250R and likely one for my EX as well.

I have witnessed too many people loose money on the cheap gel batteries. They tend to work great for the first few months and typically start loosing power after that. Also, if it's cold, those batteries tend to die off rather quickly. Whereas a lithium ferrous battery does not have these issues.

[Wheelie]

I installed a Shorai last summer and love it. IIRC it's 5-6lbs lighter than stock and with the supplied foam padding it fits great--I have a thread on the install somewhere on this site.


I started my quad a couple weeks ago after sitting for several months in cold weather--it was below freezing for a couple weeks when I went to fire it. It took two attempts to kick the engine over to 'warm' up the battery. On the 3rd try the engine spun over quickly and fired right off. I was impressed, great battery.

Got it through rockymountain for about $160.

[gasguzzler]

I've got a Shorai in my 400ex (extended duration version) and a Ballistic in my YFZ. Both have been great batteries so far and I'm leaving the machines out all day at the ice races now.