Stephen_Spencer
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- Joined
- May 31, 2017
- Messages
- 2,560
Great pictures Vernon; lovin’ the RAF backdrop to those two awesome bikes! Sounds like you took the battery failure in your stride - or did you fail to mention the expletives!!
Was your battery a Shorai brand ? The only reason I ask is because there are a lot of lithium battery brands out there now and the only thing in common , they are from China . There may be some brands to stay away from. I recently purchased from a supplier called Batteries Plus here a brand called X2 (i think) and have not used it yet . I did however load test it back to back with a good AGM battery I have here and the X2 lithium delivered better results than the AGM battery. This test was at room temperature and that 's as far as i went with it. I will try a post a picture of it.Last weekend attended the Norton national rally. I even picked up best 961 award, which was very cool! While Jonathan was up rom Wales, we took the Dominators out to a few places, which was very cool. It also lead to an interesting failure of my lithium battery, so I've reverted to old tech for now!
First stop, Brook lands, the world oldest purpose built race track, built 1908. It's no longer complete, but you can see part of the banked track in the back ground.
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The my bike refused to start:
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so got a start from the AA, rode home...at which point, the bike would not start again. Earlier in the day, the battery was down to 4v, despite being on the specific charger....we had a power cut and maybe the charger was not rest during the week? I let it charge for a few hrs and it seemed to ring the battery up to near 13v and the bike started fine, so off I went to Brooklands, thinking over an hr on the road would top it up further. Nope...just died after one start where we moved the bikes from general parking to the paddock.
So, rode my Speed Triple to the fisrt eve of the Norton Rally. The next morning, out to get a standard battery and dropped home to fit it to the Norton. Back on the road again!
To celebrate, out for a spot of lunch
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The back to the Friars for the Rally
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Before Jonathan headed home, we visuted the RAF chapel at Biggin Hill for some tea and photos with the gate guardians.
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Hi Steve , I am not pushing Shorai brand , only that thare are many dubious brands in the lithium battery market. I am just sharing my test results with Vern which at face value seem very good to me. The biggest selling point to me is the less weight up on the battery bracket. If this was a normal bike with a normal battery location I wouldn't bother.I’ve had great results with Shorai lithium and the dedicated Shorai BMS, but I take great care with it. I must check the ‘store’ light is illuminated every time I go into the garage. Every weekendl whether I’m riding or not, I’ll flick across to ‘charge‘ and start her up when she’s ready. The clock internal voltmeter reads 12.8/12.9v routinely when fully charged. Increased CCA’s on the lithium and she starts first push - no throttle. Bike charges at 14.6/14.7v which always seems quite high.
Ouch !Service, new boots (Michelin Power 5’s - to replace Power RS) and billet Rizoma rear master cylinder. Looking forward to scrubbing in the new tyres when it eventually stops raining!!
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Won’t be chasing my riding buddy on his Duc for a few months. He was taken out from the rear by a young female driver, on a roundabout, and shunted into a concrete barrier. Broken collar bone, ribs, vertebrae, punctured lung. Duc’s a write-off! Is there anyone more dangerous on the road than a young female driver?
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Thanks BT, he’s doing ok and is up and about walking - bones healing. And talking about his next bike of course!Wow, that's horrible accident, hope your buddy heals well.
The Michelin 5's are a popular choice for the Thaiumph Speed Twin owners as well.
Will be getting Solvol fingerFreshly salted roads! Two hour ride followed by two week cleaning the polished aluminium.
Ten thousand miles passed today, Gorgeous blue skies in the north Pennines,
Also freshly salted roads.View attachment 100571View attachment 100572
They are my friend and coated in salt dust.Are these carbon wheels?
Are these carbon wheels?They are my friend and coated in salt dust.