not no .. but hell NO ... starting a diesel takes hefty amp hours. especially if one has to run glow plugs which don't understand PB/EQ . then factor in if a diesel gets finicky to start for what ever reason... like too much fuel. that said... let's say you've got unlimited $$$ and just want it. despite everyone telling otherwise. can it be done... hell yes! just be prepared to shell out some HUGE $$$. to find out how much... look at similar costs to set up a bank of lithium batteries for an electric car. if the last set lasted 12 years.. that's a pretty argument for staying with what works. follow this link on how to live with an AGM bank of batteries designed to support extended stay sail boats. absolutely worth your time... LOTS of pertinent information! http://www.morganscloud.com/2010/08/02/agm-battery-test-part-1/
Ballistic Performance Components recommended a 12 cell EVO2 battery for my 2010 BMW R1200 GS Adventure. This battery would not reliably turn my engine over especially when the temperature was lower than 50 F. The dealer arranged a replacement for me to try again. This one too was too weak to crank over my 1200 cc boxer engine. After speaking with Ballistic, the owner himself replaced my 12 cell battery with the 16 cell battery. This worked ok but still had some problems when the temperature dropped below 35 F. On a recent long distance trip, the 16 cell battery suddenly failed and would not even turn over my engine. After returning the battery to Ballistic Performance Components, I was told that the battery was full of water and most likely had been submersed in water. The water caused the battery to short out. Now it is useless after 10 months and would not be covered under warranty. Here is the problem... My 16 cell battery was never submersed in water! In fact my bike was not even washed in this time period. I ride every day rain or shine. The owner could not tell me why the water was in the battery other than it MUST have been submersed in water. I believe that there was a flaw in the plastic housing such as a crack or poor weld that allowed wheel spray into the battery. How can Ballistic Performance Components sell a product that is advertised as impact and water resistant and that can be mounted in any position for any power sport? Evidently, this battery is not ready for prime time! Do not purchase!
that's pretty poor performance! a 12 cell or 16 cell should put out plenty of cranking amps to start your R1200 during warm weather. the 16 cell (10 AH) should have performed during colder weather too. what's your alternator putting out at idle and at 3,000 rpm? use a known to be correct meter at measured at battery. target voltage for LiFePO4 is 13.3v (90%) when putting bike up for the night.
Cy... I haven't measured the Ballistic battery before I leave the bike overnight. It is charging at ~13.3 V at idle (via GS-911 data). Others...how did your batteries fail? I have made claims with WI consumer protection agency, BBB, and the BMW MOA consumer protection. If these don't work then small claims court. I'm hoping others will join in with me.
more data is needed ... besides verifying your charging system is working fine. some late model BMW have well known charging issues related to rectifier/regulator issues. to where voltage output is within normal range. but as RPM goes up, voltage output goes down. don't get me wrong .. not saying your Ballistic battery is not a hunk of junk as claimed. but let's verify your charging system is putting out normal voltage first. then factor how some BMW motorcycles has one of the highest parasitic drains in the industry. combined with a tiny AH battery like most LiFePO4 vendors recommend. simply parking your motorcycle for a short period will drain your tiny AH LiFePO4 dead. ONE discharge to dead, if allowed to stay dead for extended time will kill any battery. this includes LiFePO4. battery may not recover at all ..even if you get lucky and battery recharges back up... it will never be the same again. another major problem is most LiFePO4 mfg don't factor is max charge rate your LiFePO4 battery will be exposed to. BMW R1150 and R1200 uses a 720 watt alternator. 720watt less overhead = about 37 amps delivered to your battery. if your battery is nearly full or full .. no problems as LiFePO4 will swallow 37 amps for a very short duration until it reaches absorption stage. then LiFePO4 naturally slow down inward current as it gets closer to full. until only milliamps is accepted. say your bike has been parked for sometime .. parasitic drain has drained LiFePO4 down to say 5% state of charge (SOA) or almost dead. LiFePO4 even at 5% SOA will deliver enough amps to start your motorcycle for one good crank. now your tiny AH LiFePO4 is being charged at 37 amps. cells are rated for max charge rate of 4C (C = actual AH) so a 7AH battery charged at 37 amp = 5C or a recipe for a short life ... some LiFePO4 mfg have been known to recommend a 5AH actual battery for R1200GS. max charge rate for 37 amps is an outrageous 7C charge rate .. if charged from almost dead that 5AH LiFePO4 will severely overheat and probably melt. IMHO sizing a LiFePO4 too small is the most common reason for LiFePO4 failure in motorcycles. need to verify LiFePO4 voltage is 13.3v (90%) range when motorcycle is parked for the night. need voltage reading at idle and 3,000 rpm measured at battery. readings needs to be taken with a known to be correct meter.
Yet, despite all the above, AGM still works..and works...and works.. Odd, yes??...all this talk about the batteries are failing, not working...because your bike, that worked perfectly well up until install of LiFePo...now..YOUR bike doesn't charge it correctly..it's too cold..it's too hot...you bought the wrong size..you filled it with water..etc.. Yet, we never see these threads on an Odyssey..or Interstate..or Wal Mart.. For the record, my Interstate AGM is going on six years old...been in 115 degree heat and down to 20-25 degrees..never a hiccup..
no disagreement from me .. one reason AGM lives under sub optimal charging conditions is that AGM battery is correctly sized. almost always AGM will have the correct amp hour capacity spec'd by BMW or larger. vs it's typical to install a LiFePO4 with actual AH 50% or less size spec'd by factory OEM engineers. sure that tiny AH LiFePO4 will start motorcycle just fine during warm weather .. but problems start when weather gets cold and/or bike goes dead from sitting because parasitic drain was not factored when sizing LiFePO4 battery, etc. etc. this is why my recommendations is to go with AGM .. unless someone is willing to pay the $$$ for a correctly sized LiFePO4. on test mule R80G/S which has much higher starting amp requirement than any modern bike... has performed flawlessly even at 15f .. it's LiFePO4 is correctly sized at 14AH actual... Shorai LFX36 (14AH) and EarthX ETX36 (14AH) has both passed long term (2 yr and 1yr) tests flawlessly!!!
It hasn't failed, still going strong. Starts right up at 15 degrees too. Did you ever check the grounds on your bike? Good luck with your witch hunt.
Unfortunately, I cannot test the Ballistic EVO2 16cell HD because when I sent it in for warranty they cut it open because water came out of it. I had also noted that water came out of the bike after if failed during my IBA Saddle Sore ride in September. I had to replace it in Louisville with a AGM battery. I packed in in my side case and when I got home rusty water was all over everything. That is why Ballistic Performance Components is insisting that my battery was submersed in water. BUT it wasn't! I haven't done a river or stream crossing. Didn't wash the bike. Just rode it like a good BMW rider does...Every day! Now, does it make sense that they would sell a battery that is NOT water tight???? A battery that cannot be used in the rain???? I feel that this battery had a flaw from manufacturing or cracked due to an imperfection or overheating during use which allowed water to creep in. OR their quality control was extremely poor (if they even have a QC/QA department!!!).
Mostly my batteries don't fail... but I used to kill them. Batteries (except for deep discharge varieties) don't like being fully discharged and don't work very well after you've done that two or three times. On the older wet cells letting the fluid level fall to about 30% of capacity also didn't do a battery very much good. I did have one failure due to sudden battery death. An internal connection broke. Don't know why.
