Noco Lithium for Tracer 900

[Garz747]

Getting ready to think about battery replacement, Yuasa seems weak after only 3 years and has been kept on maintainer indoors all winter.

Both the Noco lithium NLP 9 and NLP 14 are almost the same size as the oem battery. The 9 has 400 amps, the 14 has 500. The Yuasa only 190. The price difference between to two Nocos is $65  - $165 vs $220 CDN. Any comments or advice?

[GTO MIKE]

I myself  would steer clear of the lithium bat. I've had the best luck with Gel batteries.  Last a long time and have good cranking power.     Mike

[OZVFR]

I don’t know anything about Noco, but I’ve had an SSB lithium battery on my Tracer for 2 and a half years. 
Before that the same battery was in my 1050 Sprint for a bit over a year. 
I’ve had no problems, starts better and a third of the weight.  
Some people are worried about cold weather starting, but I’ve had no problem starting the bike while camping at -2*C. 

[The Cheese]

I plan on replacing mine with an Antigravity when the stock battery dies. Never had one but several people around me have. They were happy. I also have had several people around me using other brand lithium with no issues.

https://antigravitybatteries.com/products/starter-batteries/restart-oem/atz10-rs/

 

I have their jump starter/ power pack and am very happy with it.

https://antigravitybatteries.com/products/micro-starts/xp-1/

[Eventhorizon]

My self I'm staying away from the lithium batteries for now. With a bike that weighs in at almost 500 lbs a couple of lbs isn't going to make a difference.

The prices of the lithium batteries are falling tho, and will soon reach the price point of AGM.

I'm surprised your Yuasa had such a short life, I have known these batteries in a stored controlled environment and on a tender to last 8 to 9 years and only get replaced because of age with no signs of stopping.

My self I'm sticking with AGM for now, even tossed one into the car because of how reliable AGM batteries are even in harsh environments.

What ever you go with, make sure to get your batteries direct from the source, or a supported dealer. Don't get them from amazon for example, they are most likely not a supported dealer and worse off Chinese clones.

With your battery choices, I'd go with the 400 amp and save a few $$$

Edited October 17, 2023 by Eventhorizon

[DavidS]

I'm with Eventhorizon, I will wait a bit more.

It's not that I think the technology is bad, but the old batteries work fine. If I need to shed weight, going on a diet would be my first step. I'd hate to blow up my rear end just to lose a few lbs of weight. I know the odds are these things are safe, but I'll give it a bit more time before I jump in.

[draco_1967]

On 10/17/2023 at 5:43 PM, The Cheese said:

I plan on replacing mine with an Antigravity when the stock battery dies. Never had one but several people around me have. They were happy. I also have had several people around me using other brand lithium with no issues.

https://antigravitybatteries.com/products/starter-batteries/restart-oem/atz10-rs/

 

I have their jump starter/ power pack and am very happy with it.

https://antigravitybatteries.com/products/micro-starts/xp-1/

I have an Antigravity battery on my other bike, and it has been great. Never let me down over the last 3+ years. When the Tracer's battery needs replacement, I'll replace it with an Antigravity. 

[KrustyKush]

I've had a Shorai lithium in my T9GT a little over a year now.  It is perfect.  The Tracer is just now passing 20k miles.  Never a glitch of any kind with the lithium.  I've also got a Shorai lithium in my 22 Goldwing.  It is also perfect.

 

[piotrek]

I installed the NOCO NLP14 (LiFePO4) battery just today (FJ-09). The YTZ10S was roughly the same price, but I decided to try lithium... partly for the 4.3 lb weight saving, but mostly out of curiosity. I also picked up a new NOCO charger/maintainer (Genius2). We shall see how I get on with this setup. Interestingly, I found this same battery on the Yamaha Motor website...here. I suppose I will take that as a good sign.

The terminals on the NOCO are rather odd... so the installation was not a simple drop-in. I had to modify cable ends, flip the foam spacer from back to front and a tweak the side of the battery tray just a bit. The boot on the (+) cable had to go, so I'll get something else on there. I am happy with the installation overall. I will update as/if i run into any drama during the course of the season.

[2and3cylinders]

1 hour ago, piotrek said:

I installed the NOCO NLP14 (LiFePO4) battery just today (FJ-09). The YTZ10S was roughly the same price, but I decided to try lithium... partly for the 4.3 lb weight saving, but mostly out of curiosity. I also picked up a new NOCO charger/maintainer (Genius2). We shall see how I get on with this setup. Interestingly, I found this same battery on the Yamaha Motor website...here. I suppose I will take that as a good sign.

The terminals on the NOCO are rather odd... so the installation was not a simple drop-in. I had to modify cable ends, flip the foam spacer from back to front and a tweak the side of the battery tray just a bit. The boot on the (+) cable had to go, so I'll get something else on there. I am happy with the installation overall. I will update as/if i run into any drama during the course of the season.

More details / pics please.

I have the same charger.

I see other non-oem wires but nothing attached to the battery terminals; or are they connected off another circuit?

I have several taps coming off the battery.  Cold weather start-up was always funny that you run the lights.  Difficult to do with auxiliary driving lights on an FJ...

[dazzler24]

3 hours ago, piotrek said:

I installed the NOCO NLP14 (LiFePO4) battery just today (FJ-09). The YTZ10S was roughly the same price, but I decided to try lithium... partly for the 4.3 lb weight saving, but mostly out of curiosity. I also picked up a new NOCO charger/maintainer (Genius2). We shall see how I get on with this setup. Interestingly, I found this same battery on the Yamaha Motor website...here. I suppose I will take that as a good sign.

The terminals on the NOCO are rather odd... so the installation was not a simple drop-in. I had to modify cable ends, flip the foam spacer from back to front and a tweak the side of the battery tray just a bit. The boot on the (+) cable had to go, so I'll get something else on there. I am happy with the installation overall. I will update as/if i run into any drama during the course of the season.

 

Interesting.  I paid AU$210 for a YUASA YTZ10S back in 2019 and I see that this one can be had here in 2024 from the NOCO store via Amazon for AU$238!  The pricing has become more competitive these days so I think I know what I'll be buying next time especially when you consider that this NOCO Lithium battery is really comparable to the YTZ14S - two orders of battery above the 10S and with over twice the CCA of the 14S!

CCA

10S - 190A

14S - 230A

NOCO NLP14 - 500A

 

I do note that the lugs on the one I've linked to appear to be different from the one you have @piotrek?  Is that the case or the way I'm looking at them in your photos?

 

I'm loving those advertised recharge times: -

 

[piotrek]

17 hours ago, dazzler24 said:

I do note that the lugs on the one I've linked to appear to be different from the one you have..

They are the same. Each side has three cable mounting options.

[miguelix]

Either two would give you more than enough cranking power so I rather choose the NLP 9 and save some bucks.

For those who love lithium batteries I advice you to pick one that has over-charge and over-current protection. My old Kawasaki 650R almost catches fire because a combination of lithium battery and a bad regulator-rectifier.

 

Cheers!

[dazzler24]

EDIT: - Further developments in this thread.

Well, this recent thread was an omen as it turns out.  I kitted up to go for an outing this morning, turned the key, waited for all the dancing lights to finish on the dash then hit the starter - nothing, nada, not even a buzz!

Checked my battery voltage and it was reading 11.8V with only the ignition on.   AKA - not enough.

This Yuasa OEM YTZ10S replaced my original battery in mid 2019 so just over 4 and a half years and it has been on my 'smart' tender when not being ridden. i.e. looked after.

When I look back on some recent rides, I have had a couple of instances of when being stopped at roadworks and I've shut the bike down, it has failed to turn over and has taken a couple of hits of the starter button to crank into life and no, I wasn't looking at the voltage monitor on my USB outlet as I was more interested in not being run over from behind.

I'm wondering (now) if the battery has been slowly dying unnoticed as I usually put it back on my tender soon after every ride and doing that has been masking a sick battery?

This time it had been sitting without the tender for about 2 weeks which should be nothing in the scheme of things.

Anyway, I'm biting the bullet to renew and will now seriously consider one of these flash lithium options as my new fire starter.  Cold weather is not an issue where I'm from.

@OZVFR - what size/specs SSB do you have?  You're obviously happy with its performance.

@piotrek - might be early days for you yet but any further comments on your NOCO?

 

EDIT: - Just found this one for AU$150 delivered! Which seems like great value as I paid AU$210 for my last YUASA and it's made here!  Unheard of - sadly. 

Direct replacement for the OEM - dimensions are exactly the same.

[2and3cylinders]

Mr D

Given the post immediately prior to yours, karma may demand you refrain from using the term "fire starter " when referring to your battery. 

In regard to your diagnosis of your current battery's apparent failure,  I concur.   I stopped a few years ago keeping my batteries on my "battery tenders" when not on the road. Instead, I closely monitor their state of charge, and when they drop below 12.88V, I then put them on a tender for a couple of days.

I too have observed a slight drop-off in the performance of the OEM Yuasa YTZ10S in my 15, which concerns me. I will monitor it more closely over the winter (Winter? what winter? Other than a 10 day sub-zero stretch followed by a wet, gloomy 10 day run... Not complaining but what's with our crazy 3 week string of mild sunny days? Today it'll be 61 !!!?). I'm expecting needing a new energy box this summer, as 9 years could be a record even fir me. Again, not complaining. 

As to going with a Lifpo, TBD but the NOCO is attractive; I have their Genius 2 smart charger already.  But I've had such good service from Yuasa since 79 or earlier, I'm reluctant to diverge from LAGRT for "lithium", especially given our northern climate...

Whatever you decide though, we'll support you but I'd not heard of SSB until now.

https://batteryspecialists.com.au/blogs/news/the-definitive-guide-to-ssb-lithium-batteries#:~:text=Common Faults with the SSB Lithium Batteries,-Most of the&text=There is a safety feature,the battery from over-discharging