Modern Vespa

Has anyone used a Lithiem battery on a 50cc, I'm tired of buying lead acid batteries. My ET isn't ridden much, sits for long periods in storage. Even on batt tender they readily fail. Thanks for any info.

Cheers

I did look at this for an Elettrica (which still has a 12v battery to run the instruments and to power up the bike).

A few things I came across:

Lead acid loses about 4% a week, and if it drops below 50% - they start degrading. So a 6ah battery only had 3ah that are usable.

Lithium barely uses anything while resting. You can use almost 100% of a lithium battery, so be careful because most of the lithium batteries available say "6ah equivalent", when they're actually a much much smaller capacity! Most companies try to hide the real size of each lithium battery.

The other thing is that lithium can have problems if it's overcharged. When people charge lead acid and lithium batteries, they usually buy different chargers. The main sticking point for me was that the bike charging system will not know that it's a lithium battery - so will the lifespan be less if it's always being charged wrong?

I have one in my Aprilia Sportcity 50cc. Definitely get a Li battery charger for proper charging.

I've had no worries. The only caveat - which was pointed out to me - is sub zero temps.

Thanks for the input. Still on the fence

Did read a post on application to the ET50 - was hoping poster would chime in.

Me too, how does the charging system tell if it's a Lithium or lead acid?

Highly recommending trying AGM (absorbed glass mat) batteries. Much better than lead acid but not as amazing as lithium ion. For my motorcycle and vespas, I've purchased a brand called MotoBatt. I'm not an expert on Lithium Ion batteries but I believe normal charging systems may overcharge one of those. I bought this model for my 2004 and 2005 ET50s, MBTX4U. Hope this helps.

My lithium in my ZNEN 150 was from Motobatt. I really liked it.

From what I've heard the Li batteries don't like the pulse charging that standard battery chargers use. But I've read a lot of differing opinions. I did buy a Li specific charger.

From what I can gather, many Lithium batteries have built in BMS (Battery Management System circuit). They can use anything from 12-16 volts and safely put correct amount of energy into the cells. No need for specific wall charger. The charging system in your bike is not Lithium specific. That same BMS controls the output and prevents the batteries from being discharged too much.

Different brands will have different BMS, or none at all, so you can expect different results from different brands of Lithium batteries.

Kudos for input all. Decided to go with the MBTX4U, will
give it a try. Again, thanks all. Happy rides!

My answer to your question would be, why? What is the lead acid not doing for a third of the cost of lithium?

For starters, as someone already mentioned, it's maintaining charge for as long.
Secondly, it's not saving several pounds, which is a nice bonus on a 50cc.

It sure fixed all my starting problems.

Good point too. They typically have more voltage and cold cranking amps.

My Vespa ET4 125 I just bought back from someone who moved to Bulgaria has a random flat lithium battery in it which I charged and now starts scooter. We will see how it performs on the road. Don't think it's meant for a 125 but we will see.

Not a hard decision after all. Tks all, ride safe 👍!

Last edited by semoir on Tue, 20 Sep 2022 23:58:45 +0000; edited 1 time

With my RC Mini charger, you have to tell it.





But I use it to charge batteries on motorbikes.

Be careful out there, friends. According to CNET your odds of suffering a Li battery fire are about 1 in 10,000,000. That's staggering.

Also, be careful about being trapped in a cave-in and suffocating to death, because your odds of that happening - statistically - are 1 in 152,822.

Honestly, I think that's a much more serious concern.

Having burned my arm earlier in the year (and experiencing the pain involved), I'd rather not set fire to my arse (or vespa).

🙈

No spelunker here, just don't want one of these* between my legs 😳 at a any odds! Pretty good thread** on the Ducati site.

MotoBat brand is a first, we'll see. Cheers!

https://www.ducati.ms/threads/lithum-batterys.744182/

Last 10-11 years

A few good benefits to lithium:

1) Doesn't self discharge when not in use - lead discharges at about 4% per week.

2) Happy with long term storage. Lead starts to degrade at under 50% charge - so should be trickle charged over Winter or it doesn't tend to last.

Yesterday, I found an old iPad that I hadn't used in 5 years. Plugged it in and it turned on straight away. By contrast, I left a car sat for a single winter and the lead battery was scrap after the 3-4 months.

Lead is dirt cheap and is great for a daily driven / ridden vehicle - but most Vespas aren't run all year round.

The temperature range is not good - they can't be charged below 5C without sustaining some damage, and below 0C is a complete no-no. Some have built-in heaters - but you have to ensure they get continuously maintained during cold spells when not in use.

Unfortunately I had a lithium battery from a lesser known brand completely fail on me in its first season, two nights ago. I got about 3,000 km out of it. It was actually sent to me to make a review on so... boy oh boy this is going to be an interesting review lol

So far an old, neglected, and abused (by the previous owner) Antigravity battery is still kicking just fine though, so even though they did not sponsor me, if I had to recommend one brand over the others, that's where I would put my money.

Knockoffs of anything seem to fail real fast, just stick with brand names products.

Such as?

Featherweight brand batteries seem of good quality.

Noco