Shido - Frequently Asked Questions
It is important that our products are used and maintained in a proper way. We often see failures due to improper use and maintenance. Our FAQ’s can help you to give our SHIDO products the care they need.
SHIDO Lithium Batteries are based on LiFePO4 (Lithium Iron Phosphate) technology. The charging and discharging capability comes through the chemical reaction of the positive plates (LiFePO4) with the negative plates (Graphite).
There are two main reasons why SHIDO Lithium batteries are made with this technology:
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The OCV (Open Circuit Voltage) of these batteries is more stable than any other Lithium-Ion battery
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OCV of one LiFePo4 cell is 3.2 Volt. SHIDO puts 4 cells in their Lithium batteries, so total OCV is 12.8Volt. Standard Lead-Acid Batteries have 6 cells of 2.1 Volt. So, they have 12.6 Volt in total. This means that the LiFePo4 technology approaches as much as possible the Lead-Acid OCV - which is positive for the total electrical circuit of the motorcycle.
For the specialised chemists; here’s the chemical reaction:
LiFePO4 + 6C = Li(1-X)FePO4 + C6LiX
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Superb Cranking Capacity: up to 50% more than Lead-Acid batteries.
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Weight: between 1/3 and 1/5th of Lead-Acid batteries.
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No Sulfation: longer service life.
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Lower Self Discharge: longer shelf life in the warehouse before use.
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Excellent Cycle Life: more than 2,000 cycles (Lead – Acid batteries: +/- 300).
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Drop-in replacement: 1 to 1 replacement dimensions for OEM battery.
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Less Fuel Consumption: thanks to higher OCV the engine works more efficient.
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Super-fast Recharge: very high recharging rate through high current.
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No explosion risk: no gasses are produced during charge or orientation.
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No maintenance: no acid fill, no leak risk, installation in any direction.
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Stable Discharge Voltage: better engine performance, easy engine start.
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Ecological advantage: no pollution, no lead, no acid, safe & normal disposal.
Compared to Digital Lithium batteries (such as cellphone battery) and Lithium power supply batteries (such as an E-bike battery), SHIDO LION Lithium engine start batteries have a difference in material, voltage, energy density, discharge rate, safety, cycle life.
See the table details
Yes, thanks to the lower self-discharge rate, the battery voltage will drop more slowly. This has advantages for the retail outlets: the battery has a longer shelf life before it is installed and used in a motorcycle, and once it's installed, it will last longer without charging or use than a classic lead-acid battery.
Please keep in mind, if you are not using your motorcycle your battery may have current being drawn from it due to alarms, immobilisers and trackers etc, this will mean you'll need to check the charge in the battery regularly and charge when required.
SHIDO Lithium batteries are made of extremely high energy density Lithium Iron Phosphate material, and are designed by SHIDO LION patent technology. The watt-density is 5 times higher than existing lead-acid batteries, and can realise the high-rate discharge capacity. So even though the capacity is lower than traditional batteries, they can be used normally, and perform better than traditional batteries.
Moreover, lead-acid batteries need the higher capacity to produce the necessary CCA (cold cranking amps) values to start the engines. SHIDO LION batteries produce this CCA without requiring higher capacities.
On every SHIDO battery you can find the specifications, which includes the voltage in Volts (V) and the total electrical energy in Watt Hour (Wh). This can be found on the front label of every SHIDO battery.
Inside every SHIDO battery there are 4 cells. The Battery Management System (BMS) makes sure that all 4 cells are charged and discharged in perfect balance, and this means the power that comes out of the battery is much more stable which helps the overall performance of the battery in producing its power.
Also, the battery management system takes care of the balanced charge of the 4 battery cells, resulting is a longer lifetime of SHIDO batteries compared to other Lithium batteries.
This is not relevant, SHIDO Lithium batteries are totally different from any other kind of batteries. The only thing they have in common is the exact dimensions and the polarity (placement of Plus and Minus Terminals).
SHIDO Lithium batteries are made to the exact same dimensions and polarities as the standard OE battery dimensions, so they can be replaced like for like without any modification. There is a cross reference list available that shows the SHIDO alternative battery for the most common traditional batteries.
But for some different types of SHIDO batteries we use the same container.
For this reason, we will equip high density stick foam sheets or plastic spacers in the box. You can Install the spacer at the bottom of the battery to adjust the battery’s height or stick on the sides or bottom to fit original battery size. This can be done in just a few minutes. This ensures SHIDO battery maintain same size as original battery, check the details in SHIDO installation guide.
Every SHIDO Battery has a Battery LED Indicator, the 3 LED’s give the charge state of the battery:
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FULL 3 LED Battery fully charged and ready to use.
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MED 2 LED Battery able to start engine, burt needs to be charged.
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LOW 1 LED Battery needs to be charged BEFORE starting the engine.
These waterproof types are specially designed for Jet Ski applications. The sealing between cover and container is waterproof so there is absolutely no risk of water leaking into the battery.
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Regular charging, if not in use.
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Disconnect if not in use.
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Store in a dry and fresh place.
We measure the battery open circuit voltage with a multi-meter, and then make a preliminary judgement on the remaining capacity of the battery.
Remove the battery and measure the battery open circuit voltage using a multi-meter, then check the corresponding remaining voltage by using this sheet.
That depends on many factors, under the worst conditions, standard lead-acid batteries may last only a few weeks and under the best, about five years. On average lead-acid batteries will last 1 to 2 years and under the same average usage conditions, we expect SHIDO LION to last roughly double, or 2 to 4 years.
Getting the most from your SHIDO battery all depends on the battery care, regular use, regular extra charging when not in use and NOT allowing the battery to go flat when connected to the bike, or when disconnected, this will ultimately determine the lifespan of your battery.
Yes, because there are no liquids in SHIDO batteries, any orientation is permitted, including upside down.
In general, the resistance of SHIDO batteries increase at lower temperatures but they will do their job until -10° Celsius.
But thanks to the special techniques and the intelligent battery management system built into the SHIDO batteries, they perform much better than other Lithium batteries in cold conditions, specially our SHIDO HP (High Performance) batteries.
There is also a simple trick you can use: if the battery performs poor under extremely cold conditions, use your headlights for approximately 10-15 seconds before starting the engine, this will warm up the battery and give increased performance.
On the other hand, SHIDO batteries can be used in hot environments, the battery works perfectly well up until 60° Celsius environmental temperature. At these temperatures the battery can still supply full power, this is an advantage over standard lead-acid batteries which lose performance in hot environments.
AFAM group does not handle any warranty issues directly with end-users, but warranties are handled through point of purchase/importers. Please contact your point of purchase.
Compared to a lead-acid battery (6 months), the SHIDO battery can be stored for more than a year.
The voltage of a lead-acid battery is 12V, the voltage will reduce as the capacity falls as the battery is operating, this leads to action efficiency weakness of spark plugs.
The voltage of SHIDO battery is 13V, and stable, meaning the extra 1V voltage difference ensures the spark plugs always deliver optimal performance. This can improve the efficiency of spark plugs, producing bigger sparks, so the combustion of gasoline will be more efficient, kinetic energy increases the engine torque, which can improve vehicle running kinetic energy, ultimately improving fuel-efficiency.
That depends on your local and national regulations, SHIDO batteries meet the European RoHS standards for environmental health and contain no lead. Check with your local authority to see if LiFePO4 batteries are allowed.
SHIDO batteries could be charged with most intelligent lead-acid battery chargers, however, there is ONE VERY IMPORTANT RESTRICTION:
Every intelligent lead-acid charger has a desulfation or reconditioning mode, and these modes work different depending on the charger brand or type. Some chargers use a high current pulse to desulfate lead-acid batteries, this is safe for SHIDO Lithium batteries.
Other chargers use a high Voltage mode to desulfate lead-acid batteries, and this is very dangerous for EVERY Lithium battery. This high voltage can damage the internal cells of Lithium batteries, as a rule: check that your charger never goes above 15 Volts! and it can be used for Lithium batteries. Chargers that use a high voltage characteristic, must also check the internal resistance of the battery, some intelligent chargers will recognise that the internal resistance is low in SHIDO batteries and that is why they judge that the battery is not sulfated and they will not switch to the high voltage mode. This is why you must be very careful with these kind of chargers. Another typical fact on SHIDO batteries is that they don't like “Trickle Charging”, trickle charging is the stage where the battery cells lie under constant light over-voltage to compensate the natural self-discharge.
We always recommend you use the SHIDO dual chargers as they work best with our SHIDO batteries.
In the SHIDO manual you can find the correct Charge Current values for each type of SHIDO battery. We indicate two different values: one is Standard (STD), the other one is the Maximum charge current.
It is always better to charge your SHIDO battery with the STD charge value, it will take longer, but it is better for the service life of the battery.
SHIDO batteries can be charged with high currents and in this case it will take much less time to charge your battery, the Maximum charge current is stated in the manual, do NOT go above this!
We advise to use this MAX charge current only when necessary.
All batteries lose some capacity through self discharge. A top up charge is recommended for best battery health and prolonged service life, it will also give your battery a higher energy density.
Even if the indicator shows 3 LED’s, a short top-up charge is always advised and will keep your battery in the best possible condition.
Your SHIDO battery is a piece of high technology in your motorcycle, it should be looked after with care from the very beginning.
The cranking power of a battery is indicated in Ampere, this is the current that a battery can supply to start an engine, in this case your motorcycle engine. The higher the current, the higher the rpm of the starting engine and this in turn means the easier the engine will start.
SHIDO batteries have a CA (Cranking Ampere) that is up to 50% higher than comparable lead-acid batteries. This is very important for all motorcycles, but even more so for big twins.
Lets take a look at the name of the two different kinds of batteries:
LITHIUM vs LEAD ACID
The basic elements in a SHIDO battery are Lithium and Carbon.
The main element in a lead-acid battery is Lead, this makes it far heavier than a Lithium battery. Apart from the very new technology of SHIDO batteries, the specific gravity of both base elements in these two different battery types make a world of difference.
Thanks to the lower internal resistance of Copper (CU), the conductivity of current in Copper Terminals is 10 x higher than in Lead (Pb) terminals. All the energy that your SHIDO battery must conduct passes through the terminals. One of the biggest advantages of SHIDO batteries is the ability to discharge (example: during cranking) and to charge very quickly, so the Copper terminals give the SHIDO batteries an enhanced electrical and mechanical performance.
Safety And Maintenance Of Lithium Batteries
Never charge a SHIDO Lithium battery with more than 15 Volts! Over 15 Volts is lethal to a Lithium cell so when in doubt check the output voltage from your alternator does not climb above 15 Volts in different RPM range from your engine. Always use a specific Lithium battery charger, they have an adapted algorithm for Lithium batteries which is different from lead-acid battery chargers. Do NOT allow your Lithium battery to drain under 9.6 Volts, the Lithium battery will be difficult or impossible to recover.
Electric consumers such as alarm systems, immobilisers and trackers installed on your bike drain your battery. We recommend you use a Lithium battery charger with maintenance mode when you store your motorcycle for more than one week, this period depends on the capacity of the consumers. Although the start capacity of a Lithium battery is higher, the reserve capacity is only 1/3 of a lead-acid battery, when you do not use the bike, and there are (hidden) electrical consumers (or parasitic drains) the battery will drain 3 times faster compared to a lead-acid battery.
It is recommended to charge the battery with the standard number of Ah as shown in the Battery Data. If you want to charge really quickly it can with the maximum charging current so you Lithium battery is charged in maximum 20 minutes.
The SHIDO Lithium battery is equipped with a LED indicator that checks the voltage of your battery. When pressing the “test” button it will show you the status of the battery, with three illuminated LED’s or ‘Full’ everything is OK, with two lit LED’s or “Med” it is preferably to charge your battery and with one lit LED or ‘Low’ you have to recharge the battery.
A SHIDO battery is completely maintenance free and has no venting like some lead-acid batteries. Cells and electronics are in a waterproof sealed container so that the battery can also be used on a Jet Ski. The battery cannot leak and thus may be used in any orientation, even upside down.
For most lead-acid batteries, there is a SHIDO Lithium alternative. Since its shape is identical to a lead-acid battery, it can be easily installed and connected in your vehicle. The universal terminal allows all connections and some SHIDO batteries are equipped with four terminals, two positive and two negative poles, simply by turning the battery 180 degrees this Q (Quadri) terminal layout has the option of the positive pole left or right. When properly connect the LiFePO4 is the safest Lithium cell available, improper use will warm the battery, but will not explode or burn.
Disposal of Lithium batteries must be done according to the regulations of the country or region where you live.