It's time to report some very positive results from the first couple years of using this Scorpion Stinger Lithium Motorcycle Battery that I installed on one of my personal bikes a couple of years ago. (Does that make this a "positive post?")
At just about 1 year old at the time, the original lead-acid battery that came with my 2014 KTM 690 Enduro just wasn't cranking over the engine very well, which made for a few concerning moments out in the woods on cold days.
As is well-documented by now, the weight savings alone has plenty of us switching to lithium motorcycle batteries across all types of motorcycles. So in addition to a few other categories that impress me about this battery, I'd like to declare this purchase a "no brainer" thus far:
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Weight Reduction - At only 2lbs, the Scorpion Stinger is a welcome weight-reduction for any weary rider who also isn't getting younger. Now, I'm not going to tell you that I can definitely feel the weight-savings this lithium battery gives me over the traditional lead acid batteries when I'm riding.
The KTM 690 Enduro is already over 300lbs no matter what you do to it, and in addition to my 230+lbs, I'm not claiming I could decipher which of the 2 battery types is in the motorcycle at any given time.
That said, the Scorpion is roughly a 5lb weight reduction from the original battery (do your own specifications research) and hey ... 5 lbs is quite a bit when trying to remain agile. Given its slightly high-on-the-bike positioning, I'm happy to shed those 5 lbs, especially when considering the other benefits. A little added agility on the motorcycle is always welcome.
Cranking Power - Immediately upon installation, I could hear and feel the increased rate at which the Scorpion Stinger SSTZ14S-FP cranks over the engine. Such high-compression engines like the KTM 690 Enduro take a lot of power to turn over, and especially when compared to the lead acid types, the extra "snap" and responsiveness coming from this lithium battery is quite welcome. The Scorpion Stinger even comes with this neat little "quick-check" gauge where you can just press the button and check the battery's status. Even after long riding days with plenty of start-and-stop, it has never once seemed to be dwindling in power.
Longevity/Durability - I've been using the Genius G1100 charger, which charges both lead-acid and lithium batteries, and it seems to be doing the job perfectly.
However, either by forgetfulness, or tripping-on-the-cord mishap, there have been a couple of long stretches in these 2 years where the trickle charger actually wasn't connected, and the Scorpion sat unattended for pretty long durations (like a couple of months during winter.)
Although I expected the battery to be dead, or close to it, on each occasion it was still fully-powered such that it lit-up the thumper as if it had been tended to the entire time it wasn't. (I believe it's a characteristic of lithium batteries that they're best-stored in "cool" temperatures, so maybe that was a factor.)
Whatever the case, the Scorpion seems incredibly durable to me even when left unattended. --- Out in the woods, there's always that occasion where a "stop and chat" takes longer than expected, and then I realize I've left the ignition turned on for 30 minutes or so. Such a strain hasn't seemed to even phase the Scorpion lithium battery a bit yet. It still starts up right away on command.
Reasonable Pricing - Do your own research when comparing to traditional lead acids, but any amount I paid over the cost of "the usual" options is nothing when considering the benefits.
We don't have battery issues to deal with in our motorcycle rentals, (largely because the bikes are only 1-2 years old anyway) but if we ever did have a failure, a lithium motorcycle battery would be the obvious replacement choice!
