For those of you that don’t know I am a big guy who happens to love scooters. Not sure where that all started. Possibly from my younger years when the fastest mode of transportation available to us were scooters.
Well, one of my favorite scooters, the Honda GROM battery died with just 450 miles on the odometer. I didn’t want to deal with the dealership and warranty process so I went searching for something a bit better.  I found Shorai.  They make Lithium iron phosphate power sports batteries. In other words if you have a motorcycle, ATV, boat, utility vehicle, or riding lawnmower and the battery dies… you should check these guys out.
Read on for a mini review and details of how the swap went, on the Honda GROM, from a Yuasa YTZ5S to a Shorai LFX07L2-BS12.
Update as of 9/11/14
Long story short this GROM was updated with a Kitaco 180cc big bore kit and the Shorai LFX07L2-BS12 had a bit of trouble cranking the engine after this mod. Spoke with the helpful folks at Shorai (in Morgan Hill, California). Not only do they answer their phones they let me come by their shop where they tested my battery to help diagnose the problem. Â Turns out I needed a bit more power. They helped to upgrade me to the LFX09L2-BS12 which has a bit more juice while maintaing the same case size. Thanks for the great customer service Shorai!
So why switch to a more expensive Shorai lithium battery (LFX07L2-BS12 for $83) when you can get something closer to the OEM Yuasa (YTZ5S for $39.95) for much less. The Shorai LFX batteries are 80% lighter, have more starting performance, do not sulfate while sitting, and they have a three year warranty.
First of all the weight difference is massive. Â The Shorai LFX07L2-BS12 weighs just 15.8-ounces (less than 1 pound) compared to the OEM Yuasa YTZ5S which weighs a whopping 3-lb 9-ounces (almost 4 pounds). When you hold them in your hands this weight difference becomes obvious.
Next the power difference between the two is also a large improvement. Â The Shorai LFX07L2 for the Honda GROM has 102 Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) vs 65 CCA for the Yuasa YTZ5S. Not sure if it is my imagination or not but the GROM starts super fast, not that there was an issue before.
Just to keep things fun… Shorai is headquartered in the US (Sunnyvale, California), designed this battery in Japan, and assembled it in China. The packaging is quite impressive as the battery comes surrounded in foam. This foam not only protects the battery during shipping it also serves double duty for mounting as it comes with adhesive backing. If your Shorai battery is smaller than the existing battery box you can use the foam to tighten up the fit. Genius.
The manual and packaging is well written and has no Chinglesh mixed in.
The installation was simple and quick. Â As you can tell in the pictures above the Shorai is a slight bit taller and thinner than the OEM battery. The battery still fits into the existing battery box and doesn’t need any of the foam. I will keep that for future products.
Time will tell how the Shorai holds up… I will provide a long term review after the battery has lived in the Honda GROM for a few years.
