I am in the process of relocating my battery to the ledge on the muffler bracket beneath the swing arm.   I have 2 questions I need help with.   First being the battery I chose.   The smallest (by far) I am aware of is MOTY Designs 8 cell,  but am also considering the Battery Tender BTL14A240C, Shorai LFX14L2-BS,  Ballistic Evo2 8 cell, or the Yuasa YTZ7S (or it's cheaper alternative Motocross brand).   Now I love in Houston TX so it rarely gets cold here and am at sea level.   My first choice is leaving towards the MOTY Design battery as it is the smallest and can come standard with quick disconnect,  while the others,  if they even offer it,  adds about another $50.  As far as I'm aware all but the Shorai battery use in one fashion or the other an A123 battery.   The Shorai uses the square prismatic cells,  but they're not encased in metal cylinders like the others.   So that's my first issue is just which battery is best for me.

Next of course I need to fabricate a battery box to house these which I have read the other thread where another member fabricated a box using lengths on metal and connected them together and bent them,  eventually resulting in a battery box.  While this was a very good job done,  I'm looking for a box more water proof, made from sheet metal with  a removable lid which secures to the box and possibly a hinge on the back of the box or some way to remove the rear altogether so if need be I can remove the battery without having to remove the whole box.   That wouldn't really be too difficulty as I'd be securing the box to the four holes in the bottom of the muffler bracket,  but all the same I'd prefer to avoid that if possible .  Now,  regardless of the size of the battery I want to make it as large as possibly so I can possibly put other things in the box or if not in the box,  perhaps fit a bracket of the lid that say I could put the rectifier or  the computer on and this would also allow me to put a good amount of cushion in to protect everything.   So any ideas on how to, or where I would go do have this made of preferable make myself as I'm a poor college student,  or any good blueprints that are similar to what I described I would very much appreciate it.

Lastly,  I will obviously need to do a good bit of rewiring and any help on how to do this would be great.   I have already removed the airbox and the side panels so I had to relocate the computer that was hidden by the left side cover under my seat over my carb,  so that more likely than the rectifier will be needed to be  moved down there.   My main goal is to clear out the middle area of the bike where the airbox and battery were obviously,  but I eventually want to do a Cafe Racer or Bratstyle type seat so I'll eventually need to relocate the rectifier,  but that'll be a while from now (poor college student).  

Please any help would greatly be appreciated, but I'm most concerned with the fabrication of the battery box.

You should also consider the EarthX batteries.  They have the cell equalizer built into the battery...a lot of Li-Ion batteries don't have this and require you to get their charger/equalizer for the longest life.

I bought the 12A battery and it starts my bike great.  I have put about 2,000 miles on the bike since I installed it.

http://earthxmotorsports.com/shop/etx12a/

I'm not crazy for the "there's a hole in my motorcycle" look...
If I moved the battery, I'd have to fill that space with something else...
Maybe a lunchbox... ...

sorry I just realized you are concerned about the battery box..

I am just placing the battery on it's side and a rubber pad beneath it..
Then large zip-ties to secure

Dave wrote on 03/11/14 at 05:25:27:


I forgot to mention these batteries and yes I do find that to be a very good selling point.

I like idea of moving battery to muffler bracket by 2 things worry me:

1. It's hard to access.
2. I don't quite understand how to protect it from dirt and water.

I sent rough blueprints and dimensions to a motorcycle shop today for a quote,  and after awhile I'm emailed back saying it would cost $150.  This is what I'm trying to avoid.   It's a piece of sheet metal with a few bends,  welded,  with a small lid.   This shouldn't cost more than $50 and I think that's even too much...   What do I do!?!?

Thanks for the tip!   I'll give that a shot tomorrow.   Do you have an idea what something like this might / should cost?