I currently have a mix in my daily riders. My 996 came with a Shorai. I’ve been so impressed with it that I bought one for my 900SS project bike.
I originally intended to do the same for my Aprilia but the AGM in it died on me in Monterey a few years ago. Thus, it has another AGM installed as I had little choice in the matter.
The thing is, buying a battery that has been filled from anywhere; you don’t know how long the thing has been sitting around filled with electrolyte.
99.9% of the time, the battery was filled, then shelved. That’s a recipe for an early failure. Every battery I get, aside from my Shorai goes on a trickle charge for a minimum of 24 hours. Longer if the charger doesn’t “level off” after that amount of time.
I normally let the battery settle for an hour or two before I put it in a vehicle and attempt a start. That goes for all my vehicles 2 or 4 wheel.
99% of people today do not follow that procedure. Buy battery from store, install and start vehicle. Or, fill, install and start vehicle.
An alternator is not made to charge your battery from the get go. A deep cycle charge is necessary for a long battery life. A vehicle not regularly driven will go through batteries more rapidly than one that is. That’s because the alternator will maintain the charge initially put on a battery.
Anecdotal evidence to be sure, but my 1995 Nissan pick-up has only had 3 batteries over the course of its service to my family. That’s it. One of those was only because the alternator took a crap and took the battery along with it. 26 years and only 3 batteries.
My little GSXR is a 2004. It is only on its 2nd battery and it barely gets ridden. The reason in my mind is, Suzuki equipped it with a Mosfet RR from the beginning. It has an AGM just like OEM.
My Aprilia on the other hand goes through batteries on a regular. I’m averaging about 3-4 years per battery but that’s been impacted by the install of a Mosfet RR back in 2013. It was almost yearly before that and only on its 2nd since. Also, I quit leaving it on a tender.
An AGM is designed to go flat and still come back with a proper charge. Not that it gets to go flat. It rarely drops below 12V over winter so gets a maintenance charge when I ride in late winter.
The Shorai is another matter all together. It is a LiFe construction so very, very light. 2 lbs versus 11 lbs for the OEM battery. It requires a special charger.
It also should be hooked up occasionally to condition the cells. I permanently installed a pigtail on my 996 so all I have to do is plug it in. No fuss, just a quick plug in every 5 or 6 months.
I’ve had the 996 since 2017. I’ve no idea how long the Shorai was in before I got it. It has been going strong since I did though and looks like it will last a long while yet.
Since I brought up chargers, I have a few. Aside from the Shorai charger, I have a simple battery tender as well as a Tec-Mate that charges 2 batteries at once.
I probably use the Tex-Mate more than any other charger I own. It has a de-sulphation function as well as “rescue” function for extremely dead batteries. So far, it saved 2 batteries that registered 0.12V and brought them back. I’m still using one, my kid is using the other.
Glean what you will from that. Shorai is the way to go IMHO, but if gotta have old school lead acid or AGM batteries, get yourself a Tec-Mate. Any money above a normal charger you spend will be regained in the batteries you don’t have to replace later….sean