I need a new battery for my bike and I was wondering if anyone has tried the lithium batteries? Besides the weight savings what is the hype and are they worth the extra cost?

I am yet to put one on any of my street bikes but I put a Shorai Li-Fe in my 505SXF and its been amazing. You could crank it until starter catches fire and still have enough left over to start the truck. No to mention when you get the box in the mail you will think its empty

What about over the winter is another concern of mine. I normally have a battery tender on but not so sure if you need one on the lithium batteries. Another concern I wasn't sure about is how the cold would effect them. I know lithium polymer batteries cannot handle any cold. They will be destroyed but the lithium ferrite batteries I know nothing about. Any thought about that?

Cold isnt suposed to be an issue they actualy recomend storing them in the refrigerator. The cranking power dose drop with temp but they generate heat when you draw off them. So if its cold just hit the button, wait 30sec and then you will have full power. You can use a tender but you dont need to if there in no drain on the system. I got the ballence charger that Shoria makes which has a "store" mode.

Lithium Ion batteries are typically used in laptops, primarily because they don't get a "memory". They're lighter, require less current to flow the same wattage as opposed to say a NiCad battery, and discharge a lot slower than typical batteries. They are however pretty dangerous in that they are volatile and can explode under enough pressure and heat.

Contrary to popular belief, batteries actually prefer the cold (to some extent) as do all electronics. Heat is a battery's worst enemy.