My motorcycle batteries tend to suffer over the winter. I'm an all-weather rider, but this year has been busy and there have been long periods of a month or more when the bike has been left idle. When it came time for a trip a fortnight ago, she simply wouldn't start. A night left on the battery tender yielded a few more cranks but didn't get her started, and it was clearly time for a new battery. This one's lasted 7 years from new, so not bad going.

At first I was minded to go like-for-like, and source an identical lead-acid replacement. I noticed though that Lithium batteries were topping my search results, so I started checking the biker forums and found rave reviews from those who'd made the switch. Longer charge retention, more cranking power, cold-weather longevity and low weight were given as positives. Slightly increased prices and a brief warm-up time the only negatives (it's advised to let the battery run briefly with low draw, such as from headlights, before a very cold start). I've been impressed with Lithium technology in almost every other device I own, so decided to give it a try.

It's early days but so far I'm impressed. The battery is much smaller and lighter than the OEM original. Cranking power certainly seems very strong, although with the old battery having been on the way out for some time it's hard to say how this would compare to a new lead-acid model. I think there may also be some other positives that I hadn't expected. As batteries degrade they have a tendency to never reach full charge and exert a constant draw and this may have been affecting other components. Both the phone charger and fan on the bike seem more effective since the installation (my phone had been slowly dropping charge on rides even when plugged).

Before ordering the new battery I checked to see if my existing battery tender could be used to charge a lithium battery. I'm glad I did, because apparently a tender for a lead-acid battery will likely damage a lithium model. I assumed that ordering a lithium tender from the same company, Optimate, would mean that I could use my existing hella/DIN adapter. Irritatingly this was not the case, as they have updated the design.

There is a plus though, with two I can now charge the car and bike batteries at the same time.