What's the best bike battery charger? Obviously want something that keeps it in good condition rather than just continually tries to charge There are so many models I thought I'd ask in case someone knows which to get and which to avoid Cheers Live Forever or Die Trying
I have the Oxford Optimiser 900, I'm very happy with it, it does what it says on the tin, you can leave it attached to the battery all winter and it keeps it in good condition until you put it back on the bike.
keep an eye out at lidl, they have them from time to time for about £14.00, i've got three of them and they are great.
Always used optimate myself.my last battery lasted 10 years before it died,or you could keep your eye on Aldi/Lidl they do a good one at a cheap price
Yeah ive had an optimiser for about the last 15 years. Just stick it on the bike and leave it over winter. Recommended.
CTEK are good and are rebadged for RR. They do a full range check them out MXS 5.0 I think is a decent one for bikes.
plus one for this one of the national bike mags are advertising this if you take out a 12 month subscription so do that , get your free optimate after a week ..then cancel the direct debit ...simple
Thanks for all the replies... It was the Oxford I was looking at, and I've got one of their older models but the wires are a bit brittle now as we've had it years and years, so time for a new one. Thanks Live Forever or Die Trying
depending on price as they vary a lot do oxford products. heres a new one £25 smackaroonies,but can be a lot cheaper secondhand. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Oxford-Ox...19?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item4178e41fd7 i have used the 600 model for the last four years and rate them very highly.
Thanks again for all of the replies - just wanted to put a bit of feedback in case anyone refers back to this thread... My reason for asking which to go for is that I've had bad past experience with oxford chargers - I'm not saying they're total shite, but I wouldn't particularly rate them highly either... so was curious what others' thought... My bad experiences are that over time the cables go brittle, and they're quite thin cheapy wires that seem to break up or totally detatch... The thing that really puts me off is that about three years ago my dad had one of these on his Pan European, and somehow it set itself on fire - it was in good condition, and hadn't been abused or dropped or anything, but somehow the cables burnt all the plastic coating off themselves and were smoking like hell - VERY luckily my dad was in the garage when it happened so disaster averted, but obviously that charger went in the bin... Now whilst there may be a reasonable explanation for this (and the fact that they don't all do this does count for something I'm sure), it does make me a bit twitchy Anyway, after all the above recommendations I was going to go for the Optimiser 900... but then saw this... http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/cr/B002QVCB80/ref=mw_dp_cr It might be stupid, but this just didn't help me feel confident in them! Anyway, although they're a little bit more, I found many good reviews for the Optimate 3+... Blackpool Honda were doing them for a very good price, but I don't like them so went to Shorrocks to see if they'd match the price - they only had the Optimate 4 (quick google whilst in the shop and found same good reviews as the 3+) http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/cr/B000R5936U/ref=mw_dp_cr?qid=1391957008&sr=8-1&vs=1 Shorrocks did me a REALLY good deal on it, cheaper than I could find it online... for the record if anyone wants anything I would STRONGLY recommend Shorrocks in Preston - they're brilliant So yeah - I've ended up getting the Optimate 4 - after taking it out of the pack it does seem much more substantial and better made than the Oxfords I've seen, specifically the cables, connectors and crocodile clips etc which is where I've had problems before Again - this is only my experience, I'm sure someone else has bad stories about Optimates and now use Oxfords... but just sharing the 'conclusion' of this thead - thanks for the feedback everyone Live Forever or Die Trying
In addition to the above, I was fitting a charging cable & connector to the bike battery today, and took off the one from the Oxford and considering they're meant to be fairly equal products, I couldn't believe the difference in quality and cable thickness compared with the Optimate... I'll not be buying an Oxford again https://www.dropbox.com/s/b54ewz83bebxe7c/Charger_Cables.jpg Live Forever or Die Trying
nice review mate well set out we need more of this type of thing as opposed to every fukas sex life with every one else !!! FFS lol
how necessary are battery chargers? ive no idea if im gonna need one. ive never had a problem with my 125 so far but im assuming that is drawing a lot less current to start. if the bike is ridden often are they needed? I appreciate this is probably a stupid question but im still a noob so let me off
I appreciate the compliment - cheers... Whilst I agree with the general sentiment that the forum needs to move on, I think we need to avoid references to the recent issues or it'll never get laid to rest? Ps I'm not having a dig at you, far from it, just don't want this thread becoming focused on that topic too... I feel sorry for the mods at the moment! Thanks again for the compliment bit Live Forever or Die Trying
Not even remotely a stupid question I don't know how noob you are, so very briefly when you start your bike you initially draw power from the battery for the starter motor, but once it's running it generates electricity which runs the electrics on your bike (spark plugs, lights, injectors etc) plus recharges the battery... Obviously a very short run may not be enough to 'repay' the power used during starting In short, the two main things that matter here are: If you have an alarm How often you ride (leave it, lol) Alarms slowly, or in some cases not so slowly, drain the battery. If you're riding every day and have the engine running long enough to 'payback' what the starter motor used plus what the alarm has used then you should be ok, but if you only occasionally ride or do lots of short runs then it could be worth looking at Depending on what bike you have, trying to start on a weak battery can actually damage other parts (solenoids, relays, and in some cases more serious parts like starter motor etc) A good modern charger doesn't just constantly deliver power to the battery, it monitors and maintains the battery to extend its life (compared to not using a charger), but again if you have no alarm and ride regularly then it's not really essential A further thing to consider (this is a long reply, lol, but this is an important bit!)....batteries perform at their worst in the cold weather... If your battery struggles at all on hot days then you can almost be sure it'll be a lot worse in the winter months and probably cause you lots of hassle The problem is doubled in that many tend to ride less in winter, so they're getting topped up less at a time they need all the help they can get. Live Forever or Die Trying
all i will say is i think you bought the right one. as i said im on the same charger since i bought my first big bike in 1999. still going strong. you can get spares easily (if you keep forgetting and selling the bike with the lead still connected) they just say "quality" to me. and arent that expensive tbh. a good investment. :thumbsup:
