Battery chargers

I’ve got an Optimate. definately worth the money – charges flat baterries and keeps the battery in top condition all winter. The best 40 quid I’ve spent

go down the pound shop, get a 12 volt whatever – you only need the cigarette lighter plug that comes with it, cut off the appliance and connect two crimps to the cable. Connect to your battery, plug into car, stand the battery in a plastic box under the seat and the cars charging system will keep it nicely topped up at the correct charge all winter, and you can connect up as many in parallel as you like – i have 3 under my seat, the other bikes in use all winter!

Them battery optimizers, although they work are actually bad… They constantly apply a voltage to the battery which boils off the water, albeit slowly – your better off charging it up normally for a couple of hours and then a few days later stick a bulb across it to discharge it a little – then recharge. The reason they are popular is coz its easier than doing that…..

I slept with faith and found a corpse in my arms on awakening; I drank and danced all night with doubt and found her a virgin in the morning.
Aleister Crowley (1875 – 1947)

Blackboard paint – Covers a multitude of sins!

I leave the battery on the bike fully hooked up. Then every two weeks or so I stick the bike on the paddock stand and start her up. I run the bike in each gear for a few minutes and repeat until the temp gauge reads normal.

This can emulsify your oil slightly but if you let the bike get warm enough it should not be a problem.
I always change oil before the spring/summer riding season anyway.

I have followed this set up for the last 12 years (the last time I rode through a full winter). No propblems with dead batteries and it keeps all your bikes systems alive.

I do ride the Thundercat during the winter, but I only the odd snatch 20 miles or so on those crisp sunny days that come up now and then.

Everbody seriously involved in electric model flying will tell you not to touch trickle chargers. These boys rely heavily on the top condition of their batteries and use only chargers that discharge and trickle charge in cycles and to different levels every time. Batteries have a habit of developing a ” memory “. Meaning, that when a battery is charged from a certain level to a certain level too often it will after a while only take this ammount of charge regardless of the charging time or charge level at the start. Most owners of cordless power tools will know this phenomena. Allthough the batteries are not completely flat they will be recharged, usually on a trickle charger. Do this twenty times and the batteries do not last as long as at the beginning. Run them down completely and charge them for as long as you like they will only last a fraction of the time, due to the ” memory ” they have developed. Only cure is one of the model boys’ chargers which cost real dosh or the occational discharge with a light bulb and a top up charge.
One could also cosider a timer switch set to come on at different times to vary the charging time and at the weekend put on a bulb to completely empty the battery. Too much hustle? Think of the battery life you gain.

Muppdog

The lack of power cannot be replaced with madness

its not happened yet!, and that point is just as valid in the garage when your working on your bike with a fag in your hand………

I slept with faith and found a corpse in my arms on awakening; I drank and danced all night with doubt and found her a virgin in the morning.
Aleister Crowley (1875 – 1947)

Blackboard paint – Covers a multitude of sins!