Trickle Charger

[Chunk11]

Being the fair weather biker that I am I have realised that I could do with a trickle charger for my Suzuki GSXR 600 2003 K3.

I have done a google search and there appears to be a very wide range of choice and was hoping the experienced among us would be able to point me in the right direction...

 

Cheers,

 

Chunk 

[BATVANVRS]

I have a CTEK battery charger for my vRS, it also has a bike icon/mode on the charger which I'm sure would be suitable for your bike! & on the plus side you will be able to use it on your car/vehicle too, great charger, I've used it once on my car but my neighbour has used it 3 times, once for his 125 & the other times for his cars.

 

https://www.smarterchargers.co.uk/12-volt-chargers?product_id=53

 

You can also contact the company via phone & they are very helpful 

01353 669231

 

 

[CWARD]

I use an Oxford Maximiser, which has charge protection too so safe on lithium iron batteries too. 

If you’re not using it over the winter simply disconnect the battery to stop it going flat. 

[Chunk11]

Thanks guys I have found a couple at the sports bike shop which look up to the job 

[vfrvrs]

I have an Optimate on my SLK55, started it yesterday for the first time in over six weeks,, first time start up.

I have had the Optimate well over 20 years, on my VFR first and plugged into the car for 3 years.

You can get a waterproof plug and permanently attach it then just plug in every time you park up.

[Chunk11]

Went with the Oxford 900 which I tested out today and worked a treat charging my battery from 12.2v to 14v.

Comes with everything you need and a nice neat display which is easy to read.

[fabiamk2SE]

I use an optimate 4 and just swap it between bikes occassionally. 

 

Its always been spot on. Can’t say much more than i havent had a flat battery yet  

[DanGum]

I got the oxford 900 got no complaints other than i find the lead abit short lol 

[Chunk11]

Good point about the leads! I have my bike in a large wooden shed and use an extension lead for the power lead. The charging leads are also short so I have ordered a set of extension leads.

 

[Chunk11]

Not got them yet but will let you know if they are any good!

[fabiamk2SE]

The extension leads are good. Ive had one for years. Does what it says on the tin. 

[Prykey]

I purchased a BNIB Honda badged Optimate 3 on ebay a couple of years ago for £36.00 and just got round to using it on the battery for the Harley, it has done exactly what it says on the box however I may look to get one with a higher output than 0.8 Amp as it took quite a long time to go through the complete charging process (the booklet states 1-hour per Ah of the battery rating which in this case is 19 Ah).

[Chunk11]

Funny you say that Prykey as when I charged my battery it charged at 0.85 amps which it displayed on the screen.

Assuming this is normal for these type of small motorbike battery chargers.

[Prykey]

11 hours ago, Chunk11 said:

Funny you say that Prykey as when I charged my battery it charged at 0.85 amps which it displayed on the screen.

Assuming this is normal for these type of small motorbike battery chargers.

 

I think for general charging and maintenance charging then 0,8 Amps or there abouts is the norm, my battery was really flat so it could have done with a bit extra for the initial charge lol, these microprocessor controlled chargers are great because they give the battery what it requires without damaging it.

 

I'm really pleased that mine is showing Green so all is good, although I'm going to disconnect mine later and reconnect it after about 12-hours and make sure it goes straight to charge so that I know that it is tip top, H-D charge about £160.00 for a genuine replacement battery   

[fabiamk2SE]

Its only a trickle charger though? Just designed to be on charge all the time, rather than a proper battery charger that will recover one much more quickly. 

 

Would you use a genuine replacement battery Prykey or a probably superior aftermarket solution? Dads put a gel battery on his GS. 

 

Bet that big harley twin takes alot of zap from a battery to turn over on a cold morning though   

[Prykey]

5 minutes ago, fabiamk2SE said:

Its only a trickle charger though? Just designed to be on charge all the time, rather than a proper battery charger that will recover one much more quickly. 

 

Would you use a genuine replacement battery Prykey or a probably superior aftermarket solution? Dads put a gel battery on his GS. 

 

Bet that big harley twin takes alot of zap from a battery to turn over on a cold morning though   

 

They term the Optimate 3 as a "Battery saving charger, tester and maintainer" , they certainly do appear to work, I disconnected my battery last night and gave it 13-hours and then reconnected it to test it fully and following a very, very short flash of the save LED it went straight to charge so I'm happy that the battery is good and i'll leave it on for a couple of days before I put it back on the bike, then I'll leave the main fuse out until I need it again.  Having no power in my lock-up garage is a real pain as I'd like to just connect the bikes after use and alternate the charger between the bikes otherwise I have to either take the battery off and take it home to charge or ride the bike home and then hook it up to the charger through my bedroom window. I may look at the Optimate Solar if I can easily attach it too the outside of the garage, the best price I've seen them for is £87.50.

 

As for a replacement battery; I don't think that a cheapie is a viable option as 1690cc V-Twin takes a lot of turning over especially in the cold, I've checked the YUASA Web Site and the mrrp for their heavy duty fitment (310 CCA or Cold Cranking Amps) is about the same as a genuine H-D battery! I have discovered though that Halfords sell the YUASA heavy duty offering for £82.00 which is a real bargain! Harley on the Dyna use the side of the battery posts to connect the +ve and -ve leads to and not the top of the posts as in most other applications so I'd need to double check that if I were to get one from Halfords. 

[fabiamk2SE]

my mate had a garage with no power, he put a little solar charger on the roof of the garage and left it. Never had a flat battery. 

 

Ah thats a pain then. I think the gel ones hold their charge much longer so wouldnt be as much as an issue? 

 

Dads GSA has been left about 6 weeks n started on the click 

[Prykey]

That's good, the US has far more options for batteries to fit H-D motorcycles as you would expect including a very nifty Shorai Xtreme-Rate LifePO4 LFX Lithium Duration Battery that has 540 CCA  for the bargain price of $330.00 US 

[DanGum]

Just ordered one of those extension cables cheers 

[Chunk11]

Even better news then that mine arrived today and works perfectly an extra 2.5 meters of cable!

It one of those things that should have been included in the box really.

[arry_b]

I've been using one of these for the last few years:

https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/Non-Food-Offers.htm?articleId=9575

 

I've used it on diddly little 6v CG batteries up to monster sized BMW K power packs as well as car batteries. It works really well, so long as you can get to the battery terminals easily.

 

For £14, you can't go wrong.

 

 

[fabiamk2SE]

3 hours ago, arry_b said:

I've been using one of these for the last few years:

https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/Non-Food-Offers.htm?articleId=9575

 

I've used it on diddly little 6v CG batteries up to monster sized BMW K power packs as well as car batteries. It works really well, so long as you can get to the battery terminals easily.

 

For £14, you can't go wrong.

 

 

 

Looks good that for the money. 

 

Putting an optimate lead on, rooting it somewhere n just plugging it in might be easier if its a regular thing

[Volvomeg]

I have a couple of the cheaper oxford 600 chargers and there always seems to be at least one of them in use,

 

My bike has a datatool alarm on my bike so carn't disconnect battery as it raises the roof if i do so have to keep a charger on it,

 

I also made a lead up to keep my xc90 battery topped up when am not using it,

 

I have a plugin digital current reader and plugged charger into it once just to see what it used and it was less than boiling a kettle

[Prykey]

11 hours ago, Volvomeg said:

I have a couple of the cheaper oxford 600 chargers and there always seems to be at least one of them in use,

 

My bike has a datatool alarm on my bike so carn't disconnect battery as it raises the roof if i do so have to keep a charger on it,

 

I also made a lead up to keep my xc90 battery topped up when am not using it,

 

I have a plugin digital current reader and plugged charger into it once just to see what it used and it was less than boiling a kettle

 

Have a look in the manual for the datatool alarm, if I remember correctly you can remove the battery if you need to as long as you put the alarm into "sleep mode"

[fabiamk2SE]

11 hours ago, Prykey said:

 

Have a look in the manual for the datatool alarm, if I remember correctly you can remove the battery if you need to as long as you put the alarm into "sleep mode"

 

I think you’re right. Theres a service mode. 

 

Easier to rid the thing for a quiet life though. Cant be doing with em. But then i guess im lucky they arent really needed around here from an insurance point of view