Smooth starting during winter: Motorcycle battery trickle chargers

Why should I buy a trickle charger?

Every motorcycle is equipped with a battery that provides the engine with the necessary power to start your engine and keep lighting and other accessories working when the engine is not running. When you ride, the alternator charges the battery. If you ride often, your battery will charge sufficiently and never run out of power. If the battery is not charged, the charge and power will gradually decrease.

When do I need a battery charger?

If your motorcycle is stationary or exposed to the cold, it is recommended to connect the battery to the battery charger or trickle charger. This way, you can continue to enjoy the excellent performance of your motorcycle battery. RAD has set up the following guidelines to help you with this.

Regular riders

Those who hit the road regularly don’t need to worry about the battery. A ride of 20 to 30 minutes is enough to let the battery recover from the energy needed to start. Those who use the motorcycle every 1 or 2 weeks don’t need to worry much. Any modern motorcycle will not experience much energy loss under these circumstances. If your battery fails with this kind of use, it is most likely due to the age of the battery. It certainly doesn’t hurt to connect your motorcycle battery to a battery charger or trickle charger from time to time, just to extend the life of your battery.

Longer stagnation or cold periods

Those who ride their motorcycle every 3 weeks or once a month, or cannot park where the bike is protected against autumn and winter cold, are at risk. The battery will slowly lose its charge when not hooked up to a charger. Be sure to prevent the battery from discharging too deeply. Once you’ve passed this point, the battery will lose some of its capacity. If we go even further beyond this point without recharging the battery, you run the risk of your battery dying. The cold is also detrimental to the battery, the chemical process inside the battery slows down. This increases resistance and reduces starting capacity.

Dead batteries are hard to revive, but it’s possible with the right trickle charger with a restoration program. The message is to preventively connect the battery charger or trickle charger to avoid early replacement.

What type of battery do you have?

Almost all modern motorcycles are equipped with 12V batteries, vintage models might have a 6V battery. This is the first thing to pay attention to when choosing an automatic battery charger. But it doesn’t stop there, because there are various ways in which batteries are constructed.

Lead Acid Batteries

The first rechargeable batteries were constructed from lead plates with a mixture of sulfuric acid and demineralized water. This is where the name “wet battery” or “wet cell” comes from. This acid and water mixture evaporated during use and needed to be replenished. In the past, you could buy acid to top up the battery, the battery could be opened for topping up and always needed to remain upright so that the acid could not leak out. Nowadays, acid is no longer freely available and these types of batteries have become rare.

Sealed/maintenance-free batteries

The most common batteries are sealed or maintenance-free batteries. The term maintenance-free does not mean that you do not have to charge this battery, but this is because you no longer need to fill the battery with acid. This battery is indeed sealed.

AGM or gel batteries

These batteries are filled with acid and Silica, a gel-like liquid, during production. The Absorbed Glass Mat technology or AGM technology means that the acid is located in the fiberglass mats between the lead plates in the battery. As a result, AGM batteries have a longer lifespan and a high starting capacity. These batteries are also maintenance-free.

LiFePO4 Lithium batteries

The full name is Lithium Iron Phosphate. These are rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries (Li-Ion) with the main advantage that they generate a higher starting current. They are much lighter in weight and more compact compared to their counterparts. The lifespan of these batteries is also longer. The downside of these batteries is that due to their small size, they can’t handle cold temperatures and need to be connected to the trickle charger.

What is a battery trickle charger?

At RAD, we only sell trickle chargers. But what is the difference between a regular battery charger and a trickle charger? A battery charger charges and continues to charge. If you do not disconnect it from the battery in time after it is fully charged, you run the risk of overloading the battery. After all, we want you to be able to leave your battery on the charger without worry, which is why we prefer trickle chargers. This is an automatic battery charger, controlled by a microprocessor, that gradually charges the battery to its maximum. After that, the intelligent battery charger automatically switches to a maintenance program to keep the battery in top condition.

What are the advantages of more expensive trickle chargers?

A more expensive battery trickle charger does more than just charge and maintain, they also have a recovery function. These trickle chargers start by testing the condition of the battery and diagnosing the problems. This way, the microprocessor-controlled trickle charger knows whether the battery can be charged directly or whether the battery first needs to be saved from premature recycling. If a battery needs to be saved, it can’t handle the full charging power immediately. Here too, the trickle charger differs from a pure battery charger. The latter always charges at the same current, a trickle charger with a recovery function adjusts the charging current so that the battery can be saved and gradually reach full power.

Below we highlight our main trickle chargers so you can make the right choice. This way, you immediately have a battery tester, charger, and perhaps even a lifesaver in one.

Optimate 1 Duo SAE 0.6A as a pure trickle charger:

The Optimate 1 is solely for the maintenance of a battery. If you don’t have a battery to save and you want to extend the lifespan of all your batteries, this is a good choice. As a bonus, this charger is suitable for every type of 12V batteries as well as lithium batteries.

Trickle Charger with Maintenance and Repair Function:

The Oxford Oximiser 900 is a 0.9A trickle charger with a recovery function. Thanks to the recovery function, you can save batteries that still have 4.1V of voltage in them. As long as you don’t discharge the batteries too deeply, you can still save them with the Oximiser 900!

Trickle charger for lithium battery with maintenance and repair function

Lithium batteries require a special approach to charge them since the battery is built differently and the intense charging current from other chargers will damage the lithium battery. Therefore, Optimate developed a charger specifically for lithium batteries, the Optimate Lithium 4s, similar to the Optimate 4 dual. You can also revive lithium batteries with a 0.5V charge.

Trickle charger for all motorcycle batteries

Those in search of a trickle charger suitable for all types of motorcycle batteries can turn to the new Optimate 4 Quad Program trickle charger. The charger has 4 programs with which you can charge and restore all types of motorcycle batteries.

• Charging and restoring lead-acid batteries
• Charging and restoring lead-acid batteries through the BMW CAN-bus connection
• Charging and restoring lithium batteries
• Charging and restoring lithium batteries through the BMW CAN-bus connection

Battery trickle charger for car and motorcycle

If you’re looking for a versatile battery charger, then you need the Oxford Oximiser 3X. It can revive and maintain all types of 12V batteries. It is mentioned that occasional charging of lithium batteries is possible. The battery charger has 3 available charging levels. The first one is for motorcycles, the second one is for cars, and the third one is specifically for AGM batteries and winter storage. A true all-rounder!

Trickle charger with solar panel

Is your motorcycle in a shed at the back of your garden or somewhere where you don’t have access to electricity? No worries! Optimate wants the best for your batteries, even where there’s no power socket available. How do they solve this? By developing a trickle charger that’s powered by a solar panel.

Is your battery dead?

If your battery can’t be saved, you’re probably looking for a new one. You can easily find your motorcycle or scooter battery on our RAD website. Select the brand of your motorcycle, the engine capacity and then search the list for the model name and the corresponding year of manufacture of your motorcycle. Then you’ll immediately see which batteries we have available that fit in your motorcycle.

Battery replacement and recycling

When it’s time to replace the battery, keep the following tip in mind. If you disconnect a battery: Start with the negative terminal and then disconnect the positive terminal. If you want to connect a battery: Do it the other way around. Start with the positive terminal and then attach the negative terminal. Removal starts with negative, placement starts with positive.

You can’t just throw away your old battery. Batteries are full of harmful substances that are dangerous for both you and nature. Therefore, take your battery to a recycling point or leave it at one of our RAD stores where we will have it recycled safely.

Related links:

• Trickle chargers for the motorcycle
• Battery chargers and accessories
• Motorcycle batteries