Guest PDXVFRIAM Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 Hi I need a battery charger/tender now that I have two bikes and cannot ride them both as often as needed. I checked out Battery Doc and Battery Tender. The Battery Tender website has a lot of complicated info regarding batteries, and I have the stock battery, which I assume is a H2O filled lead battery. I would assume all MC batteries to be 6V. I read about a GEL battery, which I would assume is an aftermarket option I would not need to worry about when purchasing a tender? Does anyone else charge two at a time? I know in a shop setting it is common, but will a simple small Battery Tender Jr. be able to charge two batteries? And do they really need to be the same type of battery? I would like to leave both bikes hooked up, checking on them weekly if possible. Any suggestions? TIA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Alan Posted December 9, 2006 Member Contributer Share Posted December 9, 2006 Hi I need a battery charger/tender now that I have two bikes and cannot ride them both as often as needed. I checked out Battery Doc and Battery Tender. The Battery Tender website has a lot of complicated info regarding batteries, and I have the stock battery, which I assume is a H2O filled lead battery. I would assume all MC batteries to be 6V. I read about a GEL battery, which I would assume is an aftermarket option I would not need to worry about when purchasing a tender? Does anyone else charge two at a time? I know in a shop setting it is common, but will a simple small Battery Tender Jr. be able to charge two batteries? And do they really need to be the same type of battery? I would like to leave both bikes hooked up, checking on them weekly if possible. Any suggestions? TIA If not in use on a regular basis, that is, riding your bike every 2nd or 3rd day, every battery should be kept on a charger. This includes GEL type batteries. There is a way to charge more than one battery at a time, but they need to be same type, that is, motorcycle battery to motorcycle battery.... car battery to car battery, like volt to like volt, etc.. I would recommend each bike to have its own "tender". That way, when you are out on one bike, the other stays on the charger with little or no hassle. Most modern day motorcycle batteries are 12 volt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer tbzep Posted December 9, 2006 Member Contributer Share Posted December 9, 2006 I use this little Schumacher trickle charger that I got at Wally World for under $20. Works great. Comes with quick disconnect that you can permanently leave on the bike if you want. At that price, you can get two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Silver#788 Posted December 9, 2006 Member Contributer Share Posted December 9, 2006 Lonny has one. I am sure he will chime in here soon. I'll pm him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer magellan Posted December 9, 2006 Member Contributer Share Posted December 9, 2006 Lonny has one. I am sure he will chime in here soon. I'll pm him Why yes, yes I will... Interstate battery sells a new tender at the retail storefront at their warehouse on Marx St. in Portland just east of Airport Way. I believe Yuasa makes it for them, so they no longer carry the Battery Tender line. The new one is good for either 6 or 12V systems (your VFR is 12V), and automatically adjusts for what it's connected to. I'm not sure about connecting to two batteries at a time, but I'm sure the packaging material says whether that's okay or not (I'm sure it would be fine unless one was a 6V battery and the other a 12). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 At that price, you can get two. And that's just what I did! :goofy: :beer: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 Thanks for the info. For the Wally world - sorry I cannot support that particular organization...but I appreciate the tip. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ommata Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 Bettery Tender Jrs can be had for $20 a piece online. A quick search at Froogle turned up a few. They include a quick disconnect that can be left on the bike as well as alligator clips for temporary uses. I've had a BT Jr for each bike for 3-4 years and love 'em! Thanks for the info. For the Wally world - sorry I cannot support that particular organization...but I appreciate the tip. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 About a week ago, I bought a battery tender. Because I had already had a BMW type power socket installed on my bike, I connected a BMW type plug to the battery tender so that I could connect the battery tender to the bike simply by using the plugs. It makes it very convenient. My experience has been that the battery doesn't measurably discharge if the bike hasn't been used for a week or two. That means that if you have two bikes, you could use only one bettery tender and every week or two move the tender from one bike to the other, which is easy if you use the BMW type plugs and sockets. But, unless you are on a tight budget, it would be more reasonable to get two battery tenders. You can also use the battery tender with a car but, because of the low current output of the battery tender, it could take two or three days to recharge a seriously discharged car battery. Regarding using a trickle charger to keep a bike battery up, be careful. If the trickle charger is designed for a car, probably the charging current would be too high if the charger is left connected for days or weeks at a time. I don't know exactly what the current should be just to maintain a bike battery, but I'd guess that it should be somewhere around 10 milliamperes. You can get a multimeter from Radio Shack or some other store to measure the charging current. If it's too high, you can add resistance to reduce it. If the battery voltage stays at about 13 volts, probably the output of the trickle charger is OK. If you know what you are doing, you can make a trickle charger yourself; I made two when I had two antique Packards (a 1953 Cavalier with a straight 8 engine and a 1955 convertible with a V8 engine) which were not often driven. Instead of using fuses, I used two 120 volt Christmas tree light bulbs to limit the current to the 24 V transformer, one on each side of the primary winding. I used a bridge rectifer and 2 12 volt light bulbs through which the current had to go to get to the battery, one on side of the bridge rectifier. I also included a milliammeter and a rheostat so that I could adjust the current from about 20 MA to about 200 MA. Even after many years of use, I never had battery or charger problems. Even if the output clips were shorted, the light bulbs limited the current to a safe value preventing any damage, and it could be used with either a 6V or 12V battery. Although connecting it with the wrong polarity would not cause immediate damage, it would gradually discharge the battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 I invested in an Optimate battery optimiser. They cost a more but I believe are more intelligent then most chargers. This is my 3rd year using it ( 6 mo. winters) and it works very well. Comes with wire to connect to the battery in the bike or clamps to use out the bike. http://www.optimate3.com/classic/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer tbzep Posted December 10, 2006 Member Contributer Share Posted December 10, 2006 Thanks for the info. For the Wally world - sorry I cannot support that particular organization...but I appreciate the tip. Thanks! They are available at many other places than Wally World. Schumacher products are almost everywhere. Schumacher Battery Companion is the name of the tender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 I've read the claims of many of the fancy battery chargers. Although I have no way to test the claims, I would not take them at face value. Many years ago, when I worked for an engine manufacturer, I successfully charged a few batteries that seemed hopeless and could not be charged with conventional chargers; they would not draw significant current and leaving them on charge even for a few days would not produce results. What I did was use excessive voltage to charge them. For example, if a 12 V battery was totally dead and would not even draw any current from a conventional charger, I'd connect it to perhaps 50 volts or higher and, after some time, it would begin to draw current. Then, as the current increased, I'd reduce the voltage to keep the current from becoming excessive and eventually, I'd finish up with conventional methods. I'm not necessarily recommending this method and a battery thus recovered might not have very much life left in it. Basically, it was an experiment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Smola67 Posted December 10, 2006 Member Contributer Share Posted December 10, 2006 I just got a new Battery Tender jr from ebay for $28 shipped. Better than the $40 the local bike shop wants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Rydn4fun Posted December 10, 2006 Member Contributer Share Posted December 10, 2006 I just got one of these for my #2 bike, http://bike-charger.com/. Very nicely built and for $45. I had to give it a go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geezerx Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 My experience has been that the battery doesn't measurably discharge if the bike hasn't been used for a week or two. That means that if you have two bikes, you could use only one bettery tender and every week or two move the tender from one bike to the other, which is easy if you use the BMW type plugs and sockets. But, unless you are on a tight budget, it would be more reasonable to get two battery tenders. budget, shmudget :lol: , I'm just too durn cheap to spring for two chargers. Two bikes have been alternately (+/- 2 week rotation) sharing one Battery Tender for probably the last five years. The RT has just finished it's sixth season with the same Odyssey dry cell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer magellan Posted December 12, 2006 Member Contributer Share Posted December 12, 2006 Great price: https://ssl.adhost.com/seattlecycle/merchan...4129&step=4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lifttruck Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 Great price: https://ssl.adhost.com/seattlecycle/merchan...4129&step=4 http://dpipower.com/batrychrgrs_Excel.htm I have one battery tender and five of these DPI chargers. (I Know too many toys) I buy them for about $35 as compared $60 for the Deltran product. What sold me was the VP of DPI answered an email question that I had about a typo in their instruction papers. He answered this email on a Sunday. I'm very happy with the performance of these little units and highly recommend them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V4 Rosso Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 I invested in an Optimate battery optimiser. They cost a more but I believe are more intelligent then most chargers. http://www.optimate3.com/classic/ I also have the optimate as it came out first in many battery tender/charger tests. It's successor, the 3SP, is also the Honda branded charger Honda EU has in their lists of accssories. Honda OptiMate 3SP battery optimiser I've read the claims of many of the fancy battery chargers. Although I have no way to test the claims, I would not take them at face value.Many years ago, when I worked for an engine manufacturer, I successfully charged a few batteries that seemed hopeless and could not be charged with conventional chargers; they would not draw significant current and leaving them on charge even for a few days would not produce results. What I did was use excessive voltage to charge them. For example, if a 12 V battery was totally dead and would not even draw any current from a conventional charger, I'd connect it to perhaps 50 volts or higher and, after some time, it would begin to draw current. Then, as the current increased, I'd reduce the voltage to keep the current from becoming excessive and eventually, I'd finish up with conventional methods. I'm not necessarily recommending this method and a battery thus recovered might not have very much life left in it. Basically, it was an experiment. And this is exactly one of the methods the above mentioned optimate uses in order to revive old batteries. Only difference is that max voltage is limited to 22V and constantly adjusted as the battery slowly comes to life. A good battery tender & charger is worth the $$ as it can extend battery life significantly. Do get the right battery tender for the type you have in your bike. I think the optimate classic is not suitable for gel batteries. For that you need a charger/tender like the optimate 3SP. :fing02: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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