Just marshaled the Reading Toy Run ..... in the rain but a brilliant turnout and all for a good cause, Dr Barnardo's. Honestly now and off down t' pub. Andy
I have been looking at Optimate trickle chargers today and am totally confused. I already have an old Optimate 2 that is brilliant as well as a very old Halfords trickle charger that seems to work well. I tend to leave the Optimate on my car that is sorned for 6 months and has two 12v batteries. It is very comfortable being in place and I would like to leave it there if possible. This leads me to the two bikes; aat the moment i keep switching the cheap Halfords trickle charger between the bikes but wondered if Optimate or similar do a charger that could connect both bikes at the same time. I don't really want to spend a lot of money but just wondered how you guys with multiple bikes cope with this issue? Many thanks in advance for any guidance.
Not all bearings are the same....removed a bearing out of the sprocket carrier on the zed this morning that was starting to sound a bit crunchy....only been in the bike about a year and its fucked already....once id pressed it out the race felt dry with a tiny bit of play in there.....this was a pattern bearing off of ebay....cost about 12quid. Replacement SKF was just shy of 65 quid. No more shitty pattern bearings for me...!
You can leave a battery maintainer connected 24/7 (I do this with 3 bikes), but not a trickle charger. Optimate is a popular brand and there's also this one: https://www.ducatiforum.co.uk/threads/lithium-and-lead-acid-battery-charger-for-just-£34-95.101407/ That I rate highly - see my post about voltages, etc... Noco have single- & multi-battery charger/maintainer offerings that are popular on here...
Trickle chargers have no 'intelligence', so can over-charge and possibly overheat a battery. A maintainer monitors whether the battery actually needs some charging current, regulates the voltage applied and this should keep the battery in tip-top condition year-round. As long a you monitor the battery voltage & condition there's nothing wrong with a 'trickler' - it's just so much easier to leave it to a decent automatic system.
Thanks for that Keith, I do understand but have never really appreciated the nuances before. I am so impressed with the Optimate range that I think I will go that route.
Yep - must confess i thought "a bearing was a bearing" but clearly not!! well they are - its just the wear rate is way way faster!!
They’re good and the Noco genius range is really good too. I think I’m correct in saying you don’t have to get the biggest capacity Noco one for motorbikes because they have smaller batteries and require slower charging. As with any rechargeable battery the slower you charge it the longer it will last. It makes me laugh reading all this stuff about fast charging electric cars. They’re just mullering their multi thousand pound drive packs.
I've been using an Optimate battery conditioner for several years, on numerous bikes, with to date, no issues. Over the last 2-years I've been using a timer socket, which enables the Optimate to be 'active' at the same time, for 2-hours, set for 1pm -3pm. This is and continues to maintain the battery perfectly and from an electrical usage perspective, to me at least, makes total sense. So far, no need whatsoever, to have the Optimate on 24/7, 365. Try it out........
I switch mine on for a day or two, switch it off for 5-6 days, then switch it back on for a day or two. Works well for me.
When I had my Rocket 3, which are very sensitive to battery health as the biggest battery you can fit in the things is barely man enough, my local Triumph dealer told me to follow this routine and not to just plug in and forget. It seems to work.
