Good charger for a 2011 RT??

I would like opinions about the following charger for an RT.

https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/tecmate-optimate-4-dual-program-battery-charger-for-bmw-canbus

I need a charger for my bike, and would like to get this one, if no one thinks the desulfating will cause problems with my RT.

Thanks,

James L

I have had the exact same charger hooked up to my 2012 RT since new (April 2012) and the OEM battery is still running strong, with no signs of corrosion on the terminals & lots of grunt on cold mornings.

I leave it plugged it year-round except when I am on rides. I do not take the battery out of the bike in the winter in my unheated garage. Coldest days are about -25C.

I have used the CanBus plug-in exclusively, never hooked it directly to the battery.

The battery seems like new when starting, but I do not know if I should temp fate this summer on a long rides, with a battery that will be on it's 6th summer??

I would like opinions about the following charger for an RT.

 

https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/tecmate-optimate-4-dual-program-battery-charger-for-bmw-canbus

 

I need a charger for my bike, and would like to get this one, if no one thinks the desulfating will cause problems with my RT.

 

Thanks,

 

James L

Afternoon James

You really don't want a high voltage desulfation mode on a modern BMW charger if it exceeds 15 volts. (BMW service bulletin to not exceed 15 volts if battery connected to motorcycle) --

Will 15+ volts kill any of the electronics on the modern BMW motorcycle? Probably not-- Could over 15 volts hurt the electronics?- possibly, & BMW seems to think so.

I think (I'm not 100% sure) that the charger that you are looking at turns the high voltage desulfation off when in the CanBus connection mode (I looked at that charger a while back & am pretty sure that I read that in the manual) -- (but to be sure you might call their customer service helpline)

I've had and still have several battery chargers. What I found out after I fried my oem battery is you want a charger that does not exceed 14.0 volts and once it reaches a full charge it will shut down to a float mode and monitor the voltage. Once the voltage drops to a preset level the charger repeats the cycle and top charges the battery again. What I found out about most chargers is even if they do not exceed 14 volts they still maintain a charge that will heat up the battery. Even though it's a small current flow the battery stays warm and eventually will fail. The only battery charger I have found that does this is the Batery Tender.

This is the one I have.

http://products.batterytender.com/Chargers/Battery-TenderR-Plus.html

I hooked up a volt meter on various chargers and found that the Battery Tender is the only one I have that once charged the voltage reduces to a normal level around 12.8 to 13.0 volts. Other chargers stayed at 14.0 to 14.8 volts and heated up the battery. I'm not familiar with the desulfation process so I can't comment on that one. I know Optima makes plug and play chargers that are CanBus compatible. I don't have one so all I know is what I read and they work good.

I've had and still have several battery chargers. What I found out after I fried my oem battery is you want a charger that does not exceed 14.0 volts and once it reaches a full charge it will shut down to a float mode and monitor the voltage. Once the voltage drops to a preset level the charger repeats the cycle and top charges the battery again. What I found out about most chargers is even if they do not exceed 14 volts they still maintain a charge that will heat up the battery. Even though it's a small current flow the battery stays warm and eventually will fail. The only battery charger I have found that does this is the Batery Tender.

This is the one I have.

 

http://products.batterytender.com/Chargers/Battery-TenderR-Plus.html

 

I hooked up a volt meter on various chargers and found that the Battery Tender is the only one I have that once charged the voltage reduces to a normal level around 12.8 to 13.0 volts. Other chargers stayed at 14.0 to 14.8 volts and heated up the battery. I'm not familiar with the desulfation process so I can't comment on that one. I know Optima makes plug and play chargers that are CanBus compatible. I don't have one so all I know is what I read and they work good.

Afternoon 6speedTi

14.0 volts is too low to properly charge either a BMW Gel or BMW AGM battery (especially in cold ambient temperatures). It's probably not too far off for the continuous alternator output while riding but 14.0 volts is not enough for proper maintainer/charger on the bulk charging cycle.

(in real cold weather it needs to be slightly higher yet)

Too low on the bulk charge stage can harm the battery long term as it doesn't fully charge the battery to 100%.

13.6 to 13.8 is probably just about right for the float stage but better yet is a 12.7-14.4v pulse on the maintainer stage.(a lot of the better modern AGM or Gel chargers have that pulse float cycle as it keeps sulfatation to a minimum)

Odyssey batteries need slightly higher volts & amps on the bulk stage (about 14.7v & amps depends on battery size).

Afternoon James

 

You really don't want a high voltage desulfation mode on a modern BMW charger if it exceeds 15 volts. (BMW service bulletin to not exceed 15 volts if battery connected to motorcycle) --

 

Will 15+ volts kill any of the electronics on the modern BMW motorcycle? Probably not-- Could over 15 volts hurt the electronics?- possibly, & BMW seems to think so.

 

I think (I'm not 100% sure) that the charger that you are looking at turns the high voltage desulfation off when in the CanBus connection mode (I looked at that charger a while back & am pretty sure that I read that in the manual) -- (but to be sure you might call their customer service helpline)

I've read the manual, and it does in fact turn off or deactivate the high voltage desulfating mode when on Canbus. It uses a low voltage canbus compatible desulfating mode when on canbus.

But I do appreciate everyones opinions and comments.

I will be purchasing one, and will report any problems.

James L

James:

Please let me know what charger you eventually pick up. I am needed to acquire a newer one and 90% of what I read gave me a migraine. :-)

Thank you

Mike