Tips and chargers
How to get your motorcycle battery through the winter – and what to avoid
Convenience comes at a price: the expensive Ctek CS One charger always works, no matter how you attach the cables.
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The cold weather forces many motorcyclists to leave their bikes in the garage during the winter. But to ensure that the engine starts up again immediately in the spring, you should take care of the battery. With these tips and devices, the season starts without frustration.
Nothing is more annoying than getting on the bike after a long winter and only hearing a tired click of the starter when you turn the key. Because that usually means: The battery is dead and the first ride of the year has just been done. So that doesn’t happen, he gives star important tips for the correct handling of a motorcycle battery in winter and shows two convincing chargers with which the energy storage devices can be easily brought through the winter.
Remove motorcycle battery or not?
First of all: You don’t always have to remove a battery to supply it with energy during a longer period of inactivity. Most battery chargers come with an adapter cable that you simply screw between the poles of the built-in battery (red = plus pole, black = minus pole!). This gives you a plug directly on the motorcycle to which a charger can be connected. The problem: You need a socket near the vehicle for this, so this convenient solution is out of the question for most underground car parks.
If you need to remove the battery, remember the correct order. Always disconnect the negative pole first, then the positive pole. Installation is the reverse order. First connect the red cable (plus pole), then the black (minus pole). And when it comes to jump starting: First the red cable from plus pole to plus pole, then the black cable to the minus pole of the donor battery and the other end to a ground point (e.g. engine block) of the receiver.
Charge motorcycle battery
If the battery is removed or equipped with a charging adapter, it is the charger’s turn. There are solutions in specialist shops for around 20 euros to 230 euros. As is so often the case: the more expensive the device, the more comfort and functions it offers. That came for this guide Ctek CT 5 power sports for around 80 euros. The advantage of many medium-priced devices is the large number of suitable battery types that can be charged. The CT5 works with lead-acid batteries, as well as all maintenance-free gel and micro-fleece/AGM batteries and lithium-ion batteries. A single button is used to select the correct charging program.
The connection is very simple: First you plug the charger into the socket without the clamp connected. After selecting whether it is a conventional battery or a lithium-ion battery (by pressing the “Mode” button), or whether a battery that was believed dead is to be revived (“Recond” mode for “reconditioning”, only for calcium and lead-acid batteries), it goes to the battery. Connect the red clamp to the positive pole and then the black clamp to the negative pole. Now connect the plug of the pole clamps to the charger.
Important when purchasing: Does the charger also support lithium batteries?
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After a quick check of the battery and the correct connection, the charger starts the charging process. If something is wrong with the connection, an error message appears. If everything fits, you have to wait. The Ctek CT 5 Powersport does not offer a charge status display, but jumps into the “care program” after charging, a kind of gentle charge retention. Charging itself takes between two and nine hours, depending on the charge level and size of the battery. Either leave the device connected to the battery or pull out the mains plug and place the charged battery in a dry room, ideally at a temperature between 10 and 20 degrees.
Everything too complicated: luxury chargers for luxury problems
For around 200 euros, you can forget a large part of the description again, because Ctek is available with the CS One there is now a charger that takes most of your worries away. The CS One charges all battery types, whether car, boat or motorcycle, and does not have colored terminals or buttons. To charge the battery, connect the cables to your battery in any way and let the device work. The standard function does not require an app or additional work steps, you only need the free app if you want to save an old battery or access the special functions.
Which motorcycle battery to charge when?
This question is difficult to answer in general terms, sometimes it is also a question of faith. It is also important whether your vehicle has consumers such as an alarm system (Harley-Davidson) or whether all consumers are switched off after a certain idle time. If your vehicle belongs to the latter and you have one Lithium Ion Battery use, several months of downtime are possible without any significant loss of performance, provided the vehicle does not have to endure sub-zero temperatures. With conventional batteries, it is advisable to connect a charger after about two months, even if no consumer needs energy. If you want to be on the safe side, fully charge the battery just before you set off on your first trip.
If you have a vehicle with a consumer, you should keep the idle time without a charger as short as possible. A Harley-Davidson with a conventional battery may not survive the winter without additional power. With such motorcycles, especially if they are in a garage with a socket, the connection of a permanent connection option is a must.
It is not recommended to let the motorcycle run at a standstill several times in winter so that the battery can be recharged by the engine. Even after ten minutes, a motorcycle idling has no significant effect on the battery charge level and the engine is affected, since the oil cannot liquefy sufficiently within the short time and this results in increased wear. Basically the same reason why you should avoid short trips of less than ten kilometers.
Calm and serenity for less than 100 euros
Experience shows that you don’t need a luxury charger to get a motorcycle battery through the winter with ease. But it shouldn’t be the cheapest model either. The specialist trade already offers good devices from 50 euros, the one used here Ctek CT 5 power sports meets all requirements and supports both standard batteries and lithium cells. With regard to a possible switch, it makes sense to buy a device that supports several battery types.
Devices with a particularly low price, such as a Comparison of the GTÜ experts has shown. With such products, there may be sparks when connecting to the battery or discharge when the pole terminals are connected if the charger is not plugged into the socket.
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