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| By Martin Human - CEO/CTO, TecMate |
Motorcyclists now have more battery options to choose from than ever, and that diversification in available platforms all stems from the fact that motorcyclists are disappointed with traditional battery performance, especially at a time when the reliance on reliable on-board power has expanded like never before.
Of course, everyone automatically blames the battery. "Why can't they just perform like they should?"
After all, if you add a performance kit to your motorcycle, you get more performance, right? Higher compression means more horsepower, right? Actually, it needs more than just that performance kit, it needs a performance exhaust, it needs a filter that makes that engine breathe better, but most important of all, it needs higher octane fuel.
Without the higher octane fuel, that add-on kit looks good in the parking lot, but will not perform so well out there on the road.
So how come a high-performance battery should simply perform without extra care or better charging? To make a battery work right, you have to charge and maintain it right.
Lithium batteries are the new high-performance solution for those Harley-Davidson owners who 'hate' the fact that their motorcycle struggles to start on a cold morning. Spring is a dreaded time, as more often than not that 'old' battery did not make it through winter. The real question is "why?", and generally the answer is that it was never charged and maintained properly.
So, many a rider's response is that it is time for a new battery, and why not one of those new high- performance lithium batteries?
Lithium batteries deliver four times more cranking amps per Amp-hour than their lead-acid equivalent - the battery it will soon replace. Plus, lithium batteries do not 'sulphate' or lose power over winter if left semi-charged (recommended: at least 50% or higher), but, and this is a big but, if they are NOT CONNECTED to the bike's circuitry over winter.
If a lithium battery is left connected over winter without proper maintenance, well, that would be a hard and expensive mistake - that battery will die faster than the lead-acid battery it replaced.
Why? The bike's 'always on' circuitry draws the same power from the battery, never mind what type of battery it is. Lithium batteries have on average three to four times less Amp-hour capacity than the lead-acid battery it replaced, i.e. it is three to four times smaller, so at slow discharge caused by the bike's 'always on' circuitry, it will be flat three to four times sooner.
So, it stands to reason that if you want reliable access to the high cranking amps of your lithium battery, you must maintain it with a lithium-specific battery charger - it needs that 'high octane' charger to perform as advertised.
The OptiMate Lithium line of chargers has been designed to be the right 'high octane' charger for your lithium battery, which is why Honda, Yamaha and Kawasaki globally recommend OptiMate Lithium chargers, as well as KTM, Husqvarna and American Honda, who brand their own OptiMate Lithium chargers.
Ask esteemed international battery companies like Super B, Antigravity and Earth-X why their 'go to' charger is OptiMate Lithium and they'll tell you it is because it makes their batteries work right and their warranty return rate is negligible.
OptiMate Lithium guarantees battery performance - and for those who forgot to charge, it will save that battery from as low as 0.5V.
If you want to see the science behind it all, video versions are available in English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish and Italian at https://tecmate.com/new/lithium4facts
TECMATE
www.tecmate.com
www.optimate1.com
By-line for Martin Human-
Use pic of Martin form AMD 218 page 58
