AMD 256 November 2020 American Motorcycle Dealer 256 Nov 2020 | Page 45

Stay Connected - It ' s All In The Details

Sometimes it ' s the simplest things that make a difference , like making a connection to a battery to charge or draw power . Generally an afterthought for most , but not for TecMate . With every OptiMate battery charger a set of unique O-04 battery clips and an O-01 weatherproof battery lead ( otherwise known as ringlets / eyelets / pigtail ) is included to make the connection to the battery . This may seem like a " small thing " that most people take for granted , but OptiMate O-04 battery clips have been designed specifically to meet the needs of powersport battery applications - not all battery connections are created equal ! Most crocodile or alligator clips have a slightly oval open mouth with the ' eyeteeth ' or edges of the mouth touching when closed . The OptiMate battery clip is more like a hybrid alligator / platypus mouth (!), flat and straight with sharp little teeth - great for gripping onto square / cubed battery posts ( the most popular kind in powersports ) or flat tab posts for the small batteries used on entry level motorcycles .
They also fit on the round posts that are being introduced in the newest sector ( or we could say ' craze ') in powersport , the 4-wheel UTV or Side by Side ( SxS ) that has seen tremendous growth in the USA and Canada . Good contact is important - never mind the shape of the post . OptiMate ' s O-01 weatherproof battery lead was designed with the specifics of powersport vehicle use in mind . Water , dirt and grime shooting up from the road have a nasty habit of penetrating anything and electrical connections can corrode fast if not protected . " A corroded connection is a poor connection ," says Martin Human , TecMate ' s CEO / CTO . " The added electrical resistance can cause a hotspot and loss of voltage during charging . OptiMate ' s battery leads have a protective rubber shroud that encloses the open pin of the SAE connector , making it electrically safe , and the rubber sealing cap protects the connector when not in use . Now , if you forgot to put the cap in position , and that connector is full of dirt , don ' t worry , twist off the shroud , clean it out and re-assemble . " We have added a few more innovations too - that connector flapping about in the wind has always bothered me . Zipties or strapping the cable to a strut never seemed to fully contain that heavy connector - then one day we thought , why not add ziptie / Velcro strap loops on the connector itself ? Problem solved ! " Our latest innovation , the dual size ring system , came about because in the new powersport vehicle sector ( UTV / SxS ) there are a few batteries with M8 ( 5 / 16 ") screw terminals , deviating from the standard M6 1 / 4 ".
A few different approaches were considered , and we eventually settled on the triangular removable adapter - when left in position , it ' s an M6 1 / 4 " ring , when snipped off , it becomes a M8 5 / 16 " ring . Simple but effective !" TecMate has other battery connection accessories such as panel-mount sockets , the DIN connector accessories found on BMW , Triumph and Ducati Multistrada motorcycles and many others - with the designs always focusing on the best connection possible to that specific battery application . The latest idea is a magnetic system , making connection and disconnection very easy , and that will be starting to be seen on some of the new 2021 products .
TECMATE Tienen , BELGIUM Tel : + 32 ( 0 ) 16 805 440 www . tecmate . com www . optimate1 . com