American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 238 May 2019 | Page 36

Charge batteries right, and
they will work right!
R
WO LD
OFFICIAL PA
RTNER
By Martin Human - CEO/CTO, TecMate
otorcyclists 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
M
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
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
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AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - MAY 2019
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
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
Tienen, BELGIUM
Tel: [phone]
www.tecmate.com
www.optimate1.com
www.AMDchampionship.com