American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 245 December 2019 | Page 29

TecMate: Celebrating 25 years of the
OptiMate brand, TecMate introduced
its first OptiMate battery charger,
diagnostics and maintenance tool as a
response to the more powerful and
compact AGM (absorbed glass mat - a
sealed valve regulating lead-acid
battery) that were being introduced
into the powersports industry in the
late 80s and early 90s. AGM batteries
are still lead-acid batteries, but with a
difference, the acid is absorbed into
mats (i.e. sponges), which effectively made it a 'dry' battery that could be
turned upside down – no more acid spillage, a real problem for bikers at
the time. Unfortunately, AGM technology also proved to be more difficult
to recharge, and, especially, to recover from a low voltage/sulphated
state. Motorcycle OEMs wanted a charger for their riders, of course,
mainly to ensure that battery outlasted its warranty, but TecMate took it a
few steps further, making those batteries last much longer than intended,
some even up to 10 years. Then, 10 years ago, TecMate saw the
emergence of Lithium starter batteries as a growing trend that could
become mainstream rather than (at the time) something a few racers or
custom bike builders used to save weight and space. A range of OptiMate
Lithium battery chargers was developed along the same lines as AGM
counterparts, all able to safely recover batteries from a low voltage state
and then test to confirm the battery is OK. OptiMate's Lithium standard
range of battery chargers are now recommended globally by Honda,
BS Battery: One of the fastest growing battery brands and manufacturing
operations in the motorcycle and wider powersports industry, Paris based BS
Battery followed up the launch of its Premium Grade Lithium battery
program earlier this year with its new BA10 dual charger. The company's
'Plug & Play' AGM (Advanced Glass Material) factory-activated 'SLA' Max
battery range has three-terminal, heavy duty, higher cranking amp
applications than OE battery upgrades for most current H-D models;
www.bs-battery.com
SC-Project: One of the fastest growing and most successful performance
exhaust brands in the market, the track prowess of SC Project's Italian made
exhaust technology informs a wide range of Euro 4 homologated complete
system and slip-on options for most popular makes and recent models of
sports and streetbikes, including Harleys. For the 2018 and up Fat Bob, for
example, its GP-Evo muffler, characterized by its round and compact shape, is
available in AISI 304 stainless steel with a standard satin or black satin
finish, with AISI 304 stainless steel end cap with a satin finish. The complete
kit includes slip-on mufflers, link pipes, springs and screws, heat-resistant
adhesive, a 24- month SC-Project official warranty and homologation card;
www.sc-project.com
www.AMDchampionship.com
Yamaha and Kawasaki and are the 'go to' chargers for a number of global
Lithium battery manufacturers. CEO and CTO Martin Human says "part of
OptiMate's success is due to this simple fact - no one cares about a
battery until it's dead. Then the battery owner needs help, but 99.9% of
people are not battery experts. OptiMate battery chargers are fully
automatic with all the necessary battery intelligence built in - simply
connect and OptiMate does the thinking for you. OptiMate has been
trusted by the powersports industry since 1994"; www.tecmate.com
Zard: From "metal to emotions" and slip-ons to full systems, Zard is one of
Italy's leading performance exhaust manufacturers, and EICMA saw them
unveil a number of new products, including titanium racing slip-ons with
removable dB killers and carbon end caps for the Indian FTR 1200. Weighing
in at 1.8 kg/3.9 lbs (the stock system weighs 4.3 kg/9.5 lbs), they deliver a
"significant increase in horsepower and torque at all rpm ranges". Zard
claims an "astonishing and very cool sound" for its new system; a Euro 4
homologated version will additionally be available very soon. Also available
for the FTR 1200 is a reduced weight headers kit in titanium with optional
'Snake Welding' and a Decat kit in AISI 304 stainless steel or titanium. Zard
products are fully interchangeable with the stock designs they replace;
www.zardlab.com
Andreani Group: As part of its comprehensive suspension workshop tools
range, Andreani recently introduced a labor-saving universal fork tube
removal kit and universal suspension fluid injector for easy maintenance of
oil levels in each fork and at EICMA introduced an upgraded version of its
famous DB4 suspension dyno - the DB4 Plus features enhanced software,
functionality and user interface options; www.andreanigroup.com
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - DECEMBER 2019
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