Best Motorcycle Battery Charger
OPTIMATE POWER-SPORT BATTERY CHARGERS
At OptiMate, we believe in making battery charging and maintenance as easy as possible for your motorcycle, ATV, UTV (SxS) or PWC (personal watercraft). Our motto is ‘connect and forget, no more battery problems’, keeping your battery ready until you press that magic start button!
All OptiMate battery chargers share the following key features:
AUTOMATIC – OptiMate battery chargers are fully automatic. No supervision required! After you connect the OptiMate to your battery it will automatically diagnose the battery’s condition and then save, charge and maintain as needed. |
24-7 SAFE MAINTENANCE – OptiMate battery chargers have a unique and proven ‘connect and forget’ 24-7 maintenance program that will keep your battery healthy and extends its lifespan. Leave it connected for a week, a month or a year, your battery is always safely looked after. |
GREEN TECHNOLOGY – OptiMate battery chargers use green power technology that reduce electricity usage. Your battery is kept in tip-top shape at the lowest cost. |
CHOOSING THE RIGHT CHARGER
OptiMate battery chargers for powersport / motorcycle are arranged in 3 groups, EASY, MORE and BEST, according to rider battery knowledge and functions demanded from their battery charger.
EASY –
 | 🛠️ EASY |
Charge & maintainFunction – To charge & maintain a stored vehicle’s 12V battery.
Popular – with vehicle owners that don’t know technical details of the 12V battery in their vehicle / want the most cost-effective maintenance option.
Knowledge – The vehicle owner must know that the vehicle system / battery voltage is 12V.
TIP: All motorcycles from 1975 to date have 12V batteries. Classic motorcycles before 1975 may have 6V batteries (see here for 6V battery options).
OptiMate DUO battery chargers automatically charge and maintain your 12V battery at an optimal level. OptiMate DUO battery chargers automatically adapt to the battery’s chemistry.
All you must do is connect the OptiMate DUO battery charger to your 12V battery and then it takes care of the rest.
OptiMate 1 DUO is the most popular choice for 24-7 long term maintenance of any 12V power-sport battery.
OptiMate 2 DUO offer a higher charge current of 2 Amps and then delivers 24-7 long term maintenance. OptiMate 2 DUO is also offered in single or 2 or 4 station / bank format.
OFF-GRID – If you have no AC power where your vehicle is stored, consider the following options -
SOLAR: The OptiMate Solar DUO battery chargers charge and maintain during the day and monitor the 12V battery at night.
OptiMate Solar DUO 10W is ideal for maintenance of all 12V powersport batteries.
Learn more about our all OptiMate Solar Battery Chargers (rated from 10W to 80W) here: https://optimate1.com/solar
DC to DC: The OptiMate DC-DUO 2 Amp battery charger is ideal for saving, charging and maintaining your 12V battery from another 12V battery or 12V vehicle system. For example, you can charge and maintain your powersport vehicle’s battery from your camper/RV or your car, or from a larger 12V lead-acid or lithium battery. It can also reset the BMS of a 12V LFP Lithium-Ion battery.
MORE –
 | 🛠️ MORE |
Function – Save, charge test and maintain a 12V Pb (lead-acid: STD/flooded, VRLA AGM or GEL), OR, Reset the BMS and save, charge, test and maintain a 12V/12.8V/13.2V LFP Lithium-Ion battery.
Popular – with motorcycle OEMs or riders that prefer a battery charger that can also save and test a dead-flat battery, or reset the smart BMS on a LFP Lithium-ion battery.
Knowledge – The rider must know the vehicle battery’s voltage and chemistry / type.
The MORE group of battery chargers offer more features at a reasonable price, but are battery chemistry specific. They can SAVE a battery from dead-flat, and will then test, charge and maintain the battery.
OptiMate 3 can automatically save, charge, test and then maintain your 12V Pb (lead-acid: STD / flooded, VRLA / AGM or GEL). OptiMate 3 is recommended by Honda, Triumph, Suzuki, Yamaha & Kawasaki.
OptiMate 3 is offered in single or 2 or 4 station / bank format.
OptiMate Lithium 4s 0.8A can automatically save, charge, test and then maintain your 12V / 12.8V / 13.2V LFP Lithium-Ion battery, and it can reset the battery’s BMS that protects the battery against total discharge.
OptiMate Lithium 4s 0.8A is recommended by Honda, Yamaha & Kawasaki.
OptiMate Lithium 4s 0.8A is offered in a single or 4 station / bank format.
Learn more about LFP Lithium-Ion batteries and our more powerful LFP charger options here: https://optimate1.com/best-lithium-battery-charger/
BEST –
 | 🛠️ BEST |
Function – Choose to maintain the stored vehicle’s 12V battery directly, or via the 12V socket on a BMW motorcycle. Save, charge test and maintain a 12V Pb (lead-acid: STD/flooded, VRLA AGM or GEL), or, reset the BMS and save, charge, test and maintain a 12V/12.8V/13.2V LFP Lithium-Ion battery.
Popular – with BMW motorcycle owners, or riders that want one battery charger with selectable options and accessories that work for any powersport vehicle brand.
Knowledge – The rider must know the vehicle battery’s voltage and chemistry / type.
OptiMate 4 Quad Program is the BEST of all OptiMate power-sport chargers combined into a single product, making it the most advanced power-sport battery charger in the world.
OptiMate 4 Quad Program can save, charge, test and maintain all types and sizes of power-sport battery, including 12V Pb (lead-acid: classic wet cell or sealed / VRLA AGM or GEL) and 12.8V / 13.2V lithium (LFP / LiFePO4), and it can reset the battery’s BMS that protects the battery against total discharge.
It can automatically charge, test and maintain the battery in a BMW motorcycle via its CAN-bus controlled 12V socket.
Two models are offered, standard and premium. Both are identical in operation, but the premium edition includes the cable adapter (SAE to DIN plug) that enables connection to the smaller DIN / European motorcycle socket on BMW and Triumph motorcycles.
OptiMate 4 Quad Program FAQ
OptiMate 4 Quad Program includes four charging programs; the standard program for lead-acid batteries is supposed to be used when connecting directly to the battery, the CANbus (BMW) program for lead-acid batteries allows charging and maintaining via the DIN socket on BMW Motorcycles (models 2004 and later).
The standard program for lithium batteries is supposed to be used when connecting directly to the battery, the CANbus (BMW) program for lithium batteries allows charging and maintaining via the DIN socket on BMW Motorcycles (models 2004 and later).
Yes, the standard program has the most advanced recovery program which saves 'dead flat' sulphated batteries from as low as 0,5V.
You'll need to select Program 2 (Pb-CAN-bus) or Program 4 (LFP-CAN-bus) depending on the type of battery in your BMW motorcycle. Program 2 is for a 12V sealed lead-acid battery - your sealed battery may be marked 12V VRLA, GEL or AGM. Program 4 is for a 12.8V LFP (Li-Ion with chemistry LiFePO4) battery.
Disconnect the OptiMate 4 from the battery or vehicle. Push and release the pushbutton switch. The mode selection changes when the button is released. Continue to press and release until the desired program has been selected. If no futher selection is made for at least 3 seconds SAVE (#3), CHARGE (#4), OPTIMIZE(#5) and TEST (#6,7, 8) LEDs flash twice to confirm selection is in memory.
The standard edition is delivered with a set of battery clips (O-04), a permanent battery lead (O-01) and a handlebar hanging hook to suspend the charger from the handlebar. The Premium edition includes all the same accessories PLUS a SAE to DIN adapter (O-19) to connect directly to 12V DIN sockets on BMW and Triumph motorcycles.
You will need one of the OptiMate BIKE plug cables (O-02, O-09, O19 or O-29) https://optimate1.com/prod/cablesconnectors/?filters=cable-type[din-bike-plug-adapter]
Yes, IF the socket is ‘live’ (hot) when the motorcycle ignition is turned off. (TIP: Recent model Triumph Tiger 850/900 and 1200/1250 have a live socket near the instrument panel.). Select program 1 or 3 for direct-to-battery charging as the socket is directly connected to the battery.
STD, AGM and GEL 12V lead-acid & 12.8V / 13.2V lithium LFP (LiFePO4) batteries used for engine start & deep cycle applications. For lead-acid batteries from 4Ah to 60Ah for 24-7 battery maintenance and for lithium batteries from 2Ah to 15Ah for 24-7 battery maintenance.
Charge time on a flat but otherwise undamaged battery: a 12Ah battery should take no more than about 12 hours to progress to the self-discharge check. Deep-discharged batteries may take significantly longer, a full charge may not be achieved within the hour charge safety limit. In this case.
General Motorcycle Battery Charger FAQ
The OptiMate 1 VoltMatic and the OptiMate 1 DUO are both Bronze series chargers, that means that they're easy to use to charge and maintain your battery.
The OptiMate 1 VoltMatic is a 6V and 12V automatic lead-acid charger, so if you have 6V to charge that's your option!
The OptiMate 1 DUO is a 12V Bronze series charger for both lead-acid batteries and Lithium.
The OptiMate 3 is a Silver series battery charger.
What that means: It can save, charge and maintain any lead-acid 12V battery.
The OptiMate Lithium series is made specifically for Lithium-ion LFP LiFePO4 batteries, so if you bought a new battery, connect it to your OptiMate Lithium charger for 24 hours before you install it into your motorcycle. That way your battery will be 100% charged and you will always be ready to go.
Yes, it can! The Solar DUO controller harnesses the power of the sun to put it into your 12V lead-acid or Lithium-ion LFP battery. In full summer when the sun is at its maximum power the controller can actually use that power to save your dead flat battery.
Learn about the OptiMate USB charger technology here!