BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

I have a 2004 r1150r (without the jump start lug in the starter cover) and need recommendations on what battery tender to use. Thus far I have been just pulling off the starter cover and jump starting as needed, but obviously properly maintaining the battery is a much better solution.

Which battery tender would you guys recommend? I'd like to charge through the accessory port if it's not too pricey. Is this battery tender what I want? (though I'm not sure the image has the plug).

Thanks!

Installing a lug through the starter cover is a future project.

I have four of the Battery Tender Plus units that I have used for many years without any problems. I've seen them advertised for around forty dollars on line and at Costco.
Regards,
Frank

What model battery is installed on your bike? AGM batteries need different chargers than regular flooded-type or Gel batteries. The AGM batteries require about a half volt higher charging or trickle voltage.

I've been using the Battery Tender Junior with good results for several years. Its a smaller/cheaper version of the Plus.

I've had a couple of Battery Tender Plus' and have charged the bike through the accessory port. The price on the link was a little high though. I know some folks who have used the Battery Tender JR, and it is only $30 at ironpony.com. You may need the Powerlet adapter to charge through the accessory plug, but it also works for heated gear, etc.

I've installed Odyssey Batteries in both of our R1150R and have never found a need to charge them. The Odyssey also get rid of the slow starter crank.

I tried the much-acclaimed Odyssey in my 2002 R. It lasted 3 1/2 years -- about the same as the BMW gel batteries.

lcarlson wrote:I tried the much-acclaimed Odyssey in my 2002 R. It lasted 3 1/2 years -- about the same as the BMW gel batteries.

I bought the Odyssey PC680 in 2012. By 2013, although the battery would still crank the starter great, my bike started very slowly and ran unevenly for about 20 seconds. It was quite bad.

What I learned is that I had systematically undercharged the battery due to all the testing I was doing (lots of short trips) and then putting it on the Battery Tender Jr. (Read about it here:http://bmwsporttouring.com/ubbthreads/u ... 399&page=1. I went through months getting to the bottom of it.

Bottom line was that by following the Odyssey battery restoration process using 5 controlled discharges and proper recharges, I was able to fully restore the battery. I also boosted my Voltage Regulator by 0.7 volts. It measures now as good as new. At the moment it seems likely to last a long time.

My Odyssey is going on 5 years without any ill affects in the R 1150 R's. I also have them in my Road King and FXR bought at the same time. It finally had to be replaced this week at 13 years of service in the Road King. Probably going to replace the FXR's also.

swamper wrote:I've installed Odyssey Batteries in both of our R1150R and have never found a need to charge them. The Odyssey also get rid of the slow starter crank.

If you ride frequently (every other day including winter) I wouldn't be concerned about a tender. But if you're like many of us your bike sits for weeks at a time during the winter months and sometimes that during riding months. You really need a tender regardless of type of battery including the Odyssey. I've used a Tender Jr for 10 years now and it really helps keep your battery in good health. Note I said "good health", not just simply charged. A battery can be fully charged, doesn't mean it's health is good. And poor battery health will invariably manifest itself at the worst moment.

I ride year round and have a number of bikes to choose from. They usually never sit for more than a month without being used so that most likely keeps them fully charged. The only bikes without Odyssey Batteries are the Vee-Stroms which still have the original Batteries in them.

Here is a good alternative

towerworker wrote:

swamper wrote:I've installed Odyssey Batteries in both of our R1150R and have never found a need to charge them. The Odyssey also get rid of the slow starter crank.

If you ride frequently (every other day including winter) I wouldn't be concerned about a tender. But if you're like many of us your bike sits for weeks at a time during the winter months and sometimes that during riding months. You really need a tender regardless of type of battery including the Odyssey. I've used a Tender Jr for 10 years now and it really helps keep your battery in good health. Note I said "good health", not just simply charged. A battery can be fully charged, doesn't mean it's health is good. And poor battery health will invariably manifest itself at the worst moment.

I have the same situation this winter, there will be 8-10 weeks where the bike is parked. If you want to keep the battery from discharging, and if you don't have add-ons that draw current with the key off, all you need to do is pull fuse 3 and fuse 5. This reduces the 1150 static draw to 0.5 mA. At that draw, the battery will discharge less than 10% per month. I then charge that back up once a month but it wouldn't be a problem to let it sit for 2 months in that state.

When you replace the fuses all you have to do is reset the clock if you have one and then reregister the throttle with the key on, twist the throttle fully twice, key off procedure.

I ride about once a week during the winter with sometimes 2~3 week gaps (holidays). The rest of the year (May~Oct), I'm pretty consistent with once or twice a week. This sort of pattern has seen my previous battery die in about 2 years, which seems kinda short to me, hence the investment in a battery tender. I drive my cars even less frequently, but have never had a battery issue with any of my cars. Time/distance could be a factor though, since cars are for long trips, while the bike is mainly around town, 20~30 mins somewhere and then the same amount back home.

I had a "61 21 2 346 800: maintenance free" installed, which based on Google is an AGM battery.

Since AGM is listed on this battery tender:
http://www.sierrabmwonline.com/product_ ... -bta-p-765
I guess I am good to go.

Standard Motorcycle Batteries seem to be doing good if you can get two to three years out of them.

I got an education last week when after a few days of single digit temps my Odyssey battery was dead and was still on the tender. I used a larger car charger to get the battery back up but found it was diagnosed with a sulfated cell. I then found I had been using the wrong charger all these years after an email exchange with Odyssey. So I take back my response concerning Odyssey and Battery Tender. That is not the brand you want with that battery. I bought this charger off of eBay and it arrived yesterday.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O84WNNG/?m= ... _114105210

Supposedly it will correct a sulfated cell condition. We'll see.

I use a digital Schumacher trickle charger on my Rockster with a factory gel battery. Keeps it charged and ready. They have them at WalMart for cheap. I recommend it. Also I added the powerlet port to my Rockster like you want to which didn't have it. just a cap over the hole in the starter cover. Was shocked to discover that during install the wire harness was already there for it behind the cover. Just had to plug and play. Easy.

Well I always thought I knew what I was doing till that one morning last week. I think I came close to ruining my Odyssey. Seems ok now. I have the new charger on it although I will soon be back to near daily riding and there won't be a need for the tender. But I want this battery to last. There are so many different battery technologies available now so you really have to pay attention to what the battery manufacturer recommends in a charger.

Wayne

I've used an Optimate 4 for the past three years . I'm a fair weather biker and the bike spends the 6 months of winter in my garage

Still works fine but I did get twitchy when the bike was left outdoors on a touring holiday. Need not have worried- it was my brother in law's Moto Guzzi Le Mans 1000 that let him down with a flat battery. He had to substitute his Norton Commando 850 at the last minute (kick start only).