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Which Optimate battery tender is best for your motorcycle?

Songs From The Saddle

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Which OptiMate battery tender is actually best for your motorcycle?

In this video, I take a practical, real-world look at the OptiMate battery charger and optimiser range to help riders understand the differences between the various models and decide which one best suits their motorcycle and riding habits.

Whether you ride occasionally, store your bike over winter, use a lithium battery, or simply want to avoid flat battery problems, this guide explains what each OptiMate charger is designed for and which riders will benefit most from each model.

Topics covered include:
• Differences between OptiMate 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and Duo models
• Lead-acid vs lithium battery compatibility
• CAN-bus charging support for modern motorcycles
• Battery recovery and maintenance features
• Long-term storage and winter charging
• Which OptiMate is best if you have no power supply in your garage
• Common mistakes riders make with battery tenders

I also discuss which chargers make the most sense for everyday motorcycle owners versus premium options that may be unnecessary for many riders.

If you’ve ever wondered whether an OptiMate 3, OptiMate 4 or Duo charger is worth buying — this video should help clear things up.

20 Comments

@phil031066 1 month ago

Just bought an optimate 1 for €30 and it does the job of keeping the battery fresh and topped up

@iki_teker_iki_kanat 6 months ago

Thanks for the clear explanation, for addressing all the questions, and for your time. Great job! I wish the manufacturers explained things this well

@larrydoyle907 1 month ago

I use a genome 300 camping battery pack with ac output and plug my optimate 4 into it for bikes thar are stored in Garage without power

@DucatiMTS1200 5 months ago

Great stuff Paul. I recently designed built a battery capacity analyser for the motorcycle AGM / lead acid battery types and it was interesting to see the Optimate charge cycle or even the recovery mode in operation from current and voltage and time perspectives. All my bike chargers are Optimate and I also find that they are excellent and very durable. I confirm that everything you said in your video is most accurate and very well composed. 100% video sir.👍👍👍

@jeffcarroll6959 4 months ago

Thanks. Best explanation I've seen. I've a BMW R1200CL and bought the 4 to keep it plugged in. I was gong wrong because once it was charged up I was removing it. Now I realise I should leave it connected. Thanks again for the clear explanation.

@chrisholt2474 1 month ago

Great information, thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Much appreciated and best regards. 👍👍👍

@chromevanadium5825 10 months ago

I never had any specialized battery charger. I'm using a simple computer APC Back-UPS unit as a battery tender for more that 10 years. I made a simple modification which allows me to connect my bike batteries parallel to UPS battery. In this configuration it handles everything: AGM, LED, Lithium. Sure, it can't recover anything that is dead or starting to die, but it the best way to keep tendering everything in winter time. My Honda VTX battery is about 10 years old and still in a good shape. Same for BMW Lithium.

@combatkiller7881 3 months ago

What a great informational vid, man...
This has helped me out a lot to chose what to get, thanks.

@pauljones4071 9 months ago

Great video!! Thank you for sharing, Paul. Funnily enough i work for ProBike and we've been the no.1 importer for the OptiMate battery chargers for over 35yrs now..

@RH10RUS 1 month ago

Good video

@richarddepledge960 6 months ago

excellent info. id no idea there were so many optimate chargers. Cheers.

@paulv22 10 months ago (edited)

I had an older Optimate 4 CANBUS type. It worked very well on my R1250RS. However, I traded that bike on an R1300GS and the CANBUS charting didn't work reliably. My 1300 came with an AGM battery so it should have worked. They are great products but I replaced it with a Noco dual bank and those are very good products also.

Very useful video as usual.

@teamtempest844 7 months ago

One of the most informative video uploads on YouTube! Thank you kind sir, ride safe.

@robertprosser6856 8 months ago

I've just installed an Optimate1 on my BMW R1250RS and it works just fine👍

@andyrattle 5 months ago

Superb thank you. My optimate 4 has just given up which ive had since 2013...ive been running it in can bus mode on my 2016 sportster maybe thats why!

@ClassicalGas101 8 months ago

Wry useful and informative video, thank you 👍🏻

@nick-l2n6t 10 months ago (edited)

Agree with your comment on Harley’s requiring maintaining charge, my experience is with an 883 Sportster and Cross Bones. My charger choice is an Optimate 4.

@MotoMark55 10 months ago

Excellent 👏 A really useful & informative video. I have two older models (a 3 and a 3SP), plus a new 1Duo for the lithium battery on my 2018 Fireblade SP. Been using Optimates for many years, but I do prefer not to have them connected up permanently - seen too many batteries fail prematurely after this kind of use 🤔

@raymondplatts7516 10 months ago

Great informative Video Thankyou Duo 1 will do just fine thanks for saving me folding

@gsx-r1378 10 months ago

Really good video, had it on whilst looking at the optimate website! Im thinking of changing from lead acid to lithium battery for my s1000rr so this was excellent content, exactly what I was looking for, thank you 👍