Big_Kingy Posted September 2, 2020 Report Share Posted September 2, 2020 I had an old (probably first model) Optimate given to when I bought my old Blade back in 2008ish, so I'm guessing it was made in the late 90's??? Anywho, I used it on my old Duke 390 from new and the battery died within a few moths. It was plugged in the whole time it wasn't being used, which could be months. Fast forward and I bought a Falco this summer, wanted to keep the battery in good nick so not to damage the sprag clutch. Had a chat with the previous owner and he has pretty much a clone of my Optimate, he used it on a timed socket and would have the Optimate come on for 2 hour a night to keep it topped up. Excellent, I'll give it a go. So onto the old Optimate it goes. Optimate gets plugged in via a timer for 2.5 hours every night. So put the bike away 5 weeks ago, try to start it today and there's virtually nothing in the battery. Am I doing something wrong? Am I just really unlucky? Is my Optimate fooked? Have I upset the battery gods? Shall I just fit a new battery with a kill switch to the negative terminal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastfreddybikes Posted September 2, 2020 Report Share Posted September 2, 2020 42 minutes ago, Big_Kingy said: I had an old (probably first model) Optimate given to when I bought my old Blade back in 2008ish, so I'm guessing it was made in the late 90's??? Anywho, I used it on my old Duke 390 from new and the battery died within a few moths. It was plugged in the whole time it wasn't being used, which could be months. Fast forward and I bought a Falco this summer, wanted to keep the battery in good nick so not to damage the sprag clutch. Had a chat with the previous owner and he has pretty much a clone of my Optimate, he used it on a timed socket and would have the Optimate come on for 2 hour a night to keep it topped up. Excellent, I'll give it a go. So onto the old Optimate it goes. Optimate gets plugged in via a timer for 2.5 hours every night. So put the bike away 5 weeks ago, try to start it today and there's virtually nothing in the battery. Am I doing something wrong? Am I just really unlucky? Is my Optimate fooked? Have I upset the battery gods? Shall I just fit a new battery with a kill switch to the negative terminal? Think I’d be investing in a this century intelligent charger imho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssray Posted September 2, 2020 Report Share Posted September 2, 2020 I had a first gen optimate, seemed to do the same Aldi or lidl £15 for a ctek copy charger, mine works very well on the bike or the car 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Kingy Posted September 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2020 Something like this? https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004RADNCQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_..ouFbMA5PR4F 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssray Posted September 3, 2020 Report Share Posted September 3, 2020 2 hours ago, Big_Kingy said: Something like this? https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004RADNCQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_..ouFbMA5PR4F Yep that kind of thing, much better than the old optimate for some reason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Kingy Posted September 4, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2020 Got one ordered, fingers crossed the battery is salvageable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastfreddybikes Posted September 5, 2020 Report Share Posted September 5, 2020 9 hours ago, Big_Kingy said: Got one ordered, fingers crossed the battery is salvageable. The 32p discount really got you moving Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toneale Posted September 5, 2020 Report Share Posted September 5, 2020 Invest in a litbium battery @Big_Kingy. You can leave them for long periods without use and they will hold their charge. Loads of cranking amps too meaning sprag clutch issues. I have them on both my bikes which are both parked up over winter unsed. No need for an optimate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorenzo Posted September 6, 2020 Report Share Posted September 6, 2020 22 hours ago, Toneale said: Invest in a litbium battery @Big_Kingy. You can leave them for long periods without use and they will hold their charge. Loads of cranking amps too meaning sprag clutch issues. I have them on both my bikes which are both parked up over winter unsed. No need for an optimate. But don't use one on a bike with an alarm on there, it'll kill it. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damnthistinleg Posted September 7, 2020 Report Share Posted September 7, 2020 On 9/2/2020 at 7:11 PM, Big_Kingy said: I had an old (probably first model) Optimate given to when I bought my old Blade back in 2008ish, so I'm guessing it was made in the late 90's??? Anywho, I used it on my old Duke 390 from new and the battery died within a few moths. It was plugged in the whole time it wasn't being used, which could be months. Fast forward and I bought a Falco this summer, wanted to keep the battery in good nick so not to damage the sprag clutch. Had a chat with the previous owner and he has pretty much a clone of my Optimate, he used it on a timed socket and would have the Optimate come on for 2 hour a night to keep it topped up. Excellent, I'll give it a go. So onto the old Optimate it goes. Optimate gets plugged in via a timer for 2.5 hours every night. So put the bike away 5 weeks ago, try to start it today and there's virtually nothing in the battery. Am I doing something wrong? Am I just really unlucky? Is my Optimate fooked? Have I upset the battery gods? Shall I just fit a new battery with a kill switch to the negative terminal? Are you sure the Optimate doesn't allow a small leakage current to pass when switched off? If the idea is that it's meant to be left on indefinitely, why put it on a timer? A healthy lead-acid battery on a light float charge shouldn't be a problem if done correctly, which I suspect the Optimate does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gobert23 Posted September 8, 2020 Report Share Posted September 8, 2020 On 9/3/2020 at 4:36 PM, ssray said: Yep that kind of thing, much better than the old optimate for some reason Gen 1 Optimate was only really a 'two stage' charger, with 1. A higher input 'charge' and 2. A lower 'maintain'. Still, it was better than traditional 'car' type chargers (which only had '1.' and would be too high for most bike batteries). Newer systems have more stages, and 'intelligent switching' between the 'modes', so they can do a better job of recovering, and maintaining, batteries. I'm biased, as I like CTEK stuff. On 9/5/2020 at 7:24 AM, Toneale said: Invest in a litbium battery @Big_Kingy. You can leave them for long periods without use and they will hold their charge. Loads of cranking amps too meaning sprag clutch issues. I have them on both my bikes which are both parked up over winter unsed. No need for an optimate. Yes, but you'll also need a 'Lithium' compatible charger (I think I ended up getting a newer 'Noco' charger, that was recommended for L/A, AGM and LION/Lithium batteries). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toneale Posted September 8, 2020 Report Share Posted September 8, 2020 9 minutes ago, Gobert23 said: Yes, but you'll also need a 'Lithium' compatible charger (I think I ended up getting a newer 'Noco' charger, that was recommended for L/A, AGM and LION/Lithium batteries). There was a thread on lithium battery charges, (shuffles off to search the forum) and i belive the consensus was one of these.....Hobbyking chargers cheap at £35. Apparently it does everything apart from make you a cup of tea whilst you wait for your battery to charge. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banoffee Posted September 9, 2020 Report Share Posted September 9, 2020 CTEK here for several years, never had a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Kingy Posted September 11, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2020 Got the c-rec delivered and has been on the bike for 5 days now. It states its ready, supposed to be heading out on it in an hour so can update then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Kingy Posted September 11, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2020 The c-tek has revived the battery! Job jobbed. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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