Battery Chargers

There are several threads on here where questions were asked about battery chargers for our bikes.

The service manual for my Honda Shadow states that the battery charger should charge at about 10% of the battery rating. Scooters and motorcycles all have similar charging systems and batteries so Honda's recommendation would probably work for all.

My Shadow battery is rated at 12 ampere hours. That means you should charge it at around 1.2 amps. I believe that my Swing battery is rated at 11 ampere hours so the charger should deliver around 1.1 amp.

I use the Battery Tender brand of battery charger. I would recommend any charger that is 1.5 amp or less and says that it is a float charger.

Float chargers are smart chargers. They have electronics in them allows them that charges the battery at the full rating until the voltage reaches 14 volts and then they switch to a lower output current to just maintain the battery. You can leave them connected indefinitely.

A standard battery charger will continue to charge the battery even after the battery is completely charged. This could result in the electrolyte being boiled out of the battery. Once the electrolyte level drops and the battery plates are exposed they begin to oxidize. That permanently lowers the output of the battery.

Standard chargers are fine if you connect them to a low battery overnight but don't leave them connected indefinitely.

Hope this helps.

Ride Safe!

Maybe a 'lazy' question, but can one charge the battery through the socket in the left hand 'glove box'? I.e. is this socket always 'on' or does it go with the ignition key?
I.m.h.o. it would be a lot easier to connect a float charger to this socket, rather than have to open the seat (with the courtesy light coming on...) and fiddle with the battery cover, etc...
In short: what is the easiest way to connect a charger to the Silverwing battery?

I connect my Optimate by simply plugging it into the glovebox socket on my FJS model Silver Wing when it's parked up in my garage. On my previous two Burgmans I had to have leads fixed to the battery to use the Optimate.

Our US friends have the FSC variant of the Silver Wing that doesn't have a 12v socket in the left storage glovebox.

The socket remains live when the key is removed from the ignition.
I have a small solar-charger plugged in as I'm not riding much at the moment and then only for short trips.

I think the very informative and useful post at the top suggests that one shouldn't try a powerful boost charge through the socket but gentle ones are okay (I stand to be corrected).

I suspect in the UK we'd call it a trickle charge.

I have an Optimate charger which is fine for the purpose.

Edit: Meldrew slipped his post in as I was typing - I concur with what he says as well as adding my own bits.

MikeO wrote:

Edit: Meldrew slipped his post in as I was typing - I concur with what he says as well as adding my own bits.

Sorry boss, just being polite and helpful as usual.

LOL!
I had to rearrange my wording: I nearly said, 'slipped in his own post'.

Many thanks to Meldrew and MikeO.
I've been googleing to find out about the Optimate 4, looks like a very usefull tool to keep the battery in shape.

My 2012 has a 12 volt installed but it is NOT live but switched It would not have been my choice but it is what it is... On my KLR I had leads for the battery tender installed on the battery, they are now installed on the battery of the Wing, under the seat. Makes for a very easy charger/tender hook up!

The North American Silverwing doesn't have a 12v socket so I can't comment on those.

The Battery Tender Junior chargers that I purchased come with two sets of cables that are about 18" long. One cable set has one red and one black jumper cable style clamps on the one end, the other cable set has a red and a black ring terminal on the one end. The other end of both cable sets has a polarized quick connect plug that mates to the 6' cord from the charger. The quick connect assures that you can't connect the charger backwards.

I hook up the ring terminal set directly to the battery posts and locate the loose end where it is accessible for an easy hookup.

On my Shadow, I tuck the loose end of that cable under the left side cover. On our Majesty, it was in the underseat storage. I think that the underseat storage would work well with the Silverwing also.

Ride safe!

rjdoles wrote:

The North American Silverwing doesn't have a 12v socket so I can't comment on those.

On our Majesty, it was in the underseat storage. I think that the underseat storage would work well with the Silverwing also.

Ride safe!

My 2012 had the pop out for the plug but was a dealer installed option. And yes my Pigtail works great under-seat...

I use the CTec battery tender on my bike and car after my Optimate gave up the ghost! I attach the unit to the battery via the leads that come with the tender.

No complaints thus far!

rodenbach wrote:

Many thanks to Meldrew and MikeO.
I've been googleing to find out about the Optimate 4, looks like a very usefull tool to keep the battery in shape.

I would certainly recommend the Optimate 4, certainly keeps my Wing's battery in good order!

Optimate for me too,for the past 10 years for both bikes and a Black & Decker for my car.Optimate states for 30 Ah batteries max