OptiMate pioneered the concept of battery maintenance for motorcyclists in the mid-1990s. Since then motorcycle electrical systems have evolved rapidly, with the introduction of CAN-Bus, ECU updates and lithium technology. As a result, there is no longer a one-size-fits-all charging and maintenance solution for bike batteries.
OptiMate’s continuous evolution/development has resulted in an extensive range, capable of offering owners of almost any bike or scooter safe and simple long-term battery care and maintenance.
- OptiMate2 is the cost-effective solution for long-term maintenance of 12V motorcycle batteries. OptiMate2 charges and maintains the battery, while simultaneously powering the bike’s on-board computer, display or anti-theft alarm. It’s fully automatic and has overcharge, reverse polarity and spark protection.
- OptiMate3 Global is designed with a wide range input (100-240V, 50-60Hz) that works with mains electricity around the world. It diagnoses, charges, tests and optimally maintains all types of 12V lead-acid batteries rated from 3 to 50 Ah. It can also recover severely neglected batteries from as low as 2 Volts.
- OptiMate4 Dual Program includes two charging programmes; one is for direct charging of a battery via the terminals or an adaptor cable; the other allows safe and unsupervised charging through a motorcycle’s CAN-bus controlled 12V socket. OptiMate 4 Dual Program tests before and after charging and can recover a battery from as little as 0.5 Volts. The CAN-bus edition diagnoses, recovers, charges, tests and maintains the battery via the 12V port on CAN-bus equipped bikes. Keyless activation means it will charge and maintain the battery automatically until it is disconnected. It can also recover badly neglected, sulphated batteries.
- OptiMate5 Voltmatic recovers 6V lead-acid batteries from deep discharge, and can also charge and maintain medium to large 12V batteries. OptiMate 5 identifies whether a battery is 6V or 12V, runs tests to see whether it requires desulphation or bulk charge, then equalises the voltage in each cell. It’s compatible with STD lead-acid, sealed AGM ‘maintenance free’, GEL and spiral cell batteries.
- OptiMate6 Select is designed to be used on bikes with update and diagnostic modes, and has a built-in power supply to ensure there’s enough charge in the battery for uninterrupted downloads, updates and troubleshooting. It prepares the battery before updates take place, delivers accurate temperature-compensated voltage and current, and warns if current draw is likely to cause battery voltage to drop too low.
OptiMate also offers a choice of chargers for lithium batteries. Compact and lightweight, yet delivering high cranking amps, lithium batteries are an increasingly popular choice for motorcyclists on road & track, but are considerably more expensive than lead acid units. Maintaining lithium batteries is crucial, because once discharged they can be difficult to recover. However, regular 12-volt chargers for lead acid batteries should not be used, due to different charging curves and thresholds.
Lithium (LiFePO4) batteries contain 4 x 3.2V cells, providing a total nominal voltage of 12.8V, compared to a 12V lead-acid battery, which has 6 x 2V cells.
- OptiMate’s Lithium 0.8A assesses battery condition and selects the charge programme to suit: Bulk Charge for rapid recovery and Save mode to safely recover over-discharged batteries. The Lithium 0.8A is also designed to reset the internal BMS (Battery Management System) on batteries with a low voltage cut-out so that charging can begin.
- The OptiMate Lithium offers all of the above, with the added benefit of a faster 5A charge cycle – ideal for racing & trackday applications, when electric systems are run on a total-loss basis.
