Battery Tender for 1190

Does anyone have a recommendation for a good battery charger or tender for an 1190 adventure? Ideally 220v, perhaps available at an European KTM outlet that could be shipped to the US?
Worse case I could get a 110v one I guess and use a transformer.
Thank you

I've had good luck with the Optimate 3 on recent bikes including the 1190. It works better than my Battery Tenders (seems like a better charge profile for AGM/GEL). It is available in 220v according to their web site.
I go direct to the battery though, not through the bike's 12v accy socket, so I don't know what (if any) issues there would be going that route.
http://www.tecmate-int.com/optimate3_plus_detail.php

Interesting, thank you.
It hadn't occurred to me that there could be an issue by going in thru the 12v outlet....I'll have to research that. Perhaps somebody in this forum knows about it.

when charging a battery on a bike .. it's always best to connect direct to battery without possibility of voltage drop interferring with charger.

not a big fan of trickle chargers which are known to kill batteries when left connected for extended periods. AGM and LiFePO4 both have extremely low self discharge. it's better to charge battery to full once a month or so.

find out your parasitic drain and actual AH of battery to determine how long 1150 can sit without killing battery and charge accordingly. better yet disconnect battery when storing bike for extended periods.

There is no issue charging via the 12v accessory outlet - it's part of the ACC1 accessory wiring which is wired to the battery (permanently on) via a 10A fuse and then the 30A main fuse. There is no "electronics" or "relay contact" in the circuit. The wiring is rated at 10A. Just make sure that whatever charger you use is current limited to less than 10A. Optimate works fine, as does KTM's charger.

P.S. The wires in most "battery tender" leads are rated at less than 10A.

thanks RobZorba sure is nice have specific model information and really glad you decided to stick around Adv!

I wanted to connect an electronic battery trickle charger (Optimate 3) to the battery while the bike is sitting. The owner's handbook states that the negative terminals have to be disconnected before attaching a charger "to avoid damage to the motorcycle's electronics" (pg 155 of the 2014 handbook). Is this necessary? I've not done this with any of my previous bikes.

I've always found that using the Optimate 3 has kept my bike batteries in good condition when they're standing for a while between use.

Anybody able to answer this one?

I have an Optimate3 that I tried using on the 1190, but always ended up with an MTC failure when I used it. So I switched over to a Battery Tender Plus and have not had a problem. I always charge through the 12v accessory socket. I believe that the Battery Tender will take 120v or 220v input, but check with Deltran to be sure.

- sent from my Moto X Android device.

Could you plese clarify what "MTC" stands for?

Motorcycle Traction Control. I believe the system throws that error whenever the voltage gets too high or too low. My guess is that one of the stages of the Optimate3 was breaching the voltage threshold. However, that was with my original defective battery. I have not tried the Optimate3 again since my battery was replaced - might be worth a try just out of curiosity. The same Optimate3 has been maintaining the battery on my Ducati with no problems so I am pretty sure that the device is functioning properly.

- Sent from my ASUS Transformer, powered by Android

Thanks for the heads-up on the Optimate 3. OK, so it looks like I need to avoid using that, but what about having to disconnect the negative battery terminal when connecting any charger? Is this necessary?

I have used CTEK fore many years. Good stuff.
http://smartercharger.com/

I use a Battery Tender Junior, wired through an Eastern Beaver fuse block. No problems.

What about the requirement to disconnect the negative battery terminal???:huh

Has anyone worked out the current draw when switched off? I don't have a battery tender and am returning from two weeks leave (without bike) and am anticipating an easy start. I will let you know .....

I think that's just a standard disclaimer to cover themselves from owners connecting all forms of chargers and damaging the electronics. The motorcycle-specific "smart" chargers should be fine. I have been using the Battery Tender Plus for 5 months now through the 12v accessory socket with no problems. If you are worried though, the safest way of course is to completely disconnect the battery and remove it from the bike before charging/maintaining.

Yeah, cheers. I spoke to the workshop at the dealer where I bought the bike. They said exactly the same about it being a standard disclaimer. They said that they use chargers without disconnecting the battery.

Like other contributors to the thread though, they didn't recommend use of a trickle charger on a permanent basis as it can damage the battery. They said it is better to let a battery discharge and then just charge it back up.

Oh, well, I've learned something anyway.

5 months here too. No issues. Super easy!

Remember though, the Battery Tender and Optimate are not "trickle chargers". They do not continue to provide charging current once the battery approaches a full charge. They revert to maintenance mode at that point and can be left connected for a long time. Very different from a trickle charger.



- sent from my Moto X Android device.

Thanks for this. I've always used the Optimate 3 in the past, with no problems and its always kept by batteries tip-top.