[Boxer25]

Hi, does anybody use a Solar battery maintainer to keep the battery topped up over the winter?
I don’t have mains power in the garage and used to connect a car battery to my non electronic GS a couple of days a month but not sure that would work with a 1200R full of electronic add ons.
Been looking at 20-25W panels with a built in charge controller for about £60-80, would this be ok?
Any info/experience would be appreciated.

Al.

 

[SteveJH]

Try Optimate. A guy I know on another (non-BMW) forum has a newish BMW R1200RT and no power in his garage. He uses a large good quality 12v car battery to keep his RT battery topped up, and (but I need to double check) he keeps the 12v car battery charged via an Optimate solar charger. All cables and connectors are Optimate which helps the installation. He also uses a 12v to 12v charger ( the orange Optimate one) between the large 12v battery and the RT's battery. All rather expensive though.

OptiMate UK

UK Importer website for OptiMate battery charger/optimisers.

www.optimate.co.uk

 

[Boxer25]

Seems a bit strange to top up a slave battery with a solar panel when you can connect to the bike battery🤔. The Optimate solar kit is a lot more expensive than an unbranded kit, and the connectors look the same.

Al.

 

[SteveJH]

Seems a bit strange to top up a slave battery with a solar panel when you can connect to the bike battery🤔. The Optimate solar kit is a lot more expensive than an unbranded kit, and the connectors look the same.

Al.

I was wrong about that part. He just uses the large battery to top up his bike via the 12v to 12v charger. Assume he takes the high ampere hour battery home and charges it occasionally. No solar panel charging involved.

 

[Mr. Badger]

Or you could remove the battery from the bike, carry it into the nice warm house, and hook it up to a generic battery tender plugged into the wall. People in the Great White North do it every year.

You will have to reset the clock and put up with about 40 miles of crappy performance until it retunes itself next spring.

 

[Boxer25]

I could do that, but some of us ride all year round, not that often over winter I must admit but I like to to keep it ready to use if needed without worrying about the electrics having a hissy fit after being shut down for a while.

Al.

 

[zer0netgain]

I hear the solar units work great during the day.

You have NO electricity in the garage? Not even lights? They have adapters that let you plug into the light socket.

If you ride year round, get enough extension cord and a pigtail connector. Plug in an off the shelf trickle charger/maintainer once a month.

 

[Boxer25]

If I had power in the garage I wouldn't be looking at solar chargers! My garage is also 50 yards from my house and the other side of the road so extension cables are not an option either.

 

[arfingdog]

If the panel has a built in charge controller that keeps voltage in the 13s when the batt is topped up, I'd certainly give it a try. I would double-check what it was putting out with a multimeter, though.