The open road calls, but you’re stuck at home because your motorcycle battery is dead. Make the smarter charger choice and chose CTEK to charge your motorcycle battery.

What Type of Battery Does a Motorcycle Have?

The majority of motorcycles use either a conventional (wet) lead-acid battery or a dry AGM (absorbed glass mat) lead-acid battery. (Some BMW bikes may use gel lead-acid batteries.)

How Does a Lead-Acid Battery Work?

When a battery is used, sulfuric acid in the electrolyte is being depleted. As a result, the electrolyte closely resembles water. A lead-acid battery consists of a number of cells. Each cell has positive and negative plants, separators and electrolyte, all contained in a battery container. Cells are densely packed with alternating lead and lead oxide sheets. 

As that is happening, sulfate from the acid is coating the plates, which reduces the surface area over which a chemical reaction can occur.

Using an electrochemical reaction, a lead-acid battery converts chemical energy into electrical energy.

When a battery is charged, the process is reversed, driving sulfate back into the acid.

What Causes Batteries to Die?

The most common cause of battery failure is sulfation, a buildup of lead sulfate crystals. This occurs when a battery is deprived of a full charge (also called “killing the battery” or “draining the battery”). Sulfate materials crystallize on the discharged portions of the battery plates, damaging the battery.

All lead-acid batteries accumulate sulfation over the course of their lifetime, as a part of the natural chemical process. The problems occur when sulfation builds up.

Allowing a battery to go dead for long periods of time will cause sulfation.  Most batteries that “die young” are killed by neglect.

If you’re a “Sunday driver” motorcyclist who only gets the bike out on days with perfect weather or when friends are available to ride, your motorcycle will see days, if not weeks, of inactivity.

Likewise, motorcycles stored over the winter months face long periods of inactivity. 

CTEK Keeps Your Battery Charged

But how do you prevent sulfation and damage to your motorcycle battery? A CTEK smarter battery charger is the answer.

CTEK Smarter Battery Chargers go through 8 steps to constantly read and communicate with your battery, charging only to its direct needs and therefore avoiding any possibility of incorrectly charging the battery. 

By ensuring the battery is conditioned as well as charged, your batteries last significantly longer.

CTEK’s MULTI US 7002 charger is ideal for motorcycles. It’s perfect for everyday use and solves a broad range of battery-related problems.

The MULTI US 7002 tests your motorcycle battery condition before charging to establish if it can receive and retain a charge.

The MULTI US 7002 features a patented automatic desulphation phase during the early charging process. 

The entire charging process is followed on the easy to read LED display.

You can “connect and forget” the MULTI US 7002, making it ideal for long-term maintenance, such as when your motorcycle is stored.

Extending your motorcycle’s battery life will save you from purchasing costly replacement batteries.

A charged battery also ensures your motorcycle is ready to ride when the open road beckons.

Try our Charger Selection Tool to find out which charger is right for your motorcycle.