1200 battery charger

[Geordietraveller]

Ordered one of those gold plated (£65) new-fangled battery chargers for my 1200 the other week.

Went along to Mill to collect it on Saturday and was told that BWM have temporarily stopped supplying them as they come with the continental 2 pin plug and as this now illegal they are waiting for a UK spec supply.

Anyone else heard about this...........?

 

[Skippy]

Optimate

Used optimate for years with no problem what so ever except when the rabbitt chewed through the cable. Low voltage side luckily.

Skippy.

 

[mikeh501]

Bought one a few weeks ago and it came with US plug. Wasn't an issue as I wanted a longer lead anyway - got chopped.

 

[Geordietraveller]

Yeah, that's what I had originally intended to buy but you need to disconnect the battery to use it and I liked the idea of just plugging the bike in and without all that slaver every time I wanted to use it (yes I admit I am lazy )

Might just get one anyway - if the line they've given me is correct it could be ages.

Cheers Skippy

Si

 

[John Armstrong]

Anyone else heard about this...........?

Williams in Manchester this weekend were saying the same.

 

[Cestria]

Got a 12GS specific charger from Mill about 4 or 5 weeks ago, it did indeed come with a continental plug which I just cut off and changed. So it must be a recent change of policy.
If you really want an Optimate 1, I have one for sale......20 quid and its yours! But like you say you should disconnect the battery from the bike to use it to prevent CAN bus damage from possible overvoltage when the charger is in de-sulphating mode. Bit of a pain as you have to redo the clock each time.

 

[Geordietraveller]

Hmmmm.

Thanks for the offer Cestria - I might see if I can get some sort of timescale for the replacement plug type from Mill. (now that I know it's not just BS - ta John)

Si

 

[Gipsy]

at the risk of muddying the clear water, Peter the manager of my local dealership informed me that it was ok to use an optimate with my 1200gs without disconnecting the battery. he confirmed that he had contacted bmw headquarters to check on this.

 

[snave1]

Thats different to what BVM told me,they said an Optimate should not be used..

 

[Pipen]

I have been using an optimate (without disconnecting the battery) to top up the battery on my R1200GS since August without any problems, so far!

 

[GSmonkey]

I was told by Vines that I cannot use my old optimate and that I've got to use a BMW charger

They'll be introducing BMW petrol next.

 

[happy grandad]

I bought a BMW charger from Rainbow. It did not work. I was sent another. This did not work either. I had the software update. It still did not work. I was told that BMW were checking the effectiveness of their chargers. It might be because of this that they are withdrawn rather than the plug.

Rainbow told me that I could use my Airflow charger without disconnecting the battery. This has worked so far.

 

[tigerwoods]

this is from the horses mouth...

hello guys,

the following is copied from an email i received from the importer of OPTIMATE chargers. i asked him if it was ok to use the OPTIMATE on our beloved 12gs' and here's what he has to say:

"Thank you for your enquiry, the OptiMate charger is fine for use with batteries fitted to BMW motorcycles. The charging rate of the OptiMate is far lower than the output from the motorcycles alternator and it should not enter the recovery (desulphation) cycle if the battery is connected to the motorcycle.

OptiMate chargers were designed for use with power sport batteries up to 30Ah (motorcycle, ATV, jetski etc) and ideally you should be using an AccuMate charger for your car battery.

Please do not hesitate to call if you have any queries or require any further information.

Regards,

Karl Dowden"


from reading this thread, i don't get why some BMW dealers says you can use OPTIMATE and some dealers says you can't? maybe the ones says we can't just wants us to spend £50/ 60 on their OEM product so they make more profit?

 

[alecmuffett]

Re: this is from the horses mouth...

"Thank you for your enquiry, the OptiMate charger is fine for use with batteries fitted to BMW motorcycles.
Karl Dowden"

...which says *nothing* about whether they should be used WHILE THE BATTERY IS CONNECTED UP.

I would like to offer the paraphrased story as I got it from Tim at SPC - whom I asked *specifically* about this issue - and his response went something like this:

1) The 1200GS is weird because of all the single-wire stuff; if you have an optimate (I have a Optimate III) then you can use an Optimate to charge the battery, but MUST NOT DO IT WITH THE BATTERY STILL CONNECTED TO THIE BIKE. TO DO SO RISKS DAMAGE TO THE BIKE ELECTRONICS.

Note that this is in agreement with what Mr Optimate (above) says, if you read it carefully; Mr Optimate is talking about batteries, not bikes.

Tim continued:

2) If you want to charge the battery WHILST THE BATTERY IS STILL CONNECTED to the bike, then you will need the BMW or Wunderlich chargers which are designed for the bike; moreover, there is some special sequence of plugging things in and switching things (eg: ignition) on and off in a specific order, after which (i quote) "The Bike Will Decide Whether The Battery Needs To Be Charged, And Do It If Necessary."

In other words, it's another overly-clever widget, just like the rest of the bike.

Me? I have an Optimate and intend to ride the GS quite a lot, so am not fussed. If by some strange change I flatten the battery, I will remove it from the bike, charge it whilst disconnected from the bike, re-install it, and then reset the clock as-per the BMW manual.

As if anybody bothers reading that - which, incidentally, also tells you that the power outlet socket is not suitable for battery charging purposes, before any cleverclogs suggests *that*.

This is all covered on/around page 147 of the manual, for heaven's sake.

 

[gavin]

Re: Re: this is from the horses mouth...

As if anybody bothers reading that - which, incidentally, also tells you that the power outlet socket is not suitable for battery charging purposes, before any cleverclogs suggests *that*.

This is all covered on/around page 147 of the manual, for heaven's sake.

The BMW charger comes fitted with a plug specifically for that purpose, i.e charging through the accessory socket

 

[ricky]

Has anyone tried the "TES-CHARGER FOR BIKES WITH CAN-BUS WIRING" sold by Nippy Norman's for £64 specifically for use on bikes with CAN-BUS systems?

Rick

 

[ericthebrave]

Has anyone tried the "TES-CHARGER FOR BIKES WITH CAN-BUS WIRING" sold by Nippy Norman's for £64 specifically for use on bikes with CAN-BUS systems?

Rick

well i havent but thought am curious to see if anyone has so just bumping the thread!

Dave

 

[Marco]

I believe that the battery charger sold by NN is exactly the same charger sold by BMW that can be directly connected to the accessory socket; I have one and it works perfectly well

 

[GSmonkey]

...just use an optimate and spend the £30 change on beer

No recorded incidents of otimates fooking up 12GS electrics on this site.......(i'm sure somebody will post to prove me wrong)