Which BMW Battery Charger?

[Pitons98]

I went to the dealer today to pick up a BMW battery charger for my '06.

The sales rep was about to sell me one charger (part #99990005656) when another sales rep who seemed to be more of an expert told me that I needed a different charger (part #71607688865). Supposedly this 716 part number is the right one for newer LT models like the '06.

Here are some links to the two battery charger models:

http://www.ascycles.com/detail.aspx?ID=1357

http://www.ascycles.com/detail.aspx?ID=2678

Should both of these work with my '06 LT?

Ray

[Woolly]

Shame you don't live in the UK - you can buy a battery tender for sealed (gel cell or AGM) for about £17 sterling ($30 US (not sure in Canadian)) - works beautifully - the hype built up by BM regarding battery tenders is unreal - just go to your local auto parts store (in the UK - Halfords) - and pick up a trickle charger - it's not a 'Black Art' as BM would like you to think.

[Dochatley]

I believe you should have the GEL battery in your bike. You want the charger for the Gel battery.

[Arby60]

I also have an "06 LT and have never really been clear on what type of charger to use. I have a Battery Tender that I used on my previous bike and have been using that on the LT. It doesn't say it's for gel type batteries, but then I don't know if my battery is gel type. General Manager at the dealership said the Battery Tender I have would work fine on my bike. Totally confused. How do I sort through all of this and do the right thing?

Ray

[rando]

I was looking at them at Carolina Euro and the svc mgr told me the one they had would charge ALL types of batteries. Not sure which charger they had but it was like $85.

That would be great to have one charger for either battery type.

randy

[mefly2]

I bought a B & D charger at Wal Mart for under $20. It said suitable for gel type batteries. I hooked it up to my 1150 RT (does NOT have Canbus) with both a volt meter and ammeter in the circuit. It is hooked directly to the battery with the provided rings / harness and it charges within the parameters given by BMW for the gel batts ... I'm a very happy camper with that cost savings ... cheaper than a BMW or ePay charger ... actually bought another charger for my museum piece truck as well!

This is NOT and endorsement, just my experiences ... YMMV.

[deputy5211]

Dealer where I bought my '05 sells non-BMW chargers. Told me that as long as my BatteryTender was 1.25, that I would be fine with the gel battery. Bought one from him to be safe. Got home, realized that the tender I already had was 1.25, and dealer gladly gave full refund on the unopened unit.

Of course, I just HAD to spend that found money on something else, no way I was going to walk out of a motorcycle shop with more money than I walked in with. To much precedent existed to the contrary! :histerica

[Tweety1]

I had a ten-or-more year old Battery Tender I used generously over the time I owned, connected to the pigtail which I mounted to the battery posts.
When I acquired my '07 F800S, I called Battery Tender (was Deltrans) after calling the dealer about what kind of battery I had.

They told me 1) because my F800S had an AGM battery, I would use a different kind of charger then a gel battery would. and 2) once connected to the battery, the bike does not care what kind of charger is connected so long as it is a trickle one.

The BMW charger at the first link you show, is a BMW OEM-made Battery Tender that MUST be connected to the battery. The second charger is the one for the Canbus system, AND IT CONNECTED TO THE CANBUS SOCKET ON THE BIKE.

If you want that convenience, buy #2! If you are willing to connect the pigtail to your battery buy a Battery Tender made for your battery type (call Battery Tender and ask them).

If I had to do all over again, I might have bought #2, but my dealer told me it was a $300+ item; vs. a $39.95 upgrade of my Battery Tender (they do that, even on a ten or more year old BT). On the other hand, the dealer service department did a slick job mounting the pigtail for me; because my battery is not under seat, the pigtail was too short to reach under the seat. The service guy cut the cables, used nice cabling as an insert and heat crimped an extension to it in, so it now does. It works, but a socket plug-in might be better.

[Morley]

Battery Tender Plus is good for gel and lead acid type batteries.