Confused

[ebiss9]

Maybe someone out there can give me the correct information on this question! What is the correct procedure to charge or maintain the Gel type battery on a 06 LT. According to the literature included with the BMW charger "Remove battery from 2005 and later BMW motorcycles before charging". And some BMW dealers say that it is OK to charge through the auxiliary power plug. Does anybody have the straight scoop??? This may have been posted on a previous thread but I can't seem to find it.

[cfell]

Rob..
I charge right on the bike. My charger came with a "pigtail" to connect to the battery posts and I just plug in the charger then verify the lights on the charger indicate properly.

There has been significant discussion about types of chargers, rates, remove, install, etc.

However, on the '05 I own, I'd be leery of removing the battery for extended time.. You will lose your clock settings, TPS settings, etc..

So, for my money, leave the battery in the bike. This discussion could be like an oil or for a pilot, a meteorological thread..

[OscarF]

Rob:

I have an 06 LT and have been using the BMW Advanced battery charging system “programmed for gel batteries” since day of purchase. I use it for several hours every day and it is plugged into the lower (above the shifter) accessory socket.

OscarF

[deputy5211]

I use a BT through the aux power port. Dealer told me that charger at 1A is fine for the gel, and they sell this same charger.

[Jerod521]

There is confusion with the terms being used. It is the same with newer Porsche and Audi cars. It is ok to "maintain" the battery while in the car. It is a low amperage feed that only maintains the battery current level of charge and provides enough power for the systems that are kept alive even when the bike is off. Keeping it from going dead. Charging is when a battery is totally dead and needs either to be reformed or charged with high amperage for a shorter amount of time. I use the maintainer on my 05 and have never had a problem. If your battery is dead it would be best to remove it and use a charger partially just because of the heat generated when performing a charge. You would rather have a battery fail on you bench than in the bike. ( I personally believe this is one of the reasons for the rule with the newer cars) Also it is never a good idea to use high amperage chargers with the sensitive electronics on board. (This is especialy true of vehicles with CAN data bus systems. ie: GT)

So to wrap up, if you ride daily you probably don't need anything unless your battery is old an getting weak ( in which case it is a good idea to just replace it and take a strain off of the generator) If you ride once a week or less is would be a good idea to get a maintainer and plug it in. If the bike is totally dead. Remove the battery and charge it.

***NOTE*** Old style trickle chargers and a maintainer are not the same. Trickle chargers provide a constant low amperage charge. Maintainers only give power when and if it is needed and are computer controlled.

Sorry to ramble HTH and cleared things up.

[ebiss9]

Thanks guys for the info, I will maintain battery through the auxillary power port..........Rob