winterization, trickle charge

[Will]

Bought a 2002 R1150 R in April, put on a lot of satisfying miles, now sadly time to put it up in this Northern Vermont climate. got the Stabil in her, center stand, carpet under the rear wheel, all cleaned up. I got a BMW trickle charger with it, and having seen various posts addressing overcharging, etc - wondering how best to use this. 24 hrs every 4 weeks? 12 hrs every 2 weeks? What's the optimal schedule?
many thanks, Will

[R100CS]

My dealer attached an indicater to my battery. It comes with some charger.
He add an indicator to every bike he has in winterstoridge.
Since my R100CS is lost, I only have one bike and don't need his storidge.
The indicator with green (OK), orange (watch out) and red (now action is needed) LED is still on my bike.
At this moment after two weeks the indicators red light is on.
This maybe indicates my battery is almost done.
After two weeks I attach my Optimate 4 for one day and than disconnect it to repear the cycle two weeks later.

[SteveK]

Not sure about the BMW charger. I have an Optimate 4 that plugs into the power socket and I leave it plugged in all winter. I have to believe the BMW trickle charger would work the same.

[AZBMWRIDER]

Just to clarify, you want to use a battery maintainer, not a trickle charger .

The maintaner turns on when the battery voltage gets to a specific level, charges it up to it's upper limt then shuts off, a trickle charger maintains the same charge level, doesn't shut off .

[gregor]

Also used an Optimate 4 over the last three years. My original Optimate did not save the battery so I changed to the latest version.

[sunilsingh18]

I just left the battery tender plugged in all winter and it did just fine.

[AZBMWRIDER]

If you reside in a cold weather climate, leave the battery in the garage or shed, cold is a friend of storage batteries, as long as the battery is fully charged, you won't have a problem with it .

[BMWPA]

Battery tender Jr for me--leave it plugged in all year round when parked in the garage. I have had my '03 R1150R since '04 and have replaced the sealed gel battery 2 times--they seem to last 4+ yrs until they get sluggish and struggle to turn over the engine for the first ride of Spring up here in New England. Still love the bike after 9 years, my eye sometimes wanders but, I fall back in love with her each Spring. Ride safe.

[AZBMWRIDER]

Not to hijack this thread, but here are a few sources for batteries for an 1150R .

http://www.staabbattery.com/product/UB12220-V.html

I get about 30ish months on one of these in the suburb of hell I call home, the same as an Oddysey PC680, for less than half the cost .

This battery is also available at RadioShack online store, I think they had free shipping through the end of the year .

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... d=11909407

This battery is a bit on the weak side in cool temps for use in an 1150R, but works good on my airhead bikes .

http://www.gruberpower.com/12-volt-18-a ... ah-battery

I installed two of these batteries in my '02 1150R, I put the extra battery where the ABS valve assembly would reside, the second battery cost less than lighter weight oil would cost for the 'cold' weather we have in a Phoenix winter .

[Will]

Thanks for the advice, insights, etc. - Put the charger on her last week - it does have a red/charging green/charged indicator light on it, took about 4 hrs to go green. I'll reapply every 3 weeks or so. Usta take my battery out for the winter on my '76 R75/6 but the removal on this bike is a little more daunting. I'll get familiar with it in the spring....

[martinjmpr]

Battery tender for the win. Best $35 you'll ever spend.

I've been running a Battery Tender on my Triumph for 5 years. Still on the same battery. Still starts up at the touch of the starter button, even when cold. I've also gone as much as 3 - 4 months without starting the bike (very busy spring and summer, no time to ride. )

The battery tender costs roughly half of what I paid the last time I had to buy a new battery (that was $80, probably 4 years ago.) SO worth the money!