When it got here time to exchange the battery in my 2017 KTM 690 Enduro RI opted for a lithium-ion motorbike battery as an alternative of the OEM lead-acid battery. Regardless that lithium batteries can price as a lot as twice what a substitute lead-acid battery prices, the value distinction is offset by quite a few benefits. Lithium batteries are lighter (and sometimes smaller), they last more, they recharge sooner, they discharge extra slowly when not in use, they usually provide higher cold-weather efficiency.
Optima Batteriesprimarily based in Glendale, Wisconsin, has been within the battery enterprise for the reason that Nineteen Seventies. In 2023, it started providing lithium-ion batteries for a variety of purposes, together with automobiles/vans, boats, RVs, and powersports. Optima’s web site has a Discover Your Battery function that means that you can decide fitment primarily based on software, yr, make, and mannequin. For my KTM, Optima recommends the Orangetop Quad12 ($209.99), a 12V, 4.5Ah lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery that weighs simply 2.2 lb, which saves practically 5 lb versus the OEM battery. And sure, it’s only a coincidence that Optima’s battery is KTM orange!
The Orangetop Quad12 has a complicated microprocessor-controlled battery administration system that displays and controls all features mechanically, together with balancing the cells’ cost state. It additionally has Optima CPR, a built-in jump-start system that mechanically disconnects the battery from parasitic key offloads and reserves sufficient energy to begin your bike. The battery additionally options Optima’s patented POWERLINK, a wired dongle for handy battery management, standing, and charging.
As a result of the Orangetop Quad12 is smaller than inventory, Optima supplies foam spacers in varied sizes to fill the additional area between the battery and the battery field. Even with customizing match with the spacers, set up was straightforward, and the Quad12 has 4 terminals for optimum flexibility.
To get essentially the most out of my new lithium battery, I added Optima’s 12V Battery Maintainer Digital 200+ ($99.99), a sensible charger and maintainer that’s appropriate with lithium, AGM, and flooded batteries of all sizes, together with automotive, marine, and so forth. It has a 2-amp cost fee, a dual-function LED battery gauge for pre-charge battery testing and in-progress charging, and safety in opposition to reverse polarity and overheating. The maintainer is weatherproof, has a built-in cable wrap, and could be transportable or wall-mounted.
The maintainer consists of clamps, ring terminal, and POWERLINK connections, which makes charging/sustaining my KTM’s battery a snap. I usually go weeks (okay, months) between rides on my private bike, so once I pull into the storage, I simply plug within the POWERLINK connectors and I’m good to go till my subsequent trip.
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Optima supplies a five-year free-replacement guarantee on batteries and a three-year free-replacement guarantee on maintainers. Batteries and maintainers could be bought immediately from Optima’s web site with free transport or by retailers.
