I so if you dont ride your cruiser over the winter period hope that you ensured it was well protected over winter in the garage or shed, have you checked the bike since you garaged it? have you covered it?, is it on a triggle charge?, just some questions you should consider. I tend to ride all year so my cruiser does not get a chance to stand, but a good idea if your bike is going to be standing over winter is to place it on block’s to get the wheels off the ground to relieve the pressure on one spot of your wheels. No matter what, you should have your bike on a triggle charge as all batteries self-discharge, slowly leaking energy also it good to the the bike always ready for a ride out. I have found it pays to run the bike atleast once a month over the winter period.
Here’ why you need a battery charger, it keeps your cruiser in a state of perfect readiness, always buy the best battery charger you can afford a bad charger could cost you money or even ruin your bike.
1 Car chargers – using a car charger can ruin your battery as this charger will put to much current through your bikes battery.
2. Solar Chargers – These trickle a low current into your battery, like the basic charger. Better models tend to have an auot-off to avoid over charging but again they lack the ability to bring a battery back from the brink
3. Basic trickle Chargers – These look like a phone charger with crocodile clips on the end. Cheap chargers just put a low, flat current into the battery, helping maintain a constant voltage, again they wont bring a flat battery back from the dead. They also don’t switch themsleves off, so be careful not to overcharge
4. Smart Chargers – These read what your battery needs and adjust the current to suit, they can be left on the battery indefinitely as they will manage and condition the battery , taking it through a cycle to keep it in an optimum state. Also they can bring a battery back from as low as 3v by shooting a pulsing current that shake-off the sulphation from the plates, then charge it up fully.
Looks like I will have to investigate what is available in the market place then we will list the best on our site, Smart chargers are quickly becoming an essential piece of kit in your garage or shed. I personally use the Optimate6 Smart battery charger it is priced around £86 / £90, at the end of the day its your choice