American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 231 October 2018 | Page 45
OptiMate Solar - a Sturgis
Test Case Study
TecMate’s advanced
OptiMate brand Solar
PARTS AND ACCESSORIES
battery charging tools
have been gaining traction in
the market place rapidly since
their introduction. At this
year’s Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
the company set up at the
Black Hills Harley-Davidson lot
at Junction 55 on the I90 just
outside Rapid City with Drag
Specialties/Parts Unlimited, its
exclusive North American
distributor.
Though there to help the Drag
Specialties sales team
promote the OptiMate range,
with some sales of the
company’s Solar chargers being made -
especially to people who had transported
their bikes in closed trailers - one classic
opportunity to showcase Solar products
came with the show bikes that Drag trailers
around for use at events within the USA.
These bikes don’t get ridden very often and
subsequently their batteries are not always
charged well enough to fire the engine up
or demonstrate the installed accessories,
especially the electronics and lights.
TecMate CEO/CTO Martin Human takes up
the story: “We mounted an OptiMate Solar
20W (TM522-2) and OptiMate Solar 40W
(TM523-4) kit to portable A frame displays
and put them to work saving, charging and
then maintaining those show bike batteries
that had become “needy” - making sure the
bikes provided continuous service
throughout the duration of the Rally.
“The OptiMate Solar line features a smart
charger-monitor that provides battery
status information around the clock - when
it is charging the battery during the day and
when the battery is at rest overnight. You
can even switch the charger-controller from
battery to battery to check battery
condition, see which battery needs charging
most, before you hook up the solar panel.
“Once hooked up and the panel receives
sun, the solar charge light blinks, confirming
solar power is being delivered, and one of
the three battery status lights indicates
charge progress. When night falls, or if the
smart charger-monitor senses no solar
power is being delivered, it changes into a
battery monitor with one of the three
charge status blinks, indicating battery
status.”
Martin says the 10W TM522-1 kit (12V 0.8A
max.) and 20W TM522-2 kit (12V 1.6A max)
are “ideal for all powersports vehicles,” but
that if you need to rescue a battery faster,
the 40W TM523-4 (12V 3.3A) is the charger
of choice.
“No one cares about their battery until it’s
dead. But that might be more frequent than
necessary if the vehicle is stored far from
AC power, as was the case at Sturgis. With
OptiMate Solar, you don’t have to change
your mindset though - just connect and
forget, no more battery problems.”
TECMATE
Tienen, BELGIUM
Tel: +32 (0)16 805440
www.tecmate.com
www.optimate1.com
www.AMDchampionship.com
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - OCTOBER 2018
45